Five Hundred and Sixteen: The So-Called Psychological Counseling

"Best regular-season record in the 21st century?"

When Link saw the title, he was very surprised.

I originally thought that only 72 wins that surpassed or tied the Bulls could be called great. Unexpectedly, the Grizzlies actually have a chance to break the record.

Although it is not as bluffing as the title of "the league's best record in the regular season in a single season". But adding "from the 21st century" to the title also sounds extremely honorable.

This year's NBA regular season ends on April 17, and the Grizzlies lost to the Nuggets on the 16th.

That said, the regular season happens to have a full month left, 18 games.

To break the record, the Grizzlies can only lose four of their next 18 games. If you lose more than 4 games, it can only be a draw, not a break.

Speaking of which, the Grizzlies have only lost 10 games in 64 games so far. On average, it's about every 6 games played before losing one.

So, it does not seem to be difficult to get 14 wins in 18 games.

But the end of the season is a very special period. For the playoffs, the combat effectiveness of other teams will suddenly rise. And the Grizzlies, who have basically secured the top spot in the league, are unlikely to fight every game.

If a player is injured for a regular-season win, and the playoffs are delayed, it's not worth the loss.

Whether to break the record or to enter the playoffs safely, this is the trouble that all teams at this level must face.

So, in this period, trying to win at least 14 out of 18 games is not that simple.

After the game with the Nuggets, Stevens also organized a meeting of the coaching staff. The content of the meeting is very simple - whether to follow the record or to be safe.

The coaching staff had a heated discussion on this.

Some people think that the Grizzlies have a good chance this year. Anyway, they have played the best record in team history. It is better to keep their energy in the playoffs and try to go further in the playoffs.

Others argue that the chance to break records doesn't come every season. If every season had this opportunity, the Bulls' single-season record for the best record would not have remained for so many years.

If you have a chance, you must go for it.

Stevens was in a dilemma, and it was a happy annoyance.

In the end, the young marshal made a compromise decision-trying to break the record while ensuring that the players are physically fit.

The Grizzlies won't be chasing records, but they won't just wait for the playoffs. For weak teams, Stevens will try to end the battle within three quarters to reduce the consumption of the main players as much as possible.

And playing a strong team, if the game is anxious, Stevens will not give up resistance.

A compromise choice may sometimes fail to take care of both. Not only lost the physical fitness of the players, but also did not break the record.

But Stevens believed in the strength of his team, and it was impossible for those guys to agree.

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Ever since the media broke the news that the Grizzlies could break the record, everyone on the Grizzlies has gotten a lot more serious on the practice court.

In the past, everyone laughed and laughed, jokes and memes one after another.

And now, everyone is very serious in training. Everyone worked hard to do their own thing, for fear of dragging the team down.

Seeing this situation, Elston Turner was a little worried, "You said, will this put too much pressure on them?"

"No, I never said they wanted to break the record." Stevens crossed his arms on the sidelines, but speaking of it, the arena seemed to be too quiet indeed.

"If you don't say it, the media will say it. Even if you don't ask for it, those guys definitely want to break the record very much. It's okay to play games in normal times, but now they are counting the wins and losses with their fingers, and they will inevitably be affected."

"Hey, what should we do? Hire a psychological counselor for each of them?" Stevens covered his forehead. The NCAA March Madness was also very stressful, and he had to go home after losing a game.

But the pressures of college basketball are not the same as the pressures of professional basketball. Moreover, the NCAA schedule is far less intensive than the NBA, and college players have a lot of free time to relieve pressure on their own.

But what about NBA players? In addition to the training ground is the field, their free time is squeezed out.

"Psychological counselors, that will only make them more stressed. I heard that many companies now put pool tables or ping-pong tables in their offices to relieve employees' stress. Maybe we can follow suit?"

"It's not very suitable," Stevens shook his head. "They are professional athletes, and they are different from white-collar workers. They are exercising every day, and changing to another type of exercise may not be effective."

That's when Stevens and Turner found out that Link and Conley were shooting. During the training interval, it is a way for the players to relax.

Seeing Link and Conley having fun, Stevens changed his mind.

Maybe, a different kind of exercise can really help.

※※※

On March 18, after two consecutive back-to-back road trips, the Grizzlies finally returned to the FedEx Arena.

Back at home, the enthusiasm of the fans is naturally very high. In the stands, many people held up signs such as "Break the record".

There is no doubt that the local Memphis fans are also very hopeful that their home team can break a league record.

Before Link joined the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies had the best record in the 0304 season. That year, the Grizzlies won 50 games.

50 wins, that's great enough for the Grizzlies. But for most NBA teams, 50 wins in a season is simply not worth mentioning.

This year, the Grizzlies finally have the opportunity to make history, and fans naturally don't want to miss it.

The players are also in good shape today. Faced with the Timberwolves, who have only won 23 games this season, the Grizzlies have no mercy.

The first quarter was okay, the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves 22-20, as if it was going to be another frantic game.

By the second quarter, it was 23-19. The Timberwolves began to feel that something was wrong, and the Grizzlies seemed to have "warmed up."

In the third quarter, the Grizzlies no longer made any cover up. 29 to 14 in a single quarter, the Grizzlies completely tore the Timberwolves apart.

In the third quarter, the Grizzlies limited the Timberwolves to only 4 of 21 shots. That's right, they made 4 shots in the first quarter, which is simply inhumane. Link scored 8 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds in a single quarter in the third quarter.

In the end, the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves 98-77 at home. Link scored 22 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in three quarters. The Grizzlies scored 55 wins and 10 losses, moving one step closer to the league record.

After the game, everyone went back to the locker room talking and laughing. Stevens stood in front of the tactical whiteboard, also smiling.

After everyone came back, the young marshal clapped his hands, indicating that he was about to speak.

Everyone went quiet immediately, and at the beginning of the season, someone said that Stevens, too young, couldn't hold back the Grizzlies' locker room.

But all season, Stevens and everyone get along very well. Grizzlies players are not "afraid" of him, but "willing" to cooperate with him.

That's what makes Stevens unique.

"Guys, congratulations, another big win! Okay, I'll stop talking nonsense. I know you've been exhausted lately. So I think we'll have a different training tomorrow."

Stevens said this, the players are interested, including Link.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him with anticipation, Stevens continued, "In tomorrow's training, let's play table tennis instead of basketball."

The players looked at each other one by one, playing table tennis? what the hell!

"No one can beat Link in table tennis." Randolph complained, causing everyone to laugh.

Link shook his head. It seems that the perception that Chinese people can play table tennis is as deeply rooted in people's minds as Americans can play basketball. Although he is only Chinese, he is still automatically classified into the category of "playing table tennis".

"No, we're playing ping pong tomorrow, and even Link must have never played it before. Elston, get your stuff in and out!"

As soon as Stevens clapped his hands, assistant coach Elston Turner brought in a ping pong bat from outside the locker room door.

This table tennis racket is not an ordinary table tennis racket, it is half the size of a person! It's funny to hold it in your hand.

The ping pong balls Turner brought in were as big as basketballs. Looking at the enlarged version of this set of table tennis balls, the players were dumbfounded.

"How? Are you interested?"

Seeing everyone's excited eyes, Stevens' smile gradually became smug.

The Grizzlies guys, they're all mavericks. To make them happy, they can only use some maverick ways.