Five Hundred and Forty: Settlement After Autumn

At the end of the game, James Harden got up and walked to the player tunnel.

This is the first time he has led the team to the playoffs as a core player, but this first experience has made Harden unbearable.

11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers. James Harden's data today is far from the average data in the regular season.

Link missed the garbage time, but against Tony Allen and Jimmy Butler, Harden only scored 2 points.

Either way, the score was in double figures. But Harden's performance is certainly not what fans want to see.

Harden originally had a lot of vision for this game, after all, he is someone who has played in the Finals. After all, last year, it was his heroic performance that helped the Thunder stand opposite the Heat.

He also thought that he might be able to become famous in this round of the series.

But playing the playoffs as a sixth man is a completely different concept than playing as a core, and you don't know what the playoffs are until you have to go head-to-head with the best defensive player on the floor.

Harden faced not only the Grizzlies' best defender, but also the Grizzlies' worst defender.

121 to 98, with a score difference of 23 points, the Rockets suffered a fiasco. This year's No. 1 in the West and No. 8 in the West are simply worlds apart.

After Harden avoided reporters and walked into the player tunnel, he silently settled the account. He only scored 11 points today, and he wanted to match Link's 43 points, but there was still a gap of 32 points!

In the next game, can he score 32 points? Harden really can't guarantee that. Today's game has made Harden see clearly what the Grizzlies' defense is when it is at its extreme. On Link's head, it is thankful that he can score 20 points.

32 points? That seems like an unattainable number.

Therefore, even if Link gives Harden another chance, Harden is likely to be unable to catch up with Link in scoring.

The score of the two games is not as good as one... Thinking of this, Harden is even more lonely.

At the postgame press conference, Harden was listless. In fact, he was very well prepared for this game, and he endured not going to the nightclub for two days!

You know, Harden didn't forget to go to the nightclub during the season finals. But this year, in order to play this first round well, Harden,

But forcibly held back.

However, Harden's efforts proved to be in vain. If you can beat the Grizzlies just by not going to the club, the Grizzlies won't be the No. 1 team in the league, and they won't be a 70-win team.

McHale was obviously disappointed by the result, but in order to appease the players and fans, McHale made a reassurance.

"We try to win at home, the playoffs are not a one-off game. It's not over yet, we still have a chance."

However, the media did not buy McHale's words. The next day, in a TV show, the host commented on McHale's speech.

"When coach Kevin McHale said those words, he probably didn't believe it himself. The gap between the two teams was 23 points, and Link scored 43 points like a melon and chopped vegetables! This kind of gap is not It can be filled by playing at home!"

The Rockets have only played one game, and they have already been included in the "elimination to be determined" list. Link, with 43 points and a double-double, was also selected by ESPN as the best player in Game 1 of the first round.

Now, the world is waiting for the Grizzlies to kill the Rockets sooner rather than later. This round of the series has lost its appeal to fans.

Just two years ago, the Grizzlies were still trying to get their first playoff win. But now, the Grizzlies have been disdain to waste time in the first round.

The playoffs are fast-paced and don't give people a break at all. Just two days later, the second game between the Grizzlies and the Rockets officially kicked off.

Although it's a shame to use two games to chase someone else's score in one game, Harden decided to give it a try. He thinks he has adapted to the intensity of the playoffs, and this game will at least not be guarded as badly as the last one. .

However, the result of the game was very different from what Harden thought. Beard found that it was not a problem of adaptability, but a problem of hard power!

Under Link's defense, you can only get so many points!

In this game, Harden's performance has improved, with 15 points and 6 assists, and a shooting percentage of 44.6%, which is quite satisfactory.

However, that was more than double Harden's goal of 32 points.

As for Link, today he was not as violent as the last game, but he was still merciless. At the end of the third quarter, Link had already scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Throughout the fourth quarter, Link did not play again. But even so, his numbers were enough to make him the best of the game.

106 to 91, the Rockets scored even 5 points less than the previous game. FedEx Arena lost one game after an entire season. The Rockets want to win here, the odds are naturally slim.

To make matters worse, Jeremy Lin also injured his shoulder in this game, and it has become a mystery whether he can play in the next game. Although Jeremy Lin, who played in the playoffs for the first time, played badly in these two games, at least he would not panic and could organize the offense calmly.

When Jeremy Lin is injured, the Rockets will only have Beverley, the second-round point guard. For the Rockets, even if they are about to return to the home court, there is no hope.

After Game 2 of the series, Link said he was already watching the video of the Nuggets and Clippers games.

If other players were so crazy, they would definitely be bombarded by reporters. Just like McGrady back then, he said, "I'm already thinking about the next round of opponents", which became the biggest black spot in his career.

But Link said that, but the reporters felt that it was completely reasonable.

Is it possible for Link to slap himself in the face? To borrow a phrase from Charles Barkley, "There are many possibilities in this world, but it is impossible for the Rockets to beat the Grizzlies."

※※※

April 27, 2013, Game 3 of the series. Since 2009, the Rockets have finally ushered in the playoffs at home.

But at the scene, the Rockets fans were not in high spirits. Everyone is neither wearing a uniform red T-shirt nor creating a warm enough home atmosphere.

The first two games were beaten by others, and the Rockets fans really had no confidence in this game.

Rockets general manager Darrell Morey sat in the luxury box, very serious. At this time, his boss Leslie Alexander was sitting next to Morey.

Alexander's expressionless face made Morey even more nervous. He knew that Alexander wouldn't ask him to watch games with him for no reason. Unless, there is something to discuss.

However, before the game started, the two did not say anything. In this way, the third matchup between the Rockets and the Grizzlies started at the Toyota Center.

Without Jeremy Lin, the Rockets' offense was a mess. Although Beverley was a second-round pick in 2009, he did not start his rookie year in the NBA until this year because he had been wandering in Europe.

He is more than fierce, but his experience is limited. Especially in the playoffs, Beverley simply wasn't ready to take charge.

On the Grizzlies' side, it's still invincible. Link played very vigorously, scoring 18 points in the first half, and the Rockets' defense was useless in front of him.

Reggie Miller, who was explaining the game, yelled more than once, "Toyota Center is being destroyed by Link, what the Rockets have to do at least!"

At halftime, the Rockets trailed by 14 points. As far as this situation is concerned, it is unlikely that the Rockets want to hold the home court.

Just as the cheerleaders came out, Alexander, who had been silent, spoke.

"Link is such a terrible player, he also happens to be yellow, which reminds me of Yao."

"Um..." Morey didn't know what Alexander meant, so he could only nod in agreement.

"And this terrible player used to wear a Rockets jersey. But unfortunately, he only played in Houston for 10 days. If he stayed, we would not be in this situation now." Alexander finished, looking at Morey, "I don't think the reason Link left was because Houston didn't have a subway."

"Lelis, when I..."

"Look at the two championship pennants on the dome, look at them, that is the last glory of the Rockets and Olajuwon. When Yao was drafted, we all thought the Rockets were going to usher in a second Olajuwon. As a result, until now, 20 years later, we still only have those two pennants. We had good players, we had the opportunity to come back, but we missed it. Not only did we miss it, but we went back and angered him ." Alexander grabbed the right to speak before Morey finished speaking.

There is no doubt that he was very disappointed with Morey's decision to let Link go in the first place. Although it has been three years, but in the current context, Alexander began to settle accounts after the autumn.

Morey didn't speak any more. He knew very well why Link was so reluctant every time he played the Rockets. He knew it, and Alexander knew it too.

"Darrell, after this season is over, submit your resignation yourself. Thank you for your contribution to the Rockets, but it's time for us to make a change."

After Alexander finished speaking, the second half of the game officially started.

But for Morey, he no longer has a second half.