Chapter 848: The Old Man’s Desire for Revenge Is Too Strong

Latest website: The search for a center in the free agent market is not going smoothly. After all, there are currently very few center players who can gain a foothold in the NBA.

As the general manager of a defending champion team, Chris Wallace will naturally not improvise. He has long prepared a variety of candidate lists just to deal with the current situation.

But the alternative list of inside players is quite embarrassing.

Among the players registered in the NBA this season, there are only 22 centers with less than 4 years of playing experience, which cannot even be filled by 30 teams.

For comparison, there are 84 defenders and 69 forwards.

What the Grizzlies need most now is a center who can protect the Grizzlies' penalty area after Gasol comes off the court.

When Randolph was here, Gasol didn't have to be a father and a mother at the same time, so the energy consumption wasn't so great. Besides, Randolph can occasionally fill the fifth position, so the burden on Ezeli is not that heavy.

He just needs to make no mistakes in the few minutes he plays, and he has completed his mission.

In situations where the requirements are not high, Ezeli is completely sufficient.

But now that Randolph is injured and Gasol's consumption has increased, Ezeli must shoulder greater responsibilities. The Grizzlies' requirements for him are no longer as simple as "not making mistakes."

But it turns out that Ezeli is not ready for this yet.

It's not like the Grizzlies didn't think about strengthening their center in the summer, but just like now, they really don't have a suitable target.

It would be a waste for someone who is the main center of another team to come to the Grizzlies as a substitute. A one-size-fits-all center that people won't let go of easily. Therefore, the Grizzlies can only target centers who are still young and whose potential has not been discovered.

Jokic is one of them, but with his current abilities, he won't be able to help even if he comes.

Chris Wallace is very embarrassed when he looks at the centers that are turning over in the free agent market.

If you can sign any center, you won't be unable to find one. But if the signed players are not strong enough, it is equivalent to not signing them.

Firefighters are those who need to immediately change the team's predicament. If you can't do that, what's the point of signing?

Thinking of this,

Chris Wallace crossed out Thabeet, who was once the Grizzlies' second overall pick and is now playing in the G League, from his candidate list.

The second overall pick returns to his old spot, finally realizing his talent after many years and helping the team out of trouble... What a perfect script.

But Wallace knew that was impossible. Thabeet is struggling to play in the Development League now. It is impossible for him to suddenly break out after arriving in the NBA.

After excluding Thabeet, Wallace instantly lost his target.

Chris Wallace feels like his hair is about to fall out because of this. Finding a center is a problem for all teams at the moment.

But Wallace doesn't have time to look for it slowly, because the NBA regular season schedule doesn't wait for anyone.

After the game with the Kings, the Grizzlies played several more games. Although the record did not take a turn for the worse, it did remind Wallace of the seriousness of the matter.

No. 15 played against the Pistons, and the Grizzlies won 95-88. But Drummond grabbed an astonishing 22 rebounds in the entire game, including 9 offensive rebounds. This was undoubtedly a humiliation to the Grizzlies inside.

Fortunately for Wallace, Drummond has no ability to attack independently. Although he got 22 rebounds, he only scored 6 points.

Gasol can always prevent Drummond's second attack after he grabs an offensive rebound.

If they had replaced a center with a slightly more reliable offense, the Grizzlies would probably have been upset.

On the 17th, against the Timberwolves, Montenegro center Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 11 rebounds, another double-double.

Fortunately, the Timberwolves are rebuilding the team, and Wiggins is working crazy from outside the three-point line. The Grizzlies have won two consecutive games.

But in the away game against the Raptors on the 19th, the Grizzlies were not so lucky. Although the Raptors did not have a strong center in this game, the impact of Lowry, DeRozan and Lou Williams put Gasol into foul trouble early.

Without the inside protection of Gasol, the Raptors' three outside players have become even more unscrupulous.

In the end, DeRozan, Lowry and Lou Williams scored 61 points together, causing the Grizzlies to lose by 4 points.

In this game, the Raptors undoubtedly provided new ideas to other teams in the league.

If you want to take down the Grizzlies, you don't necessarily have to have a strong inside line. You can use the outside to paralyze Gasol, and that's also a way.

After this game, the Grizzlies still led the league with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. But during the same period last year, the Grizzlies won 12 games!

At this critical moment, the San Antonio Spurs slaughtered the Timberwolves with a score of 121 to 92.

Among them, Duncan scored a game-high 28 points, and Leonard prevented the Timberwolves from shooting more than 40% from the outside.

The Spurs' two forwards, one big and one small, prove their strength.

Unfortunately, in the next game, the Grizzlies' opponent is the Spurs who are in great shape!

After slaughtering the Timberwolves, Popovich was in a good mood when being interviewed by reporters, "Tim will never grow old. You also saw how he defeated Pekovic. As long as he wants, he can become a superstar." data."

Although Popovich did not name him, everyone knew that he was warning the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies' weak inside line will become Duncan's playground!

The next day, the topic that the Grizzlies were about to lose consecutive games for the first time in a year was all over social media.

Last season, the Grizzlies, who won 74 wins, didn't know what it felt like to lose in a row all season long.

But this year, people believe that the Spurs can break this record.

"Leonard blocked Link, and Duncan hit the inside again. Tell me, how can the Grizzlies win?"

"Even if Kawhi fails to defend Link, the Spurs still have the inside advantage. I am optimistic about the Spurs, they will not lose again this time."

"The Memphis Grizzlies are indeed falling from the altar. Their dominance can no longer be compared with last season. Let's see, this losing streak will be the beginning of their collapse."

Popovich, who was sitting on the team bus heading to his hotel, looked at the reports on the Internet and was in a good mood. "It's really rare. This time, people are more optimistic about us."

"What do you think? Do we really have that big advantage?" Beside Popovich, Becky Hammon, the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history, asked.

After Hammon retired as a player this summer, he immediately joined the Spurs coaching staff and led the team to an outstanding performance in the summer league. Subsequently, he signed a long-term contract with the Spurs.

Tomorrow will be the first time this WNBA star will play against an NBA champion.

"You know, I have never been a person who underestimated the enemy, Becky. It is stupid to underestimate the enemy, and I never do that. But this time we are not underestimate the enemy, but are really stronger than the opponent! Some time ago, the whole world was discussing Lin K. Hahahaha, just watch, after the game ends the night after tomorrow, Link will be forgotten."

Popovich smiled very happily. He had been waiting for the collapse of the Memphis dynasty for several years.

The old man was more than willing to be the final straw for the grizzly bear.

After Link updated the latest roster for the NBA 2K15 game, he found that the Grizzlies' overall rating dropped from 98 to 91...

From the team with the highest overall rating, it dropped to fifth.

Although this is just a game, it has to be said that this does reflect the Grizzlies' recent predicament.

The injuries to Randolph and Iguodala have had a far more profound impact than Link expected.

Looking at the Grizzlies' roster, 2K gave Ezeli a rating of only 69. Duncan's evaluation is 90...

You know, in the 2K15 game, there are only five players with ability values ​​above 90, including Link. And 38-year-old Dengtou is actually one of them.

The best player in the league faced off against a backup center with a 69 rating. Link felt a headache just thinking about it.

No, the gap between Ezeli and Duncan in reality may be wider than in the game.

In the game the day after tomorrow, Link must focus on fighting Leonard and has no energy to spare to help the inside.

Thinking of this, Link felt helpless. We can only hope that Gasol can hold on for a little longer.

At this moment, Link's cell phone suddenly rang. On the caller ID, it was Chris Wallace's name.

"Chris, do you have any good news?" Link knew that Wallace's call to him must be about "firefighters". So, I asked straight to the point.

"It's good news. We just signed a free agent and we have a new center. I just don't know if he can play the role of a firefighter." Wallace's voice was very tired. Lots of work to do.

Especially with the game against the Spurs coming up, Wallace can't put it off any longer. He is probably staying up late working these days.

"So, what's the name of my new teammate?" Link asked casually, but he didn't really have high expectations. Good centers are as scarce as dinosaur fossils in this era. They are so easy to find.

"His name is Hassan Whiteside. I know you don't know him, but at least let him try. If it doesn't work, let's try someone else."

After hearing what Wallace said, Link slapped his head hard.

He actually forgot about him.