Nine Hundred and Twelve: The Bearded Man Is Going to Get Serious

When the game entered the fourth quarter, one-third of the stands in the Moda Center were already empty.

All Portland fans were expecting a big win and their losing streak would end.

But now, all their wishes have come true.

On the court, both sides are already playing with full substitute lineups.

There were three minutes left in the game, but the point difference was widened to 25 points. There is no doubt that the game has entered garbage time.

Not only did the Blazers not win, they couldn't even give the fans a close game.

Throughout the game, the Trail Blazers did not have the upper hand for even a minute. After being given a strong start by the Grizzlies, they seemed to have lost their soul. In the next three quarters, no decent counterattack was organized.

When the Trail Blazers were closest to equalizing the score, they were only 4 points away.

However, under the joint offensive of Link and Randolph, the score difference was quickly widened again.

The Trail Blazers were chasing points from the first second of the game today, but no matter how they chased them, they couldn't catch up.

With only three minutes left in the game, the Blazers finally gave up chasing.

The scene was so lifeless that even Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts simply sat on the bench with his legs crossed.

No one knows what the expressionless Stotts is thinking, but everyone believes that Stotts must be very doubtful about life now.

Yes, the Trail Blazers are now third in the Western Conference.

But sometimes, the gap between third and first is so huge.

The live camera moved away from Stotts' face and turned to Zach Randolph.

Randolph leaned back in his chair easily, with a smile on his face. His happy expression was in sharp contrast to Stotts.

At the bottom of the TV screen, Randolph's statistics for tonight were displayed.

He made 7 of 13 shots and efficiently scored a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Under Randolph's data, the director also very "intimately" put Aldridge's data together for comparison.

14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers, with a shooting percentage of only 39.6%, less than 40%.

There is no doubt that this was one of Aldridge's worst games of the season.

You can even remove one of them.

Aldridge was completely intimidated when facing Randolph who was in great shape.

Throughout the second half, Aldridge didn't take many active shots. He always wondered whether Randolph would suddenly interfere, whether Randolph would suddenly cut the ball... He always worried too much and did not choose to directly confront Randolph.

Before the game, Aldridge completely failed to realize the advantage in the fourth position that fans and reporters were looking forward to.

So starting from the second half, more shots fell into the hands of Damian Lillard.

However, young Lillard did not make the Trail Blazers' situation much better. Under Conley's steady defense, Lillard instantly transformed into a medieval blacksmith.

Even the on-site staff were worried whether Lillard would smash the basket crookedly.

In the whole game, Lillard took as many as 26 shots, but only hit 9 of them!

36.4%, this is Lillard's shooting percentage today. His high number of shots resulted in a high score of 23 points.

But high scoring based on a 36.4% shooting rate is of no practical use.

Apart from Lillard and Aldridge, the Trail Blazers have no player in double figures.

Kaman made 2 of 9, Batum made 1 of 6, and C.J. McCollum had no chance to shoot.

Such a pioneer would naturally have no way to compete with the Grizzlies.

Link, who was sitting on the bench, yawned. He didn't expect that this game against the third seed in the Western Conference would be so boring.

He easily scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists today. Nicolas Batum was no match for him.

In a game, if a certain position of a team is completely beaten by the opponent, it will undoubtedly cause the entire team to be very passive.

What's more, the Trail Blazers exploded five times today...

"It's all your fault, Zach. You have to be responsible for the ratings of this game that have plummeted. People came to see Aldridge beat you, not to see you beat Aldridge."

Link stretched, he hadn't played in a while.

"I'm sorry to say that I saw that you were quite happy playing just now. Now, we are going to let a bunch of reporters down again. You tell us what to do."

Naturally, Randolph didn't let Link go. It wasn't his "fault" that the game ended like this.

Old Carter, who was sitting between Link and Randolph, was speechless. If reporters and fans heard the conversation between them, they would be furious.

At this moment, the electronic buzzer of the end of the game pierced the silent air.

This buzzer sound was like a signal. As soon as it sounded, fierce boos burst out from the scene.

Although only about two-thirds of the fans were left in the Moda Center at this time, their boos were still deafening.

Link shook his head. He believed that these boos were not sent to the Grizzlies, but to the Trail Blazers from the home fans.

Their performance today was really disappointing.

Aldridge did not perform as expected, and the Trail Blazers experienced three consecutive losses. The Trail Blazers lost seven of the last eight games against the Grizzlies...

All of these factors combined made it really unbearable for Trail Blazers fans.

After the game, Terry Stotts and his players walked quickly back to the locker room, not intending to stay at the scene any longer.

They took the initiative to give up their home court and let the Grizzlies players celebrate on it.

It was like a group of deserters who had abandoned the city, extremely embarrassed.

Link and Randolph have naturally become the two most popular among reporters. They have been absent from interviews for a long time, and reporters can finally ask questions that they have been holding back.

"Zach, can you talk about what happened in this game? You were controlling Aldridge the whole game. Is this related to Link? Were you fighting with him? Or, were you trying to Prove that you are still valuable to the team?"

The ESPN reporter asked several questions at once. Randolph listened carefully and then showed his white teeth.

"Isn't it normal for me to be able to control Aldridge? Fight with Link? Why should I fight with him? I know there have been some rumors recently. But to be honest, guys, you can't just follow what others say. What do you believe? Spreading rumors is one of the cheapest things in the world, as long as the audience is stupid enough."

Randolph was in a cheerful mood, completely different from the previous few days.

On the other side, when facing the reporter's camera, Link confessed to his "facts of crime".

"Conflict? No, no, no, that's just a little game that Zach and I played. We agreed to attack each other like enemies during the game, and whoever gets angry first loses. The result is obvious, we didn't lose, the Blazers lost. .”

Seeing the reporter's disbelieving expression, Link smiled with satisfaction.

Surprised? Accident is right! The media always thinks that they can dominate everything. This time, Link and Randolph undoubtedly taught the media a lesson.

They are only responsible for reporting, it is the players who really decide the direction of things!

After Link and Randolph finished their interviews, they walked into the player tunnel arm in arm, leaving the reporters standing there stunned, looking at each other.

No Grizzlies defeated, no Aldridge super play, no conflicts, no trades...

So what else can they report? Reporting that everyone was fooled by Link and Randolph, do you admit that your IQ is worrying?

Link and Randolph don't care about this. They don't care if reporters can take away the news. Anyway, they succeeded in taking away a victory.

While winning six consecutive games, they also gave the Trail Blazers three consecutive losses and deflated all those who looked down on the Grizzlies.

It's simply killing multiple birds with one stone.

On the same day, the Houston Rockets also won a big victory at home.

Harden faced his old team, the Thunder, and scored a near-triple-double with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists with a super high shooting rate of 60%.

And this is Harden's third consecutive game in January with 30+ points!

Throughout January, the Grizzlies were winning consecutive games. But Link's data doesn't seem to be as explosive as the previous two months.

Harden, who missed out on the Best of the Month award in December, was holding his breath. He is bound to get the Best of the Month honor for the first time in his career this season.

Therefore, Harden played harder in January and his statistics were even better.

He still doesn't believe that he will miss this award every time.

The competition for Western Conference Player of the Month seems to be getting fierce again.

High-speed hand-typing of reverse growth superstar chapter list