: Five Hundred and Forty: After Autumn

At the end of the game, James Harden got up and walked towards the player tunnel.
This is the first time he has led the playoffs as a core player, but this first experience made Harden feel painful.
With 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers, James Harden's statistics today are far from the regular season averages.
Link did not play in garbage time, but Harden only scored 2 points in the face of Tony Allen and Jimmy Butler.
In any case, the score is in double figures. But Harden's performance is certainly not what fans want to see.
Harden originally had a lot of visions for this game, after all, he was the one who played in the finals. After all, last year, it was his bravery 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 the sixth man is a completely different concept than playing the playoffs as the core. You only know what the playoffs are all about when you have to face the best defensive player.
Harden confronted not only the Grizzlies' best defensive player, but also the Grizzlies' most broken defensive player.
121 to 98, 23 points difference, the Rockets lost miserably. The first place in the west and the eighth place in the west this year are simply huge differences.
Harden silently settled the accounts after avoiding the reporter and walking into the player tunnel. Today he only scored 11 points. He wants to tie Link's 43 points, but there is still a gap of 32 points!
Can he score 32 points in the next game? Harden can't guarantee it. Today's game has given Harden a clear idea of ​​what the Grizzlies defensively is when it comes to the ultimate. For Link, he can score 20 points thankfully.
32 points? This seems to be an unattainable number.
Therefore, even if Link gives Harden another chance to play, Harden may not be able to catch up with Link in scoring.
The scores of the two games are no better than one... Thinking of this, Harden is even more lonely.
At the press conference after the game, Harden was listless. He was actually very well prepared for this game, and he has not gone to the nightclub for two days!
You know, Harden didn't forget to go to the nightclub during the finals last season. But this year, Harden forcibly held back in order to be able to play the first round.
However, it turns out that Harden's efforts are in vain. If you can beat the Grizzlies without going to a nightclub, the Grizzlies won't be the number one in the league and won't be a 70-win team.
McHale was obviously disappointed by this result, but in order to appease the players and fans, McHale made a promise.
"We strive to win at home. The playoffs are not a set game. Everything is not over yet, we still have a chance."
However, the media did not buy into McHale's words. The next day, in a TV program, the host commented on McHale's speech.
"When Coach Kevin McHale said those things, he probably didn't even believe him. The gap between the two teams was 23 points, and Link scored 43 points as if they were cutting melons and vegetables! This gap is not. You can fill it out at home!"
The Rockets only played one game, and they have been included in the "elimination pending" list. And Link was selected by ESPN as the best player in the first round of the first round by virtue of his 43-point double-double.
Now, the whole world is waiting for the Grizzlies to kill the Rockets as soon as possible. This round of the series has lost its appeal to fans.
Only two years ago, the Grizzlies were still working hard for their first playoff victory. But now, the Grizzlies disdain to waste time in the first round.
The tempo of the playoffs is very fast, and there is no breathing time at all. Just two days later, the second game of the Grizzlies and Rockets officially started.
Although it is very shameful to chase someone else's score in two games, 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 quite different from Harden's thoughts. The beard found that this was not a problem of adaptability, but a problem of hard power!
Under Link's defense, you can only get so few points!
Harden's performance in this game has improved, 15 points and 6 assists, shooting 44.6%, which is considered quite satisfactory.
However, this is 32 points from Harden's goal, which is more than double.
As for Link, he was not as irritable as he was in the last one today, but he is still ruthless. 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 data is enough to make him rated as the best in the game.
106 to 91, the Rockets scored even 5 points less than the previous game. Federal Express Arena lost a game after the entire season. The Rockets want to win here, and the odds are naturally slim.
To make matters worse, Jeremy Lin suffered a shoulder injury in this game, and whether he can play in the next game has become a mystery. Although Jeremy Lin, who played for the first time in the playoffs, played poorly in both games, he at least won't panic and can calmly organize the offense.
When Jeremy Lin was injured, the Rockets were left with Beverly, the second-round point guard. For the Rockets, even if they are about to return to home, there is no hope.
After the second game of the series, Link said that he was already watching the Nuggets and Clippers game video.
If other players are so crazy, they will definitely be bombarded by reporters. Just like McGrady back then, his sentence "I'm already considering the next round of opponents" has become the biggest black spot in his career.
But when Link said so, the reporters felt that it made sense.
Is it possible for Link to slap himself? To borrow a quote from Charles Barkley, "There are many possibilities in this world, but it is impossible for the Rockets to defeat the Grizzlies."
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On April 27, 2013, the third game of the series. Since 2009, the Rockets finally ushered in the playoffs at home.
But at the scene, the mood of the Rockets fans was not high. Everyone did not wear a uniform red T-shirt, nor did they create a warm enough home atmosphere.
The first two games have been beaten into pigs by others, this Rockets fans really do not have confidence.
Rockets general manager Darrell Morey sat in the luxurious box, very serious. At this time, his boss Leslie Alexander was sitting next to Morey.
Alexander was expressionless, which made Morey more nervous. He knew that Alexander would not ask himself to watch the game together for no reason. Unless, there is something to discuss.
However, before the game started, the two said nothing. In this way, the third matchup between the Rockets and the Grizzlies started at Toyota Center.
Without Jeremy Lin, the Rockets' offense was a mess. Although Beverly was a second-round pick in 2009, he has been roaming in Europe and didn't start his rookie year in the NBA until this year.
He is more than fierce, but has limited experience. Especially in the playoffs, Beverly is not ready to be the master at all.
On the Grizzlies' side, it's still all right. Link played very vigorously and scored 18 points in the first half. The Rockets' defense was useless in front of him.
Reggie Miller, who explained the game, yelled more than once, "The Toyota Center is being destroyed by Link, what the Rockets have to do at least!"
At halftime, the Rockets trailed by 14 points. From the perspective of this situation, it is unlikely that the Rockets want to defend the home court.
As the cheerleaders came out, Alexander spoke in silence.
"Link is really a terrible player. He happens to have yellow skin, which reminds me of Yao."
"Hmm..." Morey didn't know what Alexander meant, so he nodded in agreement.
"And this terrible player used to wear the Rockets jersey. But unfortunately, he only played in Houston for 10 days. If he stays, we are not in this position now." Alexander finished and looked towards Morey, "I think the reason for Link's departure is not because Houston doesn't have a subway."
"Lelis, I was..."
"Look at the two championship pennants on the dome~EbookFREE.me~Look at them, that is the last glory of the Rockets and Olajuwon. When Yao was drafted, we all thought the Rockets would have a second Olajuwon. As a result, until now, twenty years have passed, we still have only those two pennants. We had good players, we had the opportunity to come again, but we actually missed it. Not only did we miss it, we actually missed it. I have to turn my head back to anger him." Alexander did not wait for Morey to finish, and then grabbed the right to speak strongly.
There is no doubt that he was very disappointed in Morey's way of letting Link go. Although it has been three years, but in the current background, Alexander began to settle accounts.
Morey didn't speak any more, he knew very well why Link was so spared every time he played the Rockets. He knew that Alexander knew it too.
"Darrell, after this season, you 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 began.
But for Morey, he no longer has the second half.