ESPN writes forward-looking articles to each team every season, which is a tradition in every season. And their articles are usually very professional and very convincing.

But this preview about the Grizzlies has aroused great doubts from Memphis fans. A team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season made such a big change this summer, but only got a C+ score!?

This is simply incredible!

However, John Hollinger, the author of this article, said, "My rating is absolutely not mixed with any personal emotions, it is absolutely objective and fair. Perhaps Memphis fans believe that the Grizzlies' reinforcement this summer can make the Grizzlies go a step further, but it is very likely that their changes will make the team decline further. Iguodala is not necessarily suitable for the Grizzlies, and Stevens may not be able to play well in the NBA, Nick Young and Azeli? They may not even be able to enter a stable rotation!"

Hollinger had no intention of regret and still insisted on his point of view. This undoubtedly made local Memphis fans even more angry.

But no matter how angry it is, it is useless. You can't go to the door of someone else and beat others up. The only way is to show a performance that is enough to prove your strength in the new season.

The strong smell of gunpowder in the new season of NBA has already spread in Memphis.

At the same time, in the Grizzlies, players were also angry at the forward article. After all, who wants to be looked down upon?

But fortunately, Stevens was not blinded by anger, but turned anger into strength and squandered sweat in the training hall.

In a week, under strict dietary control and high-intensity training, most of the players' body sizes have returned to their original state.

A week later, Stevens began to arrange tactical training. People outside were worried that Stevens would completely revise the Grizzlies' system, causing the Grizzlies to decline seriously.

However, Stevens did not completely abolish Hollins' system, but added some of his own to the original system.

First of all, Stevens did not make much change in the lineup. The only change was that Iguodala would take over and replace Tony Allen.

Next season, the Grizzlies will be held by Conley, Iguodala, Link and the Black and White bears. Link and Iguodala's positions are uncertain. Depending on the opponent, the two will freely switch between the third and second positions.

The tactical drill went very smoothly because Stevens did not forcefully change everyone's playing habits.

For example, Iguodala doesn't have to act as an attacker now, and he won't force Conley to score. Link can now concentrate on attacking because there are people who help him with the organization and defense.

As for the substitute, the Grizzlies players found that everyone had a chance. Stevens had no prejudice against anyone, and he was willing to let everyone play and try it.

"Every player has his own value, so everyone has a chance to play." This is Stevens's original words.

Standing by the office window and looking down, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera was very satisfied with the team's condition.

"It seems that Stevens gets along very well with everyone."

"Stevens is a good coach. He knows that the best way to win the trust of players is to make them play comfortably in the game. Judging from the effectiveness of the confrontational training, the team's offense has become smoother without the defense regression. And you know, Stevens is a very good on-the-spot commander. His ato efficiency is very high, which helps a lot in key battles." Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace is also very satisfied with the Grizzlies' condition. He believes that his and Pera's efforts this summer will not be in vain.

"ato?" After hearing Wallace finish speaking, Pera frowned and was confused.

"ato is the abbreviation of the word 'after pause', which refers to the coach's ability to help the team achieve key scores through tactical arrangements during pauses. Stevens is a genius in this area. He has formulated countless wonderful tactics at critical moments in college. Last season, we lost to the Thunder, and basically failed in a few critical rounds and unfortunately lost. But this year, you won't see this situation again."

"Is that true? I hope so. By the way, the team is about to start playing preseason, right? Then, I want to see how that guy named Hollinger will end." The young Robert Pera smirked, and he was already starting to feel the fun of having an NBA team.

In mid-October, the NBA preseason started. Now, the preseason is not just a game that allows the team to integrate the lineup, but has become a powerful tool for the league to make money. Various overseas competitions are emerging one after another, and competitions between NBA teams and other basketball league teams are frequently staged.

But the Grizzlies obviously do not have such good treatment. Although Link is very popular in China, the brand value of the Grizzlies team is not high enough. So this year, the Grizzlies can only play preseason games in the United States.

The Grizzlies' opponents in the preseason this year are not weak, and they will play against four teams, namely the Bulls, Jazz, Pacers and Heat.

Among them, the Bulls and the Heat are both teams at the dominant level in the Eastern Conference. Although the Bulls do not have Rose, their foundation is still there and their strength is still strong.

Not to mention the Heat, as the defending champion last season, fans think whoever meets the Heat will die.

As a result, the Grizzlies have never performed well in the preseason, but this time they actually scored a four-game winning streak in the preseason!

The last game beat the Heat by 10 points, which made the entire Memphis city crazy!

"It can be seen that the Grizzlies have made great progress, from individual to overall, and have improved! Gasol Jr.'s defense is even more experienced. He is now the Grizzlies' well-deserved patron saint. Randolph recovers very well. He plays four games in the preseason and scores 20 in three games! Link and Iguodala are very tacitly understanding. Their defense replacement makes the Grizzlies' wings indestructible, and their beautiful passes make the opponent unable to defend! In addition, Conley has become more experienced this year. He has made progress every year, and this year is no exception!"

Hubby Brown's evaluation of the Grizzlies was very high after four games. It can be seen that Stevens has a perfect control over the team. Under his command, everyone of the Grizzlies can play their value.

Link was not as stagnant as the media said. When facing LeBron James, Link was more and more at ease. Although James only played for 15 minutes in this game, this still could not hide Link's light. James was forced to force his move several times, which was very difficult.

After winning all four games, another reporter found Hollinger and asked him if he made a wrong prediction. This time, Hollinger said, "Everyone knows that preseason victory can't represent anything. When playing the Bulls, the Bulls don't have Rose. When playing the Jazz and Pacers, they are just honing their lineup. When playing the Heat, the three giants have no more than 15 minutes of playing time. If the Grizzlies win them, can they really prove that they are strong?"

Meanwhile, a few days before the regular season started, another explosive trade appeared in the league.

On October 28, the Houston Rockets sent Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and future draft picks, and obtained the sixth man of the season from the Thunder trade to last season's sixth man James Harden, Cole Aldridge, DeQueen Cook and Laza Hayward.

It is said that because Harden performed poorly in the finals last season, the Thunder took the opportunity to reduce the price in renewing his contract. After all, the Thunder is not a big team and cannot pay an excessive salary. Harden thought he could get a bigger contract, so he refused to renew his contract with the Thunder in advance.

In the end, the two sides broke up in an unhappy way.

When Harden was destined to stay for another year, Thunder general manager Presti had to trade Harden out in order to stop the loss in time. At the last moment, Harden exchanged for the Thunder for several players.

In this way, the Rockets finally found the core of their dream team building. Since Yao Ming retired, the Rockets' long reconstruction has finally achieved initial results.

An explosion occurred a few days before the start of the new season, and it is very rare to look at the entire league history. After all, the game is about to start, and under normal circumstances, no one will move the lineup.

Therefore, the deal between the Thunder and the Rockets has caused extremely heated discussions among fans and the media.

Looking at the news that Harden joined the Rockets, Link, who was sitting in the locker room, shook his head helplessly, "Now, Hollinger may say that we can't even pass the first round. After all, the Rockets are rising."

Link was laughing on the surface, but he was secretly ruthless in his heart.

Preseason record can't tell anything?
Chapter completed!