The Utah Jazz are truly a typical example of opening high and closing low this season. At the beginning of the season, they had just completed the signing and were determined to overthrow the Lakers' dominance. Their record has also gone high, and it seems that they really have the ability to challenge the defending champion.

However, all of this was destroyed by the endless conflict between Deron and Sloan. Now, the news about the Jazz is either Sloan wants to resign or Deron wants to be traded. With the unbearable internal discourse, the Jazz's record has also begun to decline sharply.

Now, the Jazz have fallen to seventh place in the West and are close to eighth place in the West. All Western teams are waiting for the Jazz to be eliminated, which means there is another place to advance to the playoffs.

The Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Hornets are undoubtedly the team that most hopes that the Jazz can be eliminated soon, so the Grizzlies and Hornets don't have to compete for the eighth place in the West.

However, a team still needs to be strong in themselves. It is impossible for a team to rely on others to lose and advance to the playoffs. What if Sloan and Delon suddenly shake hands and make peace and move forward together?

So, while expecting the Jazz to fall behind, the Hornets and the Grizzlies themselves did not relax their vigilance. Although Link knew that if history had not shifted, the Jazz's disband would be inevitable, but others didn't know.

Therefore, this direct showdown between the eighth and ninth in the West became highly anticipated. The Grizzlies won and their record would be on par with the Hornets. If the Grizzlies lost, the Hornets would further widen the gap.

For the Grizzlies, this is a turning point game. Although the season is still very long, the ranking will definitely change. However, if you can rank eighth in the Western Conference earlier, the morale of the Grizzlies players can be more cheerful.

So today, at the Hornets' home court, Smoothie Kings Center, Link felt what a fanatic atmosphere was as soon as he stepped into the court.

The fans who shouted wildly, the man who took off his T-shirt and danced with his hands, the woman who shook his long hair and all kinds of strangely dressed people. The special nature of this game made the fans of New Orleans become extremely enthusiastic! It seemed that the entire smoothie king center had become the scene of the New Orleans Carnival!

"It's so crazy, it feels like the playoffs." Randolph looked around, and the fanatical atmosphere had already made the Big Black Bears rush.

Link did not play with Randolph. Since the first second of the game, he has been training in various positions with the help of trainer Marcus Will. This is part of Link's warm-up plan today, and he hopes to adapt to the feeling of shooting in interference in advance.

Because he knew very well that this was destined to be a tough battle. The easy opportunity to open space would probably not appear easily today.

There is no need for fans on the scene to set off the atmosphere, Link is full of fighting today. After all, just yesterday, he was still being criticized by the media.

Korver's 60% three-point shooting percentage and the Grizzlies' defeat all pushed Link to the forefront.

From the beginning of self-doubt, to the anger, to the current belliger, Link's psychological changes are very obvious.

Tony Allen is right, he has to keep this anger in his mind and then shut up everyone!

What's more, the Grizzlies' opponent in the next game is the Houston Rockets, who still has a grudge against Link. Before facing the Rockets, Link didn't want his form to plummet.

"Hey, what happened to that kid today? Have you ever seen him be so fierce?" Seeing Link frowning and training seriously, Randolph couldn't help but gossiping next to Tony Aaron.

"Hehe, don't make mistakes today, Zach. Otherwise, that guy might even eat you." Tony Allen smiled meaningfully. Today's game will definitely be very, very exciting.

※※※

"New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies are undoubtedly a focus battle in the West. The strength of both sides is very close, so if nothing unexpected happens, it should be a game that requires four quarters of fierce battle to decide the outcome."

On the commentary stage of the Smoothie Kings Center, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley are already in place.t.nt TV sent their ace commentary lineup, which is enough to show their importance to this game.

There are indeed many highlights in this game. Firstly, the Grizzlies are at the forefront recently, and the fights and drug ban incidents have made fans curious about the Grizzlies. Secondly, Chris Paul of the Hornets is a highly anticipated superstar. There is always no shortage of people to watch with stars.

The third and most important point is that t.nt predicts that this game will be very intense and exciting. In a wonderful game, it does not necessarily mean that both sides must be powerful. As long as both sides have close strength, they can usually play exciting games.

However, for Barkley, there is still a fourth highlight of this game Link.

"I believe you already know that Kenny Link seems to have become an indispensable member of the Grizzlies. When Rudy Guy was injured, he played. Now O.J. Mayo has been suspended, and coach Hollins has chosen to let him play. He is definitely one of the most topical players this year. From the Development League to the NBA, his career trajectory can be said to be ups and downs."

Before the game began, Barkley brought the topic to Link.

"Yes, Link is a topical player. But in the last game, his performance was hard to be excellent. So now people are discussing one thing. Whether Link's strength matches the opportunities he has obtained? Malcolm, the Hornets' second position, is also a sharpshooter. If Link's defense is the same as in the last game, I believe Belinelle will not miss the opportunity."

Kenny Smith never had any feelings for Link. He always felt that if it weren't for that special skin color, Link wouldn't have received such great attention at all. He was an ordinary NBA player, but was just mythical because of his skin color.

The attention he received and his strength did not match at all.

"Berlinelli? Believe me, not everyone can be as lucky as Korver!" Barkley smiled. Can a person who can defend Kobe still handle Belinelli?

When Kenny Smith and Barkley were chatting, the players on both sides were already in place. Although Link's performance was bombarded by the media in the last game, Hollins knew that Link's defense in the last game was not really a big deal. So today, he still let Link.

This is already the third consecutive game of Link with the Grizzlies. Link looked at the opposite half. The Hornets were still very strong during this period.

The one who was about to jump with Gasol was Emecca Okafor. Although this guy is not a superstar, his style is very tough.

Power forward is All-Star player David West. Needless to say, he was a powerful helper around Paul George during his time as the Pacers.

The small forward is the young Tewol Ariza. Ariza has seen a rising value and popularity after winning the championship with the Lakers. She is a very reliable 3D small forward.

The second position, which is also Link's opponent today, is Italian defender Belinelli.

Belinelli has a stable shooting, experienced and rarely makes mistakes. It can be said that he is a player of similar type to Korver. He was just annoyed by a shooter in the last game, and today he met another shooter. Link couldn't wait.

Of course, if it were just these guys, the Hornets would not be the biggest threat to the Grizzlies. The real core of this team is Chris Paul, the shortest player in the game!

At this time, Paul had just emerged from the shadow of his injury and his condition had fluctuations, and his athletic ability had significantly deteriorated compared to before.

However, even so, he is still one of the strongest point guards in the league. A team with Paul and a team without Paul are completely different levels.

Link stared at Paul. The guy was still quite young. When he thought of the powerless Paul in the Rockets before he came over, Link couldn't help but sigh.

Just as Link was staring at Paul, Paul just looked up at Link. The murderous aura in this guy's eyes even made Link feel cold on his spine.
Chapter completed!