James Harden sat in the locker room with a lonely face.

If you don't know, you must have thought the Rockets lost again today.

But in fact, the Rockets played very well today. James Harden also performed efficiently, which made Pope lose face.

Ariza, who had just walked out of the shower room, saw that Harden's condition seemed to be a little wrong, so she went up to ask with concern.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy when you're going to get the best of the month soon?" Ariza patted Harden on the shoulder, and he was as confident as Harden.

"It would be great if I could really get it. I'm afraid I can't get it." Harden still looked sad.

"How is that possible? As far as I know, you have basically occupied the front pages of major sports media in the past half month. If Link had any exaggerated performance, the media would definitely be the first to report him." Ariza thought Harden was a little over-necked.

Since Randolph's outbreak and blasting Aldridge, the Memphis Grizzlies have been in a tepid state.

I occasionally see the news about Grizzlies on the news, but I just talked a few words.

Link did not break any incredible records, nor did he serve three-double at any time.

On the contrary, Harden is often reported for his outstanding performance.

At least judging from the influence of this half month, Harden has a better chance of winning the best player of the month.

Moreover, Ariza knew very well that the best player of the month was hard-earned. When he played with Kobe, Kobe didn't always win the best player.

Especially in the West, it is even more difficult to win the best month for the rest of the year, let alone the best month for three consecutive months.

After hearing Ariza's words, Harden's mood did not improve.

He just shook his cell phone and handed it to Ariza.

Ariza didn't know what Harden meant, so she could only take the phone and look at it.

It turns out that on the phone, it is a fresh article from espn.

The title of this article already points out all the content below, "Link vs Harden, West's best player forecast for January."

After reading the title, Ariza became interested in the moment, so she followed suit.

"James Harden performed very well in January. In the words of Pacers coach Frank Vogel, Harden played an MVP-level performance."

Seeing the beginning of this passage, Ariza smiled slightly. Isn’t this a good review?

Next, there is a large summary of Harden's January. All the average data, wins, 30+ games, and quasi-triple-double games, etc. are counted.

If you only look at the beginning of this article, you will definitely think that Harden's best month is stable.

But halfway through the article, a sudden turn occurred.

"Harden's performance in January was really great, and there was even a 40+ score game, but..."

Seeing this "but", Ariza knew that something was wrong and guessed the reason why Harden was disheartened now.

"... However, Link's performance in January was not worse than Harden. First of all, look at the team's record. The Rockets' record in January was 11 wins and 6 losses. The Memphis Grizzlies' record in January was 14 wins and 1 losses! So far, the Grizzlies have won 13 consecutive games. This is the second 13 consecutive games for the Grizzlies this season."

"Looking at the performance of personal data, Link did not play a consecutive triple-double in January, without 40+ points, nor did he average triple-double per game. However, his average of 26.2 points, 8.2 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game is still more comprehensive and better than Harden."

Ariza was a little surprised to see this.

The Grizzlies won 13 consecutive games? Only one game was lost in January?

Why didn't you remember it before?

Logically speaking, this kind of news should be widely reported by the media.

Moreover, Link's performance in January was actually better than Harden, but there was no trouble in the media.

On the contrary, Harden has become a hot commodity in the hearts of the media.

Only then did Ariza realize that he was too optimistic before.

With his record and personal data not as good as Link, Harden's best of the month seems to be hanging again.

Perhaps for the media, Link scored quasi-triple double data with 20+ points is already commonplace and is not worthy of extensive reporting at all.

13 consecutive victories? That's also the norm. The Warriors have won 16 consecutive victories this season, so what's so amazing about the Grizzlies winning 13 consecutive victories?

For the media, the Grizzlies lose or Link suddenly performs poorly, which is something worth talking about.

On the surface, Link seems to have been under Harden for the past half month. But that is not because Harden's performance is really better than Link, but because even though Link's performance is regular, he is better than Harden's highlight month...

Thinking of this, it is not difficult for Ariza to understand Harden's mood at this time.

Your best condition is just a routine operation of others. This huge gap can easily make people suspicious.

After reading the article, Ariza couldn't laugh out loud. He patted Harden on the shoulder again, but this time the meaning was completely different.

"It's okay... Maybe they're aesthetically exhausted? Maybe people need a new best candidate for the month."

"Yes, maybe..." Harden sighed. It's so difficult to win the first best month in his career.

※※※

On February 2, 2015, the NBA regular season continued.

After the battle in January, the Grizzlies further consolidated their throne as the number one in the West.

At this time, neither the Warriors' 38 wins and 8 losses nor the Hawks' 40 wins and 8 losses, it cannot be compared with the Grizzlies' 41 wins and 6 losses.

Randolph's return did allow the Grizzlies to regain their former dominance.

Of course, Link's stable performance as always is the key to the Grizzlies being able to stand out.

Today, the Grizzlies will continue their way forward in Phoenix.

Half an hour before the start of the game, the NBA officially announced the final results of the best player in the East and West in December.

The best player in the Eastern Conference in December was awarded to all five starting five Tigers of the Hawks for the first time.

In the past, there was a situation where two people in a branch were selected at the same time.

For example, the best player in the Eastern Conference in December in the 10-11 season was James and Wade who were selected together.

But it is unprecedented to award such honors directly to the entire starting lineup.

The Hawks did a great job in January. They lost a game in January, just like the Grizzlies.

If the Grizzlies hadn't disrupted the situation, the Eagles would have made a full victory month.

As the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, it is understandable that the player of the month is selected among the Hawks.

But what is troublesome is that the Hawks players took it out alone, and it seems that no one really deserves the best title last month.

So, the league simply awarded this honor to the Hawks' entire starting five tigers, all of them were the best in the East in January!

And the best player in the West in January is undoubtedly the only guy who gave the Hawks the defeat...

At the Suns' home court, the American Airlines Center, a reporter found Link who was warming up on the sidelines and informed him of becoming the Western Conference Player of the Month in January.

Moreover, Link is also the first player in NBA history to be the best player in the West for three consecutive days.

Link was very surprised when he heard this news. The degree of surprise was no less than that of Ariza when he was watching the news yesterday.

Because in his opinion, he did not perform any explosively in January, but just a regular performance.

And before, the media said that Harden had the best chance to win the best of the month.

Why is it my turn to come over again!?

"Link, you must be very excited to be the Western Conference Player of the Month for three consecutive months, right? In an interview before, you said that you didn't care about the Month, but you must be competing with Harden in private, right?" The reporter put the microphone to Link's mouth.

Link curled his lips, it was unfair!

"That... you may not believe it. I really didn't want to win the best month! I just didn't expect that Harden would surpass his ordinary performance."

As soon as Link said this, the reporter widened his eyes in disbelief.

This is too disrespectful to Harden!
Chapter completed!