This week's "Sound of the Game" is coming again, in addition to the fierce confrontation, let's also feel the warm time in the NBA
The Bulls, who are number one in the East, lost again today, losing to the Grizzlies today for a four-game losing streak.
The Bulls' four-game losing streak sounds like a lot, but they're just too many injured. Today's game, Lavin, Brother Ball, Caruso and other main players are absent due to injury.
It is naturally difficult to cause too much trouble to the grizzly bears who are in a hot state, and the score was once pulled away by the grizzlies to 30 points, and in the end, the grizzly bears took the bulls 119-106 lightly.
However, the game is still somewhat incendiary, such as the Grizzlies attacking with 5 minutes and 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Bulls center Tony Bradley stretching his feet while defending Morant and then holding it, and the two sides clashed. Morant pressed the ball into Bradley's face, and Bradley tugged at Morant's jersey.
But things didn't escalate, because at this moment Adams appeared. He picked Bradley up and carried him straight away. It is estimated that Bradley, who was lifted up at that time, was also confused, after all, he was 2 meters 08 tall and weighed 224 kilograms.
It is estimated that since his figure was fixed, he had not been carried by anyone like this.
In the end, Bradley and Morant each took a chance. Bradley was also blown up for a malicious foul.
Even Bane said after the game: "I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Adams pick up that guy like a child. ”
Morant: Ah, this damn sense of security!
Oh yes, Adams is said to be the thinnest of the family. In an interview that year, he said: "NBA fans commented that my style of play was very tough, but I was the thinnest in my family. I'm just taller. ”
How "thin" is that? Put it this way, his family has 18 brothers and sisters, he is the oldest in the family, and his sister was a two-time Olympic shot put champion, but lost to Gong Lijiao at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
For the Bulls, even after four straight defeats, they can still sit in the top spot in the East, but the gap between them and several other Eastern European teams is getting smaller and smaller.
How small is the gap? So far, all the top five in the East are 27 wins, and the Bulls are only in the first place in the East District because of the few losses.
They have lost a total of 15 games, while the Heat and Nets have lost 16 and the Fourth and Fifth Cavaliers have lost 18.
According to such a situation, the pattern in the east is basically a state of change from day to day.
In contrast, the west is much clearer. After winning the Bulls today, the Grizzlies are in fourth place in the West, and the difference between the fifth Lone Ranger is 5.5 wins, while the gap between the Warriors and Jazz in front of the Grizzlies is not large, and it can be said that the top four in the West are already very clear.
If you choose the most amazing team this season, it will be the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have won 12 of their last 13 games, the highest winning percentage of the time.
It just so happens that today the NBA updated the latest issue of the team's combat strength list, and the number one in the battle list is not the Warriors nor the Suns, but the Grizzlies.
In this list, the Grizzlies rose to the top of the list, the Suns and Warriors were two or three, Philadelphia rose to fourth, the Heat ranked fifth, the Nets ranked seventh, and the Lakers fell to 20th.
As a dynamic battle list, the Grizzlies' rise to the top is enough to illustrate how good they have been lately.
According to broadcaster statistics, since thanksgiving last year (November 25), the Grizzlies have ranked first in the league in net efficiency (100 rounds net wins), defensive efficiency values (100 rounds conceded points), win rate, rebounds, steals and blocks.
The young team has become one of the most important fighting forces in the West, and after the last game against the Lone Rangers, Doncic described it this way: "They have a complete lineup, and everyone knows their role. If we end up bumping into them in the playoffs, it's going to be tough to beat them. ”
The Grizzlies' lead big brother is naturally morant, the "king of the generation," whom O'Neal describes: "Morant is a star now, and he reminds me of the young Kobe Bryant. You know, there's a lot of players on the pitch who are higher than him, and there's a lot of stars, but the young Kobe bryant will say ' I'm going to take over the game'. I love the way Morant plays and the passion for the game. ”
Morant does have this kind of king spirit now, before the Grizzlies played the Warriors at home, in the last 28.9 seconds of the game, Morant hit a key layup, and the Grizzlies took a six-point lead 115-108.
At that time, the Grizzlies had a small fan in a Curry jersey at home who held out his hand to try to high-five Morant, but Morant did not respond, but gave a "death gaze".
After the game, Morant explained: "He wore that shirt at our home and it was really disrespectful. We were in Memphis and it looked like he wanted to celebrate our win, but he was wearing the Curry shirt. I had to apologize to him, but in that moment, you had to take off your shirt and come back and high-five me again. ”
Afterwards, Morant found the young fan and gave him a jersey of his own, along with two tickets to the game.
If the previous part is a defense of the home field, then the aftermath undoubtedly made the fans feel good about Morant.
But the rise of the Grizzlies is not only the maturity of Morant alone, but more because of the fact that their team is always full of demons.
As Morant responded after today's conflict: "I'm pretty sure everyone sees what kind of guys I have on the sidelines, and they're on the sidelines, so we're not worried at all." ”
In addition to mentioning "Aquaman" Adams, there are naturally other people. For example, in today's game, Jalen Jackson Jr., who shined on the defensive end.
In one round of the game, Kobe White broke through Morant with the ball to the basket, and Jalen Jackson Jr. plugged directly in the back row and rode Morant to complete the nail board hat.
Although the picture is somewhat comedic, the effect can be scored perfectly. Throughout the game, he had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks.
According to statistics, in the past 6 games, Jaren Jackson Jr. has delivered a total of 25 blocks, averaging more than 4 per game.
During that time, he also set a record — he became the first player in Grizzlies history to score at least 20 points and five blocks in three consecutive games, and the first player in the NBA since Anthony Davis in 2014 to do so.
To exaggerate, Jaren Jackson Jr. in January was the NBA's first blocker.
As for how he practiced the cap, his response was: "The cap is related to timing, and then my teammates also helped me." I learned a lot of timing techniques from playing 2K and brought it to the game. So...... PS5, baby. ”
With the exception of Jaren Jackson Jr., the Grizzlies always have some weird players popping up. For example, in the game against the Timberwolves, a Konchal popped up.
Don't think the Timberwolves are easy to deal with, in a sense, the Timberwolves and Grizzlies are a type of team, both have good talent players. The two teams have played each other twice before the Grizzlies narrowly won by seven points after overtime in one game and a huge 43-point difference in the other.
But the Grizzlies suddenly popped up with a Conchar, played 29 minutes off the bench, scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed a staggering 17 rebounds.
If you just look at 17 rebounds, you'd probably think it's the Grizzlies' center potential stock. After all, it is really not easy to pick up these rebounds in front of the Timberwolves, who have rebounding masters such as Towns and Vanderbilt.
But in reality, Conchar is a white defender who is only 1.96 meters tall. He also received a key three-point pass from Clarke with only three points between the two sides, a huge contributor to the Grizzlies' 11-game winning streak.
Before that, Conchar was really a nobody, as a 1996-born NBA draft, he entered the league in 2019, averaging only 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in his first season.
In the summer of 2020, the Grizzlies signed him to a four-year, $9 million contract. Last season, Conchar began to enter the team's rotation lineup, and this season he has played 36 times for the Grizzlies, averaging 17 minutes per game and having 4.9 points and 4.3 rebounds.
He was a nobody, but he was in the gym trying to get a little stronger until he picked up 17 rebounds against the Timberwolves. Before that, he had also picked up 14 rebounds against the Kings.
And he just said lightly about these things: "Sometimes, rebounding will come to me." ”
For the Grizzlies, the current group of players, in addition to Morant's eye signing, there are almost no players who are too high in the rankings, and they are basically "small people" when they enter the NBA.
For example, Bane, who has been in hot form recently, seized the time when Morant was injured and successfully played explosive data.
If you look at Bane's figure, it is clear that his arm span is not long.
According to statistics, Bane, who is 1 meter 98 tall, has an arm span that is two centimeters shorter than his height, only 1 meter 96.
In this static talented league, the arm span is shorter than height, and it is easy to be labeled. He was expected to be picked by the Suns (No. 10) or pistons (No. 16), but the draft pick went all the way down.
"I think I'm old and have a short arm span." They weren't sure if my tricks would work out in the NBA. That's how Bane described it.
But before the NBA, Bain's resume was really not amazing. He was the 30th pick in the first round of 2020, and he was 22 years old when he was drafted because he played college for four years in one go, which is enough to see that he is not a "gifted" type of player.
Even before his sophomore year, Bane himself didn't feel like he could play in the NBA until his coach gave him confidence: "I never really thought that way, and when Jamie Jixon told me I really had a chance to play in the NBA, it shocked me a little bit. ”
However, he adapted quickly after entering the NBA, especially this season, Bain played a full 45 starts.
He scored 797 points in 1346 minutes, just nine points less than the team's top scorer Morante's 806 points.
It can be said that Bane gradually became Morant's second scoring point behind the Grizzlies.
And Bain's biggest feature is his three-pointer, Bain can average 6.9 three-pointers per game, shooting 2.9, and shooting 42% of the three-point shooting rate.
Bane is one of only 36 players in NBA history who have been able to make at least 900 shots and 450 three-point shots in the first 100 games of their careers.
If you refine the data, only two of the 36 people can keep the shooting percentage, three-point shooting rate and free throw shooting rate above 45%, 42% and 85% respectively, one of them is Bane, and the other is Curry.
So during the time when Morant was injured, he also stood for Bane. When asked who was the fastest improving player of the season, Morant retweeted and wrote: "Desmond Bain. ”
Last season, Bain averaged 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game; this season, Bain averaged 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Judging by the data, Bain does have the capital to compete for the award of the fastest improving player.
At present, this Grizzlies team, except for Morant, who is the top-notch show and Jalen Jackson Jr. signed no. 4, several other players who have played are not too high. Dillon Brooks was the 15th pick in the 2nd round in 2017, Bain with the 30th pick in the 2020 first round, Clark with the 21st pick in the 2019 first round... But the success rate of this group of players is frighteningly high.
This season's Grizzlies, the "king of the generation" Morant is the most shining diamond in the crown, and this group of players is that crown.
As Clark describes it: "We built crazy chemistry and we were so engaged in every game because the game was really fun, we were looking forward to it, it can be difficult when you're going to play 82 games, but we're a team that's very hungry to win. ”
Interestingly, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins is also 37 years old, the same age as James. Team general manager Zach Kleiman is even younger, only 34 years old. The rebuilding of the Grizzlies was not unrelated to him, with veteran ministers such as Little Plus and Conley being traded by him, while selecting the cornerstones of the team such as Morant Jr. Jaron Jackson Jr.
But it was such a young group that could not be younger, but it quickly became a very competitive team in the league.
The Grizzlies' team culture is tough and tough, and they have never been favored by big players in the small-court city, but under Morant's leadership, they are back to the team that no one wants to touch again.
Past reading: Durant's injury and retirement, what will be the chain reaction?
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