In the official NBA strength rankings, the San Antonio Spurs have quietly ranked second.

They surpassed the Golden State Warriors with better record, second only to the Memphis Grizzlies in the 15-game winning streak.

Many people were surprised by this result, after all, the Spurs are not very topical this year.

The whole world is waiting to see the battle between Link and Durant, and the fierce battle between the Warriors and the Grizzlies.

In today's era when even James' attention has been affected, the Spurs' popularity has plummeted.

Therefore, the Spurs appeared at the second place in the strength rankings, which was somewhat beyond people's expectations.

However, in fact, the Spurs have been playing well this season, but no one cares much.

In the opening game of this season, the Spurs beat the defending champion Warriors with a huge advantage of 29 points, which is enough to show that their strength is not weak.

Although the Spurs were silent for a while after this, and did not score such a refreshing victory, it was understandable.

The Spurs' lineup's blood change this season is much larger than people think.

In addition to Duncan's retirement last summer, Dior and West also left one after another. Gasol, David Lee, Dedmont and Bertans, who played the inside this season, were all new players.

In this case, it is actually normal for the Spurs to get into the state a little slower, after all, everyone needs to get into it.

Although the Spurs have been winning, they have very few dominant games. Most of them rely on their extremely high key ball shooting percentage to get a single-digit victory.

But the situation began to improve in December. After the new Spurs completed the running-in, the Spurs' offensive efficiency ranked third in the league since December, second only to the Warriors and the Grizzlies.

The defensive efficiency simply surpassed the Grizzlies and led the league!

In a quiet and breathless manner, the Spurs have completed their awakening.

It is not surprising that such an excellent team can reach the second place in the combat power rankings.

The night before the game started, when the whole world suddenly realized that it was a heavy showdown, Link was no longer surprised and excited.

Because he has already prepared for this game!

And even if you put aside these things, just being in the match with Leonard is enough to attract Link's attention.

Indeed, there were not so many verbal battles before the start of this game, and there were not so many conflicts between the two sides.

But Link knew that Leonard wanted to defeat the Grizzlies and his obsession, but he was not worse than Durant at all.

That guy just doesn't like to talk, which doesn't mean he doesn't want to win.

On TV, many people think that the Grizzlies' 15-game winning streak must be explained to the Spurs. Some people also believe that the Grizzlies can resolve the crisis as they have done countless times before.

In any case, the game will definitely be very difficult against the team with the highest defensive efficiency in the league.

When he thought of Leonard's expressionless face, Link couldn't help but cover his head.

Tomorrow's game is probably another tug-of-war.

※※※

On the afternoon of February 6, when the Spurs players stepped into the stadium to warm up, the Grizzlies fans at the scene didn't even react.

If the Rockets, Thunder, Warriors, and Cavaliers are on the court, then the booing in the Federal Express Arena will definitely break through the dome of the gymnasium.

But facing the Spurs, most fans did not react much.

In everyone's subconscious, the Spurs still seem to be out of the championship. Even though the Spurs have climbed to the second place in the strength rankings, there are still few voices discussing the Spurs' prospects for the championship.

Hubby Brown also noticed this problem, so he listed a lot of data for the fans to remind everyone of the strength of the Spurs.

"Taking the Spurs' offense as an example, it's not a coincidence that their offensive efficiency ranks third in the league. Both Dedmont and Aldridge can provide space for the Spurs, and Danny Green's three-point shooting percentage has also improved significantly compared to last season."

"When both inside players can shoot and the number one wing becomes on time again, the most benefit is naturally the Spurs' ball holder - Leonard."

"Leonard's offensive efficiency this season has reached the level of a first-tier superstar in the league. His singles after pick-and-roll have become very superb. Even the three-pointers that he has been criticized have improved this season. With as many as 5.2 three-pointers per game, Leonard was able to deliver a 38% three-point shooting percentage, which is a very amazing improvement!"

"What's more, the fact that the Spurs were eliminated by the Grizzlies in the tiebreak battle last season will greatly increase their desire to win today. No one doesn't want to take revenge, let alone the loss until the tiebreak battle. So, cheer up, the Federal Express Arena will usher in a fierce battle today."

Huby Brown's analysis made the fans in front of the TV pay more attention to the Spurs. Under their ordinary shells, there was extremely powerful power buried.

After the warm-up, the referee signaled both players to prepare for the starter.

Before Link appeared, he brought everyone together and reminded his teammates of the importance of this game.

Now, Link eliminated the last possibility of the Grizzlies underestimating their enemy.

After Link stood in his position, he found Leonard staring at him.

Leonard was still expressionless, but Link could feel the strong desire to win out of the guy.

After all, eyes sometimes contain more emotions than expressions.

"Link." At this moment, Leonard spoke without warning.

"Are you calling me on your own initiative? It's really rare." Link smiled, but soon felt embarrassed.

Nonsense, can you not be embarrassed when you smile at a expressionless guy?

"We almost won last season, and I will not miss the chance to win this season."

After Leonard finished speaking, his eyes turned away from Link and stared at the basketball.

Link gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Leonard, a taciturn man, actually took the initiative to tell him about this before the game... It is obvious how much he wants to win!

The impact of the loss in tiebreak last season on Leonard is even greater than people imagined.

Yes, after so many years, only the Spurs last season can push the Grizzlies to the tiebreaker.

Leonard must be very unwilling to defeat the league king just one step away. From last summer to February this year, Leonard probably had been in a state of suffocation.

The referee walked into the middle circle with the ball, and the battle was about to begin.

The starting five tigers on the Spurs are indeed not as good as the Warriors who are selected as All-Stars by the four.

35-year-old Tony Parker is no longer the "French sports car" that won the FMVP trophy 10 years ago.

Although Danny Green's role is similar to Clay, his status is much lower.

Starting center Dwayne Dedmont is a blue-collar insider who is not very good-looking.

Aldridge also plummeted this season, with only 17.3 points per game, and his scoring data is only better than the rookie year.

It is indeed difficult for such a team to convince people that they are very strong.

The Spurs' paper lineup looks worse than the Grizzlies, who have always been considered a single-core team.

On the Grizzlies, Conley and Gasol are all-stars, and Wade is one of the top five or even top three players in the league!

But Link knew very well that basketball games were not data analysis. Just looking at the surface, there was no reference value.

During the game, Dedmon, who had stronger athletic ability, got the first attack for the Spurs.

The Spurs played very patiently in the first attack. They first found Aldridge and let him play singles at the low post.

But unfortunately, the Grizzlies' fourth position today is a perfect center forward. Aldridge is still somewhat at a disadvantage when he plays singles on his back.

Under Jokic's interference, Aldridge made a fuss when he made his first move.

Aldridge's back-turn jump shot shooting percentage this season has dropped from 45.8% last season to 41.9%. Facing Jokic, a defender who can't shake but can always cover you, Aldridge has a headache.

There is no doubt that if Aldridge could show the dominance of the Trail Blazers, the Spurs' record might be very terrifying.

But there is no way. Aldridge, who entered the industry in 2006, is 32 years old after all. What's more, he is no longer the first offensive point in the Spurs, and it is reasonable that the offensive feels regressing.

Gasol grabbed the rebound and immediately made a long pass to launch a counterattack!

Although the Grizzlies play a retro double tower lineup, the Grizzlies will never deliberately slow down when the pace should be fast.

Defensive counterattack, this is the Grizzlies’ best scoring method!

Link received a long pass from Gasol from the backcourt in tacit understanding. He looked behind him and found that Leonard was very close to him.

Sure enough, Leonard's defensive awareness is very good. Most players will be caught off guard when facing the Grizzlies' sudden counterattack.

But Leonard didn't, and he rushed back immediately.

Link ran all the way, hoping to get rid of Leonard with speed.

And he had already planned to use a pull rod in the air to avoid Leonard's pursuit.

At that time, Link had already broken into the basket and jumped without hesitation to prepare for a layup.

But just as Link's feet just left the ground, Leonard started everything accurately!

"Bang!"

The basketball got out of hand and hit Link and flew out of bounds. The Spurs' ball rights!

"He actually stopped Link's counterattack! Oh my God, I remember this is the first time Link missed in a counterattack this season! Kavay Leonard, he is worthy of being the best defender among the best defenders in the team!"

Hubby Brown widened his eyes. Link saw that he had cut off the balls, but this was the first time he was cut off!

Link shook his head with gritted teeth, careless!

Leonard's defense is not on the same level as others.

Spurs No. 2 did not celebrate wildly, nor did they touch trash talk.

He just picked up the basketball silently and handed it over to Dedmon who came to serve.

His calmness makes people shudder.
Chapter completed!