James. Harden sat in the locker room, looking lonely.

I don't know, I must have thought that the Rockets lost again today.

But actually, the Rockets played very well today. James. Harden also put up an efficient performance that disgraced Pope.

Ariza, who had just come out of the shower, saw that something didn't seem right with Harden, so she went up and asked with concern.

"What's wrong? Are you not happy that you are about to win the best of the month? Ariza patted Harden on the shoulder, who was as confident as Harden.

"It would be nice if I could really take it, I'm afraid I won't be able to get it." Harden still grimaced.

"How is it possible, as far as I know, you have basically occupied the front page of the major sports media for the past half a month. If Link had any exaggeration, the media would have been the first to report on him. Ariza thinks Harden is overly nervous.

Ever since Randolph broke out and beat Aldridge, the Memphis Grizzlies have been in a tepid state.

Grizzly bears can occasionally be seen on the news, but they are only a few sentences.

Link didn't break any more incredible records, nor did he wait for a triple-double at every turn.

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 Player of the Month.

Moreover, Ariza is well aware that the Player of the Month award is not easy to come by. When he played next to Kobe, Kobe didn't always have the best of the month.

Especially in the west, it is even more difficult to win the best month in a row, let alone the best of the month for three consecutive months.

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

He just shook his phone and handed it to Ariza.

Ariza didn't know what Harden meant, so she took her phone and looked at it.

It turned out that on the phone, there was a freshly baked article by ESPN.

The title of this article already points to all of the following, "Link vs Harden, Western Conference Player of the Month Prediction for January." ”

After reading the title, Ariza instantly became interested, so she read it along.

"James. Harden had a stellar January, with Pacers coach Frank Brown in January. In Vogel's words, Harden played at an MVP-caliber level. ”

Seeing the opening paragraph, Ariza smiled slightly, isn't this a good evaluation?

Next, there is a large summary of Harden in January. What average data per game, wins, a few 30+ games, a few quasi-triple-doubles, etc., are all counted.

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

But halfway through the article, there was a sudden turn.

"Harden was really good in January, and even had a 40+ point game, but ......"

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

“...... However, Link didn't do any worse than Harden in January. Looking at the team record first, the Rockets had an 11-6 record in January. The Memphis Grizzlies' record in January is 14-1! So far, the Grizzlies have won 13 in a row. And this is the Grizzlies' second 13-game winning streak this season. ”

Looking at the individual performances, Link didn't hit another back-to-back triple-double in January, didn't have 40+ points, and didn't average a triple-double per game. But the average assists and 7.3 rebounds per game are still more comprehensive and better than Harden. ”

Seeing this, Ariza was a little surprised.

Is the Grizzlies on a 13-game winning streak? Lost just one game in the whole of January?

Why didn't you have any impression before?

It stands to reason that this kind of news should be widely reported by the media.

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

On the contrary, Harden has become the sweetheart of the media.

Only then did Ariza realize that she had been too optimistic.

With a record and stats inferior to Link, Harden's best of the month seems to be hanging again.

Perhaps for the media, Link's quasi-triple-double of 20+ points is commonplace, and it is not worth the hype at all.

13 wins in a row? That's the norm too. The Warriors have won 16 in a row this season, and the Grizzlies are not surprised to win 13 in a row.

For the media, a Grizzlies loss or Link's sudden bad performance is something to talk about.

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

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

Your best state is just the routine operation of others, and this huge gap is easy to make people self-doubt.

After reading the article, Ariza couldn't laugh for a moment. He tapped Harden on the shoulder again, but this time it meant something completely different.

"It's okay...... Perhaps, they are aesthetically fatigued? Perhaps, people need a new monthly best candidate. ”

"yes, maybe ......" Harden sighed, wanting to win his first career best of the month, why is it so difficult.

※※※

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

After the battle in January, the Grizzlies further cemented themselves as the No. 1 spot in the West.

At this time, neither the Warriors' 38-8 nor the Hawks' 40-8 is comparable to the Grizzlies' 41-6.

Randolph's return has indeed allowed the Grizzlies to regain their former dominance.

Of course, Link's consistent play as always is the key to the Grizzlies' ability to stand out.

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

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

The Eastern Conference Player of the Month award was awarded to all five of the Hawks' starting five Tigers for the first time in December.

In the past, there have been cases in the NBA where two people in a division were selected at the same time.

For example, in the 10-11 season, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in December was selected by James and Wade.

But it's unprecedented to award such an accolade directly to an entire starting lineup.

The Hawks did have a really good January, and like the Grizzlies, they lost one game in the whole of January.

If it weren't for the Grizzlies, the Hawks would have come out with a winning month.

As the team with the best record in the East, the Player of the Month is selected from the Hawks, which is understandable.

But the headache is that the Eagles players take it out individually, and it seems that no one really deserves the title of best of the month.

So, the league simply gave the honor to the Hawks' entire starting five, all of whom were the best in the East in January!

And the Western Conference Player of the Month of January is undoubtedly the guy who gave the Hawks the only loss......

At the American Airlines Center, home of the Suns, reporters found Link warming up on the sidelines and told him that he had become the Western Conference Player of the Month for January.

In addition, Link is also the first player in NBA history to win the Western Conference three consecutive championships.

Link was taken aback by the news. He was no less surprised than Ariza when he watched the news yesterday.

Because in his opinion, he didn't play any explosive performance in January, but it was just a regular performance.

And before, didn't the media say that Harden had the best chance of winning the best of the month.

Why is it your turn again!?

"Link, you must be very excited to be the Western Conference Player of the Month for three months in a row, right? In a previous interview, you said that you don't care about the best of the month, but in private you must still be competing with Harden, right? The reporter brought the microphone to Link's mouth.

Link pouted, wronged!

"That...... You may not believe it, but I really didn't want to win the best of the month! It's just that I didn't expect that the ordinary play surpassed Harden. ”

As soon as Link's words came out, the reporter's eyes widened in disbelief.

This is too bad for Harden!

Link spread his hands helplessly, "So I said it all, you may not believe ......"