Since February, the Grizzlies have continued to have a very good record.

After Link beat the Suns 2+1 at the beginning of the month, the Grizzlies won the Jazz, Hawks and Nets in succession.

Except for being killed by the Timberwolves in an upset, the Grizzlies have not had any other accidents.

Although the 14-game winning streak was ended, it still failed to surpass the Warriors' 16-game winning streak. But so far, the Grizzlies' 44-7 record puts them firmly at the top of the league.

The Golden State Warriors currently have a 41-9 record and are still crushed by the Grizzlies.

Before the All-Star break began, the Grizzlies had already established themselves as the league's supremacy.

Judging by the results alone, the Grizzlies' February seems to have been smooth sailing. The successive returns of Randolph and Gasol have also lifted the Grizzlies' internal crisis again.

But the "injury curse" is still hanging over the Grizzlies, and as soon as their interior line gets out of the crisis, the outside line ushered in a series of injury outbreaks.

In the game against the Timberwolves, Carter Sr. tore a muscle in his left foot and his return date was undecided.

Carter is older after all, and his injury situation is expected by the team.

When Carter was first introduced, the Grizzlies considered the risk of Carter's injury. And this kind of risk that can be expected in advance is something that grizzlies can take.

While Carter is an important force on the Grizzlies' bench, his injury hasn't affected the Grizzlies too much.

The Grizzlies have the most reserve positions in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, so after Carter's injury, there are still people who can step up.

But what the Grizzlies never expected was that after Carter, Mike. Conley actually fell.

In the Grizzlies' home win over the Nets on Feb. 10, Conley played just 17 minutes before exiting the game with a sprained ankle.

Conley sprained his ankle during a layup and fell to the ground in pain.

In the end, it was Link and Iguodala who held Conley left and right to help him off the court.

Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries on the basketball court, and if you don't twist your ankle, you're embarrassed to say you've played in the NBA.

In general, an ankle sprain does not affect an athlete too much. The light ones are happy to be able to play in the next game, and the heavy ones are only a week or two off.

As long as it doesn't hurt tendons and bones, it's easy to say anything.

Chief team doctor Moon checked Conley's injury as soon as possible and quickly gave Conley a recovery time of two weeks.

Two weeks, in the context of the long season as a whole, is really nothing.

But in a month's time, that's the equivalent of missing half of the games.

Conley is different from Carter in that in some ways, Carter can be replaced by someone else.

However, the Grizzlies have no player in the same position to replace Conley, Dellavedova is certainly a good player, but his ability to organize the offense, the ability to score independently and the ability to dominate the whole situation are completely incomparable to Conley.

Conley is one of the best defenders in the West, but that reputation is unlikely to be applied to Dellavedova.

What's worse is that after the Grizzlies defeated the Nets at home, they immediately rushed to Oklahoma to fight the Thunder.

Although the Thunder are missing Durant, they have been gradually getting on track lately, and they are full of morale and ready for this game.

Currently, the Thunder are just half a win away from the Suns, who are eighth in the West. In other words, as long as the Thunder can win the Grizzlies, they can officially enter the top eight!

For the Thunder, reaching the playoffs first is the first step. Otherwise, the finals will be completely empty talk.

Neither Westbrook nor the rest of the Thunder will miss this opportunity to break into the top eight.

The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are still back-to-back without Conley, and the situation is much worse than that of the Thunder.

Before the match even started, the defending champions were already on the back foot.

So when Link arrived at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, he didn't continue to speak.

'There's no doubt it's going to be a tough game for us. I know Westbrook is full of energy, I know he's good. But we're going to do our best, and we don't want to lose again before the All-Star break starts. ”

Link's answer was quite "mild" compared to the past.

The reporters were used to Link's outspoken appearance, and when he suddenly became mild, the reporters were caught off guard.

So on February 11, before the Grizzlies and Thunder game began, the media overwhelmingly thought that Link was subdued.

He knew he wasn't going to win all of the season's bests of the month, so he relented. Link is a smart man, he will find himself under the stairs in advance. ”

"It looks like Link has no confidence in this game, and mentally, the Thunder have won."

"Westbrook will probably accomplish something that Durant never did, which is to completely crush Link!"

"Isn't it time for Link to get his wig ready? I can't imagine his bald head. ”

Link really didn't expect that he would still be attacked by the media even if he became gentler, and sure enough, in the eyes of the sunspot, everything you did was wrong.

When you speak disrespectfully, you will be scolded for being arrogant, and when you become gentle, you will be said to be afraid of losing.

But Link didn't have the heart to argue with the media this time, and Conley's injury made it necessary for the Grizzlies to change their previous style of play overnight.

The absence of a core point guard is a huge blow to any team.

But Dave. Joggle isn't too worried, because the Grizzlies have never been a single-core team.

"Link, I need you to play the number one position tonight!"

In the visiting locker room at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, Jogger's first words were an attempt to address the biggest problem facing the Grizzlies.

For most teams in this league, the No. 1 spot is hard to replace.

But in the Grizzlies, in Jogger's hands, he has a superplayer who can play from the No. 1 to the No. 5 position.

When Gasol and Randolph are injured, Link can go to the top inside. Now that Conley is injured, Link is still able to get back on seamlessly.

Link nodded, not too surprised by the decision.

Dellavedova certainly doesn't have the quality to play as a starting point guard, and the Australian is okay with occasional appearances, but if he is the main point guard, something will definitely happen.

After excluding Dellavedova, the Grizzlies have three playmakers left: Iguodala, Gasol and Link.

To choose one of the three to play the starting No. 1 position, it seems that there is no need to worry at all.

Gasol has never been able to control the ball on his own, but Iguodala can control and pass, and has a wide vision. But in all of these areas, Link can do better than Iguodala.

Use Link to play the No. 1 position, and by the way, you can also let Link directly match Westbrook!

Without a doubt, this is an option that kills multiple birds with one stone.

Link nodded, he certainly didn't have any doubts about that. In fact, before Joggle even spoke, Link knew he might take Conley's place.

That way, Link, he can put all his mind on Westbrook.

Although the Grizzlies and the Thunder are old rivals, in the past against the Thunder, Link was fighting Durant.

There was not much contact with Westbrook.

Today, Link was finally able to play with Westbrook.

A direct matchup between the two top candidates of the month in the West...... Link is going to make Westbrook die this heart.

Turtles invincible? Then I'll slaughter the turtle!