Link opened his eyes the next day, and his mind was still the same as what had happened last night.

Ban Kenyon. Martin's dunk separates an imposing interior player...... Of course, what impressed Link the most was what happened in the dressing room after the game.

Since this is the first time in five years that the Grizzlies have made the playoffs, everyone from the players to the coaches is very excited. Once in the locker room, everyone was given a bottle of water and everyone was eager to try it.

Hollins stood in the middle of the locker room, everyone waiting for him to speak.

"We didn't have champagne, but we did have water. We shouldn't be complacent, but we should celebrate! ”

As soon as Hollins finished speaking, the entire locker room turned into a Songkran scene. From being underdog at the start of the season to fifth in the West, only the Grizzlies players themselves know how much they've been through.

Thinking about last night's experience in the locker room, Link couldn't help but giggle.

When I first came to Memphis, I heard from Austin that it has the highest crime rate in the country, and fans here can get free tickets if they voluntarily turn in their guns. As soon as he arrived at the training hall, he was provoked by Randolph and met Sam. Yang and the others looked at them unfriendly.

At that time, Link would never have imagined that he would fall in love with this team.

The fans here aren't as vicious as the outside world thinks, and the players here aren't just scraps left out in the garbage. Link really enjoyed working with this group, especially with the Rockets.

Now, he and his team are going to the playoffs, which makes Link very excited. He hopes to go further with this group of guys and create greater brilliance together.

The Grizzlies with more Link are three places higher than the original all-time ranking. Naturally, Link is looking forward to helping the Grizzlies go further in the playoffs than they have historically been.

Thinking of this, Link immediately got up. The regular season is over, but the truly exciting journey has just begun.

※※※

"Train hard, don't think that defeating the Nuggets is the end!"

Today in the training hall, Randolph was always urging everyone from time to time, and the whole training hall was filled with his voice.

Randolph was unusually serious today, he didn't joke with anyone, and he didn't get complacent about yesterday's victory. He came to the training gym early and started shooting early to warm up. This guy seems to be a completely different person, but Link knows very well that this is what Zach really looks like.

You think he's giggling? In fact, he has always taken the game seriously. Do you see him haunting nightclubs? In fact, he trains very actively, and he trains a lot.

Randolph has always wanted to lead the Grizzlies to the playoffs, and he sees this as his way of giving back to the Grizzlies. And now, that wish has come true. So, Randolph has the next goal - to help the Grizzlies win their first playoff game!

That's right, the Grizzlies have never won a single game in the playoffs since their inception.

In the 03-04 season, the Grizzlies reached the playoffs for the first time, and were eliminated by the Spurs in a 4-0 sweep.

In the 04-05 season, facing the Suns who are playing a whirlwind, the Grizzlies are still unable to parry. At that time, the sun sat on Nash, Joe. Johnson, Marion, Stoudemire and Quentin. Richardson started the big five, and their attacking power left the Grizzlies completely dumbfounded. Throughout the series, the Grizzlies have to concede an average of 113 points per game and lose to the Suns by an average of 11 points per game, and they can't even lift their heads!

The Grizzlies made the playoffs for the third year in a row in the '05-06 season, and this year they faced the Dallas Mavericks. This year, the gap between the Grizzlies' lineup on paper and the Mavericks is too great. The only player on the entire Grizzlies team who averaged a double-double per game in the playoffs was Paul. Gasol. The Mavericks swept the Grizzlies with three strikes and five divisions.

After that, the Grizzlies didn't appear in the playoffs until this season.

The Grizzlies have made the playoffs three times, and all three times the results have not been great. Therefore, what fans want to see most this year is for the Grizzlies to get their first win in the playoffs.

Battier said when he first came to the Grizzlies that his goal was to help the Grizzlies win their first playoff game.

It can be seen that winning in the playoffs has become an obsession in the hearts of Grizzlies fans and players. Every time I play the playoffs, I am swept 4-0, which is a bit too embarrassing.

So today, under Randolph's urging, everyone is training very seriously. Including Uncle Mayo, who came the latest, he didn't slack off today.

The playoffs are just around the corner, and who doesn't want to play well in the playoffs? People say that the playoffs are the stage for stars, but in reality, the playoffs are also a dream factory for creating stars.

Many players who were not well-known in the regular season have skyrocketed because of their excellent performances in the playoffs. So, even a player like Mayo, who can be said to be unprofessional, will train hard before the playoffs.

Link enjoyed the atmosphere so much that it made him feel like he was back in the Development League, back in the blue. Even in training, everyone is desperate!

At noon, training was suspended and the media session came. There were a lot of reporters coming to the Federal Express Arena today, but that didn't come as a surprise to the Hollins and Grizzlies players.

With the playoffs just around the corner, reporters definitely have a lot of questions to cover with the players. There were no games in the NBA for the past two days, and the news about the NBA was all supported by reporters.

There were a lot of reporters around every player today, and Link went to the dressing room to change his soaked jersey after training, so by the time he came out, the reporters had already finished interviewing the others, and Link was the last one to be interviewed.

"Link, it's going to the playoffs soon, how does it feel?" The first question is very conventional, and it can be regarded as a "hot mouth" for Link.

"Excited, I can't wait to make a big splash in the playoffs. Of course, I'll pass to Zach and he's the number one scorer. ”

Link's little joke made the reporters laugh, and it could be seen that Link's state of mind was still very relaxed.

"So what do you think of your opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder? In the regular season this season, the Grizzlies and Thunder have played each other four times, with both sides winning two games each. People say Oklahoma could even cause problems for a team like the Los Angeles Lakers. So do you think it's possible for the Grizzlies to pass the Thunder? ”

The second problem is that journalists are no longer moderate. During the regular season, the Thunder and Grizzlies have been fighting enough. The alignment between Link and Harden, Link and Durant, is incomparably wonderful every time. The so-called narrow road to rivalry, the Grizzlies and Thunder met in the first round of the playoffs, giving them a lot of topics to hype.

"We played fifth in the West, naturally not to warm the Thunder. If I had to answer, all I could say was that we could win the series. When Link finished speaking, he found that the reporters were staring blankly at him.

When I first interviewed others, everyone on the Grizzlies said, "We're going to try to get the team's first win in the playoffs." ”

And when it came to Link, it turned into a series victory!

"Are you sure it's a series victory?"

"Of course, otherwise we are going to lose?" Link's answer was unhesitating and confident.

Link is well aware that what others say about "fighting for their first playoff win" is simply because they are humble. But Link, for a long time, likes to tell the truth.

Just a first playoff win would certainly not satisfy the Grizzlies' appetite. A win for the entire series is the real goal of the Grizzlies!

Threatening the defending champion Lakers? Let's talk about the Thunder after the first round first.