One Thousand Six Hundred and Five. The Dawn of the First Person in the Alliance

Before Sun Ce had 40+ points in three consecutive games in the past three games, no one thought he had a chance to enter the top ten in the single-season 40+ games rankings.

No one even thought about it in any direction.

Sun Ce scored 30+ points 14 times in the first 52 games, and there are still 30 games left to get 40+ points five times. It is not very easy. Some scorers who average 20+ points per game all year round have less than 40+ points five times in their entire careers.

Even most players have never scored 40+ once in their lives.

Better than James, the year with the highest number of 40+ points in a single season was when he was in his third grade with 10 40+ times in a single season.

Durant has never had 10+ games or 40+ games in a single season.

In addition, the Grizzlies are about to usher in a crazy March with 6 home games and 11 away games... NBA official columnists analyzed each team's schedule for the second half of the regular season after the All-Star Weekend and gave the Grizzlies' March schedule. The name of the "early warning" is "March Madness."

Under such conditions, no one even thought about Sun Ce in this regard.

However, Sun Ce suddenly had 40+ points in three consecutive games.

When this topic became popular, NBA officials also "added fuel to the flames" and posted a picture on the homepage of the official website with four players on it - Chamberlain, Jordan, Kobe, and Sun Ce.

As always, there is no link, just a picture, and no explanation. However, under the current public opinion, every fan who understands the current hot topics will know what this represents when he sees the sticker on the NBA official website homepage forwarded by major media. What.

Zhang Erwan occupies four of the top five positions with 40+ times in a single season; Boss Joe is the only one in the top five in modern basketball, and there is another eighth; Kobe ranks seventh in the 05-06 season and 2006 in modern basketball. -Tied for ninth with McAdoo in the 2007 season, ranked 10th alone in the 2002-03 season...

These three are ranked among the top three in history in terms of explosive scoring power, which is currently recognized.

And now, an extremely surprising guy like Sun Ce has appeared!

It was indeed an accident. How did Sun Ce become a historical scorer in the past two years?

Although he has repeatedly scored high scores in the first three years of his career, his "stability" has suddenly improved in the past two years, especially this year. If he cannot score 30+ in a game and does not get a triple-double, others will I think he is acting abnormally!

…

…

"How come people's expectations of me, Old Sun, have become so high?"

Sun Ce felt awkward looking at the topics that expected him to accomplish something.

This was not the case last year, but after the start of this season, there are more and more expectations.

It's not a gradual one, it's a direct explosion!

It's as if the expectations that he was called a "system superstar" in the first three years of his career were thrown all over him this season after he established his superstar status last year.

After thinking about it for a while, Sun Ce found that he had to "thank" ESPN.

At that time, people led by ESPN promoted his "talent ceiling theory", and some teams who wanted to get him added fuel to the fire, which temporarily lowered his reputation, but at the same time, it also lowered people's expectations for him during that period.

At that time, ESPN belittled him as a "system superstar". Although it was indeed very uncomfortable for him at the time, it really gave him time to "obscenely develop".

But this also makes him encounter extra expectations no matter what he does this season. The fans' expectations seem to explode wildly after the pressure.

Sun Ce counted the things that fans have unlimited expectations for him.

Ranked first in triple-doubles. Although he is not required to average a triple-double per game, the difficulty is similar because there is already an opponent who averages a triple-double per game and has played 57 games and scored 25 triple-doubles.

The shot-blocking leader, Anthony Davis is really good at this. He works very well with Lopez Jr. and Ryan Anderson. He averages 3.2 blocks per game, right behind him.

Scoring champion.

A showdown between the strongest pitching combinations.

Now there is a competition for ranking of 40+ games...

Any one of these goals that fans have high hopes for him is worthy of being praised if other players complete it.

For example, Anthony Davis ranked first in blocks for most of the season before the All-Star Weekend, and he has been praised as the "number one insider in the future."

As for his grandson, he has to fight for everything.

But with his comprehensively developed skills and the environment he is in, he can really fight for anything!

The Grizzlies just have a lot of injuries, but every new player is recruited around someone else. If someone is injured, someone can step in. It’s just that the depth and strength are not as good as the previous two years. This year is really It is supported by three major perimeter players, of which Sun is the most critical. He also produced even more terrifying statistics than last season, with a field goal percentage of 49.7% and a three-point shooting percentage of 37.6%. The point shooting percentage has made great progress compared to last season.

While fans were hotly discussing and the media were hyping up the fact that Sun Ce would hit the 40+ times ranking list in a single season, Google Sports columnist Wojn Navowski wrote an article with a more detailed analysis than Sun Ce. Let’s take a look at what fans have unlimited expectations for Sun Ce and what Sun Ce is working hard to accomplish.

In addition to those analyzed by Sun Ce, there are also four consecutive years of blocks, consecutive scoring, and the third MVP... In fact, many things are the same thing, but with another name on it, it seems more difficult.

Wojnarowski pointed out in his analysis that this season, if Sun Ce can do all these things in the regular season, no matter how he performs in the playoffs, this year will be the year when Sun Ce will make another leap after confirming his superstar status!

If all these achievements are achieved, then Sun Ce is not expected to become the strongest player in the league. If he does, he is the strongest player in the league today!

…

A new month has arrived. On March 1, the first game of the Grizzlies' three consecutive away games has arrived.

A new month, 17 games, 4 back-to-backs, and an away back-to-back at the beginning.

The first challenge is the Washington Wizards.

After the Grizzlies' morning tactical meeting and training, the players came to the Verizon Center and opened for interviews before lunch.

Just before the interview began, the NBA officially announced that Sun Ce won the second Player of the Month award this season, and he is also the only player in the league who has won the Player of the Month award multiple times this season.

In the West, in the first four months, James and Westbrook each won the Player of the Month award once, and Sun Ce won it twice.

In the East, Wall won it once, Rose and Griffin won it together once, Evans won it once, and Dragic won it once.

After four months, Sun Ce won two Player of the Month and five Player of the Week awards, sweeping away the situation last season where he couldn't win any award despite his efforts. After he was no longer the "defending MVP", the situation was completely different.

After the interview began, Sun Ce was surrounded by reporters... Facing reporters who were more excited than he was, Sun Ce didn't expect these reporters to be so good at creating topics. As they talked, they talked about the No. 1 player in the league.

Even if Sun Ce was a capable person, he didn't answer this topic directly, but stopped the passing rookie Gobert and asked, "Rudy, who do you think is the best basketball player in the world?"

Gobert looked at the reporters surrounding him, and his heart was surging. Playing for the Grizzlies is really a constant pressure and motivation. Even for him, a player whose playing time is not stable and who is confirmed not to be on the activation list tonight, there are many reporters surrounding him. This is pressure, but also a motivation to push the role players of the team to play hard.

Hearing Sun Ce's question, Gobert answered without hesitation: "Michael Jordan!"

"Get lost!"

...

After a day of preparation, at 5 pm, the Grizzlies' away game against the Wizards began.

The Wizards, with 31 wins and 26 losses, are currently ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, surpassed by the Knicks.

This year's playoff competition is very fierce. Many teams directly started the playoff mode after the All-Star Weekend, fighting desperately for that playoff ticket.

The Wizards may be too young. The trio of Wall, Waiters, and Tristan Thompson performed very well before the All-Star Weekend. Wall also beat Wade to enter the All-Star starting lineup. Even the league moved Evans to the frontcourt player position to promote Wall.

But after the All-Star Weekend, Wall played like a Pacers player.

The last time he played against the Grizzlies, Wall had a triple-double away from home and defeated the Little Overlord.

But this time, Wall was beaten!

Paul George and Klay Thompson, who were beaten by Wall last time, have the support of the team's top defensive brother tonight!

Tony gave online guidance on how to defend Wall, an All-Star point guard with strong impact but no shooting ability. Wall only made 4 of 14 shots tonight, scoring 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Wall is the most critical link in the rise of the Wizards. If he doesn't play well, the Wizards' offense will collapse across the board.

107 to 92, the Grizzlies avenged the Wizards away and ended their two-game losing streak.

During this period, Sun Ce's touch was in an excellent state, or it can be said that it continued the mid-range shot, three-point contest and long-range shot in the last game before the All-Star Weekend. After the All-Star Weekend, Sun Ce's touch has been in an explosive state. In one game, he only scored 11 points. The Knicks cheated and didn't let him shoot.

Livingston, Paul George, Yi Jianlian, and Hardaway Jr. all got assists from him tonight. Sun Ce did a good job of running without the ball. He shot 26 times in the whole game, 15 of 26 shots, of which 6 of 8 three-pointers were the most deadly. He played 33 minutes in the whole game and scored 44 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks!

Klay Thompson was also ignited by Sun Ce, 4 of 6 three-pointers, and scored 20 points in the whole game.

Paul George was the most comfortable in assists, with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 16 assists, and the number of assists set a new high in his personal career. However, he learned from Sun Ce to grab rebounds desperately, but he still couldn't grab 10 rebounds... The road to a triple-double is long.

…

After playing against the Wizards, the Grizzlies flew to New York non-stop the next morning, and challenged the Nets away at 8 pm on the 2nd.

106 to 114, the Grizzlies lost this game.

And the loss was heavy! Larry Sanders and Yi Jianlian were both injured. Garnett was entangled with the two when grabbing rebounds, but he accidentally slipped and brought them down. As a result, all three of them were injured and left the court.

Sun Ce scored 27 points tonight, and his 4-game 40+ streak was interrupted, but he still had 11 rebounds and 13 assists. The Grizzlies played very well as a whole tonight. Paul George scored 20 points, Klay Thompson scored 16 points, and Prince played after Yi Jianlian and Larry Sanders were injured and retired, and both scored 14 points... But the Nets coached by Rivers have a strong offensive firepower, averaging 107.8 points per game, ranking fifth in the league! The only teams ahead of them are the Grizzlies, Heat, Spurs, and Lakers.

It’s not enough to say that when it rains, the tiles often break, with holes here and there, and they can never be repaired.

Yi Jianlian fell back to back this time. The initial diagnosis was ankle sprain and thigh muscle strain. He had to go to the hospital for an MRI to see if there was any structural damage.

Larry Sanders had a false alarm. He seemed to be the one who was in the most pain among the three people who fell to the ground, but it was just a hard injury. He was hurt by hitting the floor. He only twisted his wrist when he supported himself on the ground. Of course, he had to go to the hospital for a detailed examination.

There should be no major problems for the two, but Yi Jianlian’s injury, under the current circumstances, has a greater impact on the team than Larry Sanders’ injury!

Yi Jianlian has taken on heavy responsibilities this season and has been a starter for most of the time. His average data of 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.5 steals per game is very beautiful, and he has entered the peak of his career.

But it’s really tiring to play! The average playing time is 23 minutes per game, not much, but he has to fight with all his strength when he is on the court. He must fight for the ball when he doesn't have it, cut in, pick and roll, run back, and fast break. Although he doesn't talk much at ordinary times, he may not react when the opponent slaps him, but he has been working hard silently, so he can play such an efficient performance.

But because of this, he was originally in a state of fatigue. Among the three people who fell this time, he was the most seriously injured.

Larry Sanders must also pay attention to it. It has not been long since he recovered from a fractured finger, and now he has a sprained wrist.

When doing physical therapy after the game, Sun Ce looked at the team's injury list.

Beverley, Yi Jianlian, and Larry Sanders will not be able to play next.

Paul George has a slight knee sprain, which has little impact; Stoudemire is a long-term injury and cannot play more. Running in a running and gunning lineup is the time he can perform relatively efficiently; Tony is also a long-term injury. He is very similar to Beverley. He plays too hard. He misses more than 20 games every year when he rests, and he also misses 20 games when he does not rest. There are not many injuries in the past three years, which is related to the team's implementation of the rest strategy in the previous three years.

This year, the team did not implement the rest strategy, not because they did not want to implement it, but because they could not implement it, so Tony suffered more injuries.

But Tony Allen's hard work is rewarded. The team is already discussing the renewal with him and gave him a condition that he cannot refuse... A three-year middle-class contract, which is unlikely to be obtained by another team. Generally, the team does not need it. Generally, strong teams are more important to stabilize their own characteristics, rather than to strengthen anything, and strong teams cannot afford it.

More importantly, the team promised to retire Tony Allen's jersey after he retires!

Among the players who won the championship together, Sun Ce, Randolph, and Gasol will definitely have their jerseys retired, and among so many other players, only Tony Allen received such a promise.

After this game, Sun Ce looked at his team's record. After 58 games, he had 39 wins and 19 losses, and there were 24 games left to play. There was basically no hope of hitting 60 wins.

Moreover, more troubles are coming!

After the All-Star Weekend, the Warriors won 5 games in a row, and the current record has become 37 wins and 21 losses, rushing to the fifth place in the West, and it is coming fiercely!

There are 10 playoff-level teams in the West this year. The Timberwolves are slightly behind, but they also have a winning rate of about 50%. The internal friction in the West is not much worse than that in the East, so except for the top two in the West, the ranking competition of the other 8 teams is very fierce. As many as 9 teams in the top ten in the West are expected to get 50+ wins, but except for the top two, the third to ninth will not have a particularly good record. It is estimated that getting 55 wins may be able to rush to the third place.

Sun Ce and the Grizzlies don't have too many ideas about the regular season record this season. The only goal is the home advantage in the first round.

But the Warriors' momentum makes Sun Ce feel dangerous!

...

...

Although the Grizzlies lost again, on March 3, the first day of the new week, the league announced the best players of the week in the East and West. Sun Ce won the best player of the week for two consecutive weeks, increasing his number of best players of the week this season to 6 times!

The number of best players of the week and the best players of the month has reached twice that of last season.

At the same time, although the Grizzlies only had a record of 3 wins and 3 losses after the All-Star Weekend, Sun Ce ranked first in the MVP rankings for two consecutive weeks!

6 games, 4 times 40+, two triple-doubles, the Grizzlies' overall performance was not good, but Sun Ce's personal performance continued to be hot.

Winning the award will not give the Grizzlies extra rest time. On the morning of the 3rd, the coaching staff let the players sleep in, flew to Chicago in the afternoon, and after a night of rest, at 6 pm on the 4th, the Grizzlies' last away game against the Bulls in three consecutive away games started.

The Grizzlies thought that the game was over. The team was short of players again. Only 12 players played. This number was not small, but for a team like the Grizzlies where everyone played hard and maintained high efficiency, one less player had a big impact.

The Bulls had 3 wins and 1 loss after the All-Star Weekend. They lost to the 76ers in the first game after the All-Star Weekend. They had won three games in a row in the past three games and rested for two days on the 2nd and 3rd! The key is that the Bulls are very healthy!

In tonight's game, the Grizzlies' offense was indeed very bad. The team made 37 of 92 shots, with a hit rate of only 40.2%. They only scored 92 points in the whole game, which was nearly 20 points lower than the season average.

But!

The Bulls were in even worse shape!

Except for Griffin who scored 20 points and 22 rebounds with 8 of 20 shots, Noah who scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and Mike Dunleavy who scored 11 points, no one else scored in double digits on the Bulls! Rose only scored 7 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists!

Relying on Sun Ce's 35 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks, the Grizzlies defeated the Bulls 92-80, raising their win count to 40 wins!

Looking at Rose's 2 of 12 shots, Sun Ce felt so good! 3 of the 7 blocks tonight were for Rose.

It's a pity that Rose was in such good shape in the last match, which made Sun lose the chance to sweep Rose in the regular season this season. Otherwise, he could have made up the third All-Star point guard card. When he wins the triple-double king this season and gets a turtle card, he can get the blessing of a new legendary point guard...