The two chatted a lot while Link was at George's house.

In the past, they were teammates at Fresno State University for two years. At that time, Link was extremely envious of this tall and thin genius.

Although he only played in the NCAA Division II game, watching the guy easily swept away fifteen or sixteen points, seven or eight rebounds, and two or three steals every night, Link still admired George extremely.

Of course, Link is more willing to talk to George about the future. After all, he has not really participated in their past.

"What you need to improve the most now is your ball-holding skills. With your excellent physical fitness, you can learn some more aggressive dribbling skills. After dribbling, you attack from behind. You can learn more from David West. I know he is a power forward, but this does not affect your pursuit of lessons from him. Olajuwon is also a center, but Kobe almost got a freshman after he came back from him."

Link gave George a lot of advice, and he knew very well how George went from an unknown big pitcher to an all-round superstar. Maybe his advice would make George's rise come early?

"Haha, I really miss the days when we sat down and discussed how to improve ourselves. Tonight, we seemed to be back in college. Hey, your season record is really good. After playing in December, I am still at the top of the league! What is your ultimate goal this year?" George looked at Link, full of curiosity.

"Goal? What are your goals? You have lost Daniel Granger this season, but you actually played well." Link did not answer first, but returned the question.

"Of course our goal is the Eastern Conference Finals, hahaha, you may not believe it. After all, there are strong teams such as the Celtics, Knicks, Bulls and Nets in the East, but if you don't dare to set a higher goal, then what basketball can you play? The last time the Pacers played in the Eastern Conference Finals was probably the era of Reggie Miller. It's so crazy, I hope I can do my best to achieve the goal."

"Come on George, I think it's not difficult for you to achieve your goals. After all, you are still improving. Especially for you, there are still half a year before the playoffs, and you can't make any progress at all during this period." Link solemnly patted George on the shoulder. In the Eastern Conference Finals? Judging from the Pacers' current state, this goal seems to be too high.

But sometimes, the basketball world is so crazy.

"You haven't answered me yet, what are your goals?"

"We were, at first, wanted to get a glory banner. For example, a division champion, or a Western Conference champion. The dome of the Federal Express Arena is really empty, and it's time to make some changes. But now hahaha, it's a bit incredible to say, we're actually thinking about the O'Brien Cup."

Link looked at the sky, and the O'Brien Cup was like a moon hidden among the clouds, out of reach.

But this year, the Grizzlies' strength is beyond Link's expectations. It seems that it is not impossible to rush out of the West and then get the Heat.

No, maybe after the butterfly effect comes together, the one who reaches the finals this year will become George?

"Are you a champion? Most people in this league have been in their entire lives and cannot touch such honors. I hope one day, you and I can fight in the finals." George also showed his longing eyes. They are still young and their future has infinite possibilities.

"I hope that at that time, Lance Stephenson will not pass the ball to Iguodala again." Link couldn't help but use Fenson to start shooting again.

"Puff, okay, don't mention him, Lance is a good person, but sometimes it's twelve o'clock, Link."

“Well, 2012 is over again.”

"again?"

"Uh, nothing. I hope we can all achieve our goals in the new year."

"Come on, Link."

"So too, George."

After midnight, Link bid farewell to George and prepared to return to the hotel.

In the first second of 2013, two young people looked forward to their future together. But in the future, they had to persevere on their back to back.

※※※

On the first day of 2013, Lance Stephenson became the darling of fans.

In the game against the Grizzlies, his funny mistakes became a popular video on the Internet.

O'Neal's five embarrassing shows even specially created a collection of Stephenson's show and moments this season. The entire NBA atmosphere seemed to have become happy because of Stephenson's existence.

Stephenson was hot, but it was certainly not the kind of fire he hoped for.

The Grizzlies players were in a good mood, and defeating the Pacers was a perfect end to their 2012.

With three consecutive victories, 25 wins and 3 losses, starting the journey of the new year with such a result, the Grizzlies' prospects are also bright.

In the past, the Grizzlies' record was very heartbreaking. At the beginning of 2011, the Grizzlies' record was only 14 wins and 18 losses, and even the top eight in the West could not enter. On the first day of 2010, the Grizzlies' record was 15 wins and 16 losses, and they were still not up or down. On the first day of 2009, the Grizzlies' record was only 10 wins and 22 losses.

But no one expected that in 2013, the Grizzlies took off directly. 25 wins and 3 losses. In comparison, the Grizzlies in the 2008-09 season only won 24 games in a season.

At this time, the Grizzlies players were sitting on the plane to Boston. As the schedule deepened, the frequency of the Grizzlies and Eastern teams also became higher.

After playing the Pacers on the 31st, the Grizzlies have to continue their East away trip. Boston is their next stop.

Speaking of the Boston Celtics, they may be one of the worst teams in the league now. Facing Stephenson's funny collection, no Celtics players can laugh. After all, their situation is really difficult.

The Celtics have lost three games in their previous four away games, and have an average of 23 points per game. The loss in these three games has directly caused the Celtics to fall out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference!

For Celtic fans, this is an unacceptable result. Since the formation of the Celtics Big Three in the 2007-08 season, the Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league. Last season, they even fought with the Miami Heat to tiebreak in the Eastern Conference Finals!

If the Celtics could control the damn mistake in the fourth quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they might be able to enter the finals. And after reaching the finals, facing the slutty Thunder, the Celtics would not have no chance of winning the championship.

To put it bluntly, the Celtics were still a team that won the championship last season, but this season has not even been able to enter the top eight in the Eastern Conference. This huge gap will definitely be unacceptable for a while.

Not only the fans, but the players were also hit hard.

Compared with last season's lineup, the biggest difference between the Celtics' lineup this season and the one last season is that it is less Thunder Allen.

Garnett and Pierce were worried about this because the renewal price given by the Celtics was much higher than that of the Heat. But even so, Ray Allen left and joined a team that had just defeated them last season.

In Garnett and Pierce's opinion, this was tantamount to betrayal.

"I don't have Allen's phone number now, and I won't try to contact him. What I care about now is the other people on the team. I'm not here to answer questions related to Allen, I only answer this time, and stop here." Before the start of the season, Garnett's attitude towards Ray Allen was very cold.

In the opening game of the new season, Garnett ignored Ray Allen, who told reporters after the game, "I just saw a man wearing a Heat jersey coming from the other side, and my attention only needs to be focused on the field."

It can be seen that Garnett and Pierce both breathed a sigh of relief. For them, if they could defeat the Heat of Ray Allen and lead the Celtics back to the top of the league, it would undoubtedly be the most enjoyable thing in the world.

But now, let alone returning to the top of the league, they can't even play in the playoffs!

Thinking of his current situation, Garnett was unwilling to accept it. Will the Celtics collapse without Ray Allen?

He can accept failure, but he cannot accept this!

After finishing four consecutive visits, the Celtics finally returned to their home court, and they finally had the opportunity to stand up again. So, on January 1, Garnett found Pierce in the training hall of North Shore Garden and said only one sentence. Mobile::

"Man, we can't lose any more."

Pierce nodded slightly and looked at the full banner of honor in the training hall.

As the 2008 finals MVP, 34-year-old Pierce is ready to face the No. 0 star.
Chapter completed!