On December 23, the day before Christmas Eve, the Grizzlies welcomed their final opponent before the Christmas Day Games to FedExForum: the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs were only 11-17, sitting tenth in the Western Conference. The post-GDP era, combined with Leonard's departure, had dealt San Antonio a devastating blow.
The Spurs could no longer be considered one of the West's powerhouses. Even with two stars in DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, they still could not halt San Antonio's decline.
Though the Spurs had not fallen into the league's bottom ranks, given the current situation, it would indeed be difficult for them to break into the top eight in the West.
The last time the Grizzlies faced the Spurs, they had won with ease.
So, Barkley and most others believed it would not be difficult for the Grizzlies to extend their winning streak against San Antonio.
But competitive sports were not a comparison of paper strength.
On paper and based on recent results, the Grizzlies were indeed far superior to the Spurs.
Yet in the actual game today, the Spurs played at a level far beyond anyone's expectations.
Uncertainty—that was one of the charms of competitive sports.
Of course, for Link, that kind of uncertainty was just fucking awful.
Today, the visiting Spurs did not surrender without a fight.
Whether the Spurs players all wanted to give themselves a Christmas gift, nobody knew, but they came out incredibly strong from the opening tip.
On their first possession, Aldridge buried a three-pointer over JaMychal Green's defense.
That was right, a three-pointer.
Aldridge was a power forward with an exceptionally accurate mid-range shot, but three-pointers had never been his specialty, nor did he like taking them.
The highest three-point attempt average of Aldridge's career was only 1.5 per game.
Last season, across all