James Harden sat in the locker room, looking dejected.
Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought the Rockets had lost again today.
But in reality, the Rockets had played extremely well today. James Harden had also delivered an efficient performance, leaving Pope utterly embarrassed.
Ariza had just come out of the shower when he noticed that something seemed off with Harden, so he went over to ask with concern.
"What's wrong? You're about to win Player of the Month, and you're not happy?" Ariza patted Harden on the shoulder. He was just as confident as Harden.
"It'd be great if I actually won it. I'm afraid I won't," Harden replied, still frowning.
"How could that happen? As far as I know, you've basically been occupying the front pages of every major sports outlet for the past half month. If Link had done anything outrageous, the media would've been the first to report it." Ariza felt Harden was being overly nervous.
Ever since Randolph erupted and dismantled LaMarcus Aldridge, the Memphis Grizzlies had remained relatively low-key.
The occasional Grizzlies story appeared in the news, but only received a few passing lines.
Link had not broken any more unbelievable records, nor had he been casually putting up triple-doubles.
Harden, on the other hand, was frequently reported on because of his outstanding performances.
At least in terms of influence over the past half month, Harden had a better chance of winning Player of the Month.
Moreover, Ariza knew how difficult it was to win Player of the Month. Back when he played alongside Kobe, even Kobe did not win it every single month.
Especially in the West, repeating as Player of the Month was harder than ever, let alone winning it three months in a row.
After hearing Ariza's words, Harden's mood