Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 71 Rifts and Vows (Thanks to Shang Yanhua for the Alliance Leader Award)

If Greg Oden remains healthy, the Grizzlies vs. Trail Blazers game will be a highly anticipated matchup.

However, Oden's season-ending injury has made the Trail Blazers seem to have returned to being a fringe team that is detached from the national spotlight.

Before the game, the entire Grizzlies team thought it would be an easy battle – after all, the Trail Blazers had a dismal record last season, and their tanking acquisition of the number one draft pick was still unable to play. How could the team be any different from last year?
As a result, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge both exploded, combining for 64 points and forcing the Grizzlies into a tough battle.

In the first half, Roy, a skilled combo guard, really taught Xu Ling a lesson.

Roy has a unique playing style, whether he's shooting with the ball or making drive-and-kick decisions, he's always calm and collected, and he has repeatedly made difficult shots despite Xu Ling's defense.

As the game entered the second half, Xu Ling gradually noticed a flaw in Roy's defensive habits—his lateral movements lacked urgency, his defensive focus was not concentrated, and he often let his guard down.

Recognizing this, Xu Ling began to frequently use screens to cut in or directly accelerate his breakthroughs, scoring repeatedly in front of Roy.

Faced with the rookie's sudden counterattack, Roy seemed unprepared and his mentality gradually became impatient. Several of his forced shots failed, which only fueled the Grizzlies' counterattack momentum.

Despite Aldridge's continued efforts in the paint, attempting to salvage the situation with accurate mid-range shots, the Trail Blazers' offensive rhythm had become chaotic.

Ultimately, with Roy losing his composure and the team's offense and defense falling apart, the Trail Blazers collapsed in the final quarter and were forced to accept defeat.

Xu Ling contributed 24 points and 8 rebounds. Although he was slightly overshadowed in the first half by Roy's strong performance, he quickly adjusted his form in the second half and completely turned the tide.

After the fight, Roy sighed helplessly, "Greg (Oden) warned me to be careful of Eli. But as you can see, he pounced without hesitation whenever he got the slightest opening and threw a series of heavy punches. Memphis really got a gem."

Riding the momentum of their opening game, the Grizzlies secured their third consecutive win of the new season. However, their success was short-lived. As the sample size increased, coaching staffs from other teams began to delve into the Grizzlies' tactical system. They quickly discovered a fatal weakness: the Grizzlies' point guards were simply unable to effectively utilize the SSOL system.

Although Xu Ling can fill in at point guard, the SSOL offense he leads is also clunky. Once the fast break fails, he quickly switches back to his most familiar mode: frequently calling for pick-and-rolls, using his individual skills to create mismatches, and taking one-on-one shots. Initially, when he kept scoring in mismatches, the opponent would often choose to double-team, and Xu Ling could then pass the ball to his open teammates.

However, the subsequent opponents—especially the Kings, Clippers, and Pistons—all adopted a similar strategy: resolutely refusing to double-team.

No matter how fiercely Xu Ling plays in one-on-one situations, they prefer to let him go one-on-one, tightly controlling the other players' passing lanes. Without the support of his teammates, Xu Ling's individual offense can still score points, but it is difficult to extend the advantage to the whole team and generate sufficient marginal benefits.

To make matters worse, Xu Ling couldn't find his scoring touch every night. In the game against the Kings after two consecutive losses, he faced Ron Artest for the first time in his career and was limited by Artest's tough defense, making only 8 of 21 shots.

To make matters worse, Rudy Gay, the highly anticipated middle blocker, also completely lost his way.

When Xu Ling was trapped by Artest's iron chains and needed someone to step up and share the scoring pressure, Gay delivered an inefficient performance, shooting 6-for-20 and scoring only 15 points. Not only was his offensive touch ice-cold, but his black hole-like defensive awareness made the Grizzlies' small forward position a glaring weakness on the defensive end.

Gay repeatedly lost his way during opponents' off-ball screens, leaving his assigned players exposed; he hesitated in choosing when to help defend, failing to effectively use isolation plays to alleviate the defensive pressure on Xu Ling, and was also a step too slow in rotation to help, giving the Kings' shooters plenty of open looks on the perimeter.

Gay's plus-minus rating was the lowest in the game at -23, which vividly illustrates the huge difficulties the team faced on both offense and defense when he was on the court.

With Xu Ling's only strength contained, Gay was completely unable to fulfill his role as a wing scorer, and Pau Gasol struggled increasingly within the run-and-gun system. He was uncomfortable with the significantly higher number of possessions compared to other teams and disliked the frequent and mechanical pick-and-roll plays. He longed to have the ball in the low post and finish the offense in his preferred way, but the ball possession remained in the hands of perimeter players for extended periods. As a result, this All-Star center seemed marginalized by the system, silently "withering away" in the game.

Xu Ling also began to tire of this system that seemed unsuitable for the team.

SSOL won't work on this team without a good point guard; the team's playing style needs to change.

Xu Ling returned to the locker room, seething with anger, intending to tell Markiafaroni what he was thinking.

Unexpectedly, before Xu Ling could even enter the locker room, he heard Gasol shout at Jafaroni, "Mark, how much longer are we going to waste in this system that's completely unsuitable for us?"

Jaffaroni paused for a moment, trying to calm the Spaniard down: "Paulo, we're building a modern basketball."

“Modern basketball? Or are you just letting your old dreams repeat themselves here?” Gasol interrupted him bluntly, his emotions gradually escalating. “I don’t deny that SSOL succeeded in Phoenix, but that was built on Steve Nash and a specific group of players! Look at us! Look at me! I’m a big man who needs to receive the ball in the low post, not a post player who keeps setting pointless screens beyond the three-point line! Apart from Eli, none of us can shoot after a pick-and-roll, nobody, not a single fucking one!”

"We need to stick to the system, and we need time to work things out!" Jafaroni also raised his voice.

"Time? We don't lack time, we lack a style of play that truly suits us!" Gasol waved his hand, pointing at almost all his interior teammates. "I'm fed up with driving from the baseline to the three-point line like a guard every possession, just to set a screen that nobody can use! We've been running back and forth all game, sacrificing all tactical depth for speed. This isn't basketball, it's a waste of talent!"

The two exchanged words, and the argument quickly escalated.

Jaffaroni accused Gasol of "resisting change" and "being unwilling to sacrifice for the team."

Gasol responded with an almost roaring retort to Jaffaroni, accusing him of "blindly copying" and "being out of touch with reality." Every man who dedicates himself to professional sports carries a degree of male chauvinism in his bones; they firmly believe that they are the best and will never easily admit defeat unless there is irrefutable evidence.

For Marc Jaffaroni, the SSOL system is the core of his coaching philosophy, even the reason for his existence in Memphis. He doesn't know what he would have left in Memphis if he lost this system.

At that moment, his frustrating conversation with General Manager Jerry West flashed through his mind. West had only repeated "maximize the existing roster" and "that's your task," without providing him with any point guards capable of executing the plays. A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped him, but his pride prevented him from admitting it to the players.

Therefore, when Gasol insisted on denying all of this, he undoubtedly offended him.

"I've had enough! I've had enough of your endless complaining!" Jaffaroni lost control, his voice trembling with anger. "You keep saying it's for the team, then why don't you call Jerry now for everyone's sake? Haven't you wanted to be traded for a long time?! Admit it, you've never genuinely wanted to play for Memphis! That's why the fans have never truly liked you!"

These words were like a sharp knife, stabbing Gasol in his most vulnerable spot.

The Spaniard's face turned pale instantly, his lips parted slightly but no sound came out; all the pent-up grievances and anger of the past few years were completely ignited by this one sentence.

Just as the Spanish were about to completely break down and potentially launch an even more aggressive response.

"enough!"

Xu Ling's voice came from the locker room door.

Then, Xu Ling pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind him, the loud noise startling everyone.

"I've had enough of your nonsense!"

Xu Ling strode between the two men, first looking at Gasol, his tone stern yet still leaving room for maneuver: "Paul, if you feel so uncomfortable with this system, you should have said so after the first loss, instead of waiting until after three consecutive losses to throw a tantrum here!"

Before Gasol could respond, Xu Ling abruptly turned to Jaffaroni, his voice rising sharply, even becoming slightly hoarse: "And you, Coach! You're the one who should be calling Jerry West! He invited you here, he knows what you're trying to do, but he didn't assign you a point guard who can execute your tactics! This is a failure on the part of management, but it's also your predicament! We all know that!"

"And, in any case, this is no reason for you to insult Paul! Without him, this team would still be a laughing stock in professional sports! A disgrace! Steve Francis wouldn't even wear this team's jersey! Paul changed all of that, even if only for a few short years, he truly changed this team!"

Xu Ling looked at Yafaroni with a piercing gaze, leaving no room for argument: "You must apologize to him for what you just said!"

Jaffaroni felt a sudden chill. Every word Xu Ling said struck a nerve—he had already raised this issue with West, only to be told "now is not the time," and even asked to use this opportunity to develop Xu Ling's combo guard potential. It wasn't that he couldn't see the problem; he was simply powerless to do anything about it.

Xu Ling's piercing gaze and Gasol's pale face flashed before his eyes. He realized that his loss of control just now might be the worst outburst a coach could make. He had not only hurt one of the team's key players, but also exposed the coaching staff's predicament.

At this moment, faced with Xu Ling's coercion, Jaffaroni opened his mouth, but all his explanations and grievances were stuck in his throat.

Sticking to the system is right, but denying the players' pain may be wrong.

To stabilize the locker room, Jaffaroni must take a step back.

Jaffaroni took a deep breath, turned his gaze with difficulty to Gasol, and said in a heavy, almost weary, honest voice, "Paul. I'm sorry for what I said to you. It was my fault. I'm so sorry."

Gasol pursed his lips, and although his emotions had not completely calmed down, he finally nodded slightly.

The locker room fell into an exhausted silence; the intense confrontation just moments before seemed to have drained all the oxygen from the room.

Xu Ling's gaze swept over his silent teammates, finally settling on Jaffaroni and Gasol.

"As for tonight's loss, the responsibility lies with me. I failed to break through Ron Artest's defense, and my performance on offense was subpar."

Xu Ling readily took responsibility for the loss, which actually eased the suffocating atmosphere in the locker room somewhat.

"But!" Xu Ling suddenly raised his voice, "This losing streak has to end here."

"I assure you, there will be no four-game losing streak."

After speaking, Xu Ling didn't say another word, but simply picked up the towel and turned to walk towards the shower room.

Assistant coach Dave Joerger quickly checked the next opponent, which turned out to be another struggling team – the New Jersey Nets.

(End of this chapter)