The invincible kryptonite of basketball

And this is also the favorite part of fans and media.

A superstar who was abandoned by his home team played against his home team in the playoffs, and if he succeeded, he ended his home team's dream of becoming a dynasty.

There is no better screenplay than this.

Of course, the premise is that the Pelicans can really win, otherwise Tang Tian will become the best background emperor.

This ending is another story.

The game between the Pelicans and the Spurs is two days later.

The Pelicans grabbed the second advantage in the regular season, and they can still wait for the Spurs to come to New Orleans.

Just as they were preparing for the game, the tiebreaker between the Rockets and the Clippers was also over.

It's a bit like the Pelicans playing the Grizzlies before. After losing Game [-], the Clippers' spirit was gone. They defeated the Rockets in the tiebreaker.

In this way, the Rockets became the ninth team to finally achieve a comeback after falling behind 9 to 1.

They will also usher in a game against the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.

All four semifinal matches have been released, and the games between the Spurs and the Pelicans, the Cavaliers and the Knicks are the first to start.

The New Orleans arena was packed, and fans looked even more excited than in the first round.

The Pelicans have become stronger and more stable after the first round, and they have the ability to wrestle with the Spurs even in the playoffs.

And according to the news before the game, Jokic will also usher in a comeback in this game.

This makes them more confident in the game.

At the beginning of the game, Tang Tian and Davis continued their outstanding performance in the first round, leading the Pelicans to a 27-21 lead over the Spurs in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Jokic replaced the game, which attracted cheers from the fans.

After playing a good rookie season, fans have very high expectations for him.

After Jokic came on the field, he missed a three-pointer and then was scored 2+1 by Diao on the defensive end. His state did not look very good.

However, he quickly adjusted his state, first assisting Dinwiddie to score a layup, and then defending Ginobili's layup on the defensive end.

And the second time he seized the opportunity, received a pass from Dinwiddie, and hit an open three-pointer at the top of the arc.

Tang Tian was overjoyed when he saw this.

In Memphis before, he saw that Jokic didn't feel good when he was training in the training hall, and he was worried that he would not be able to find his target after his comeback.

But now it seems that Jokic's ability to adjust is better than he imagined.

It took only a few rounds to find the feeling.

But back on the defensive end, he was fouled by Ginobili for a layup.

This was his second foul of the quarter.

Tang Tian turned his head and looked at Popovich who was standing in the half-court next door.

约基奇这一节打了4分多钟，拿到了5分2板2助攻2犯规，表现很不错。

The help he brought to the Pelicans' bench stage is still obvious.

After halftime, the Pelicans also led the Spurs by 55 points 46 to 9.

Playing at this pace, the hope of winning the first game is very high.

The home commentator is also very optimistic, and believes that the Pelicans will continue their excellent state in the first round and get a good start.

But in the second half, the Pelicans had problems inside, and the person who had the problem was Whiteside.

He didn't have foul problems like in the previous game, but he played very anxiously, wanting to attack when he got the ball, and the defensive end too.

There was even a performance of losing his defensive position because he wanted to block the shot.

This allowed the Spurs to seize an opportunity to catch up with the score and finally reversed the Pelicans 103 to 99 to win the game.

唐天和戴维斯的发挥都正常，前者29分7板4助攻，后者19分11板，约基奇也有10分4板3助攻的表现。

Whiteside's data is also good, with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

But fans who have watched the game and the players of the Pelicans know that Whiteside played very poorly in the second half of this game with various misplacements and strong attacks.

As long as he plays a little better, the Pelicans can basically win the game.

Speaking of it, Jokic played well, but Whiteside's performance was poor. There is really a bit of disagreement between the two.

After being reversed, the atmosphere in the Pelicans locker room after the game was very dull.

This kind of game that can be won but lost is really uncomfortable.

Everyone knows who is responsible, but they also know Whiteside's character, and no one is easy to speak.

Tang Tian called Whiteside and led him outside the locker room.

"Hassan, you need to play patiently. Have you forgotten that I told you that the first priority of a center is to protect the basket? Blocking a few shots is not important."

Tang Tian began to speak in a calm tone.

Whiteside nodded, but didn't seem too concerned.

Seeing his attitude, Tang Tian became more serious.

"Did you forget what you said, you want to earn yourself a big contract next year, and then buy a house that is so big that you can live in your family?"

Tang Tian said what Whiteside cared about.

"I know those."

Whiteside looked a little impatient.

Tang Tian had said these words to him too many times.

And what he did was what Tang Tian said, but he couldn't say it out.

If you want to get a big contract, you must have good data, and the block data can best reflect his role.

But the Spurs play very reasonably, and there are very few strong drives to the basket, and he won't get it at all without taking some risks.

Not to mention that Jokic played so well when he came back, which put more pressure on him.

Seeing Whiteside's reaction, Tang Tian frowned.

He was no longer angry, but a little disappointed.

At the beginning, Whiteside listened to him very much, but now his wings are hardened and he starts to have his own ideas.

In fact, even if Whiteside didn't say anything, Tang Tian also knew what little things he was thinking.

He really wanted to give this guy a chestnut.

This guy has a bad mind, and he really treats the general managers of other teams as idiots. The stats that were swiped and the stats that were typed out can be clearly seen in the video.

"Hassan, put away your goddamn distractions, we're in the playoffs, if you want to keep playing."

Tang Tian finally said harsh words.

The Pelicans lost their home court advantage when they lost the first game. The Pelicans and the Spurs are close in strength. If Whiteside plays like this, all their efforts for the season will be in vain.

Chapter 679 Looking at the desperate situation... (Second update!)

"I'm not scaring you. If you are in this state, the coaching staff will definitely reduce your playing time. If you continue to lose, you may be removed from the starting lineup, or even not allowed to play."

Tang Tian knew that Whiteside was out of his mind, so he told him very bluntly.

Whiteside stared blankly at Tang Tian, ​​and nodded after he had figured out what he said.

The impact of losing the first game of the series on the morale of the Pelicans is obvious. In the training session on the second day, the enthusiasm of the players dropped significantly compared to before.

After the training, Williams called Tang Tian to his office alone.

"I want Nikola to start the second game, what do you think?"

Williams said this, which shows that the coaching staff is already very dissatisfied with Whiteside's performance.

Not to mention the last game, if Whiteside didn't have so many problems in the first round, the Pelicans would have ended the series long ago.

Tang Tian shook his head.

"Nicola's defense can't support the starting lineup now. Popovich is on the opposite side. He will target at the beginning, and let us fall into a passive position."

Tang Tian told the truth.

Williams sighed helplessly.

Although he is not good at tactics, he still knows what Tang Tian said. It's just that Whiteside's current state is not small for the team.

Especially in the last game, although the players didn't complain, but he is good at interpersonal relationship, he can still feel the kind of resentment written on his face hidden in his heart.

"The coaching staff can do more psychological work on Hassan, he is still our starting center."

Tang Tian suggested.

Williams didn't speak, and after a long silence, he didn't make a statement, and finally asked Tang Tian to go back first.

Tang Tian came out of the office. He didn't know how Williams would choose in the end, but it was foreseeable that the second game would still be difficult.

In fact, Williams' hesitation is also understandable.

The Pelicans lost a good game in the first game. If they still lose in the second game, the big score will be 0 to 2.

Since the NBA implemented the seven-game four-win system, there have been 0 2-192 situations, but the number of successful reversals in the end is only 14 times.

If the Pelicans fall into that situation, the opponent is still the Spurs, and the chance of reversal will be very slim.

So Williams' caution is understandable.

On game day, the Pelicans arranged for a shooting drill in the morning.

Before practice began, Williams and Borrego took Whiteside to chat on the sidelines.

Judging from Whiteside's confident expression after chatting, Williams finally adopted Tang Tian's suggestion.

Sure enough, after training, Williams first announced that Whiteside would continue to start in the next game.

Whiteside then apologized to his teammates and promised that the situation like the previous game would not happen again.

Tang Tian heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this.

Williams is still very capable in interpersonal communication, and I don't know what he said to Whiteside to make the latter's attitude change so much.

But this is a very positive sign.

After Whiteside apologized, he could see that the expressions on the faces of his teammates were much better.

That night, the second game of the series between the Pelicans and the Spurs continued at the New Orleans Arena.

The arena is still full of seats, and even the enthusiasm of the fans is even higher than the first game.

The Pelicans have accumulated a large number of die-hard fans with their performance in two seasons. Now that the team is in a bad situation, these fans did not complain or blame the players, but cheered for the team in a more enthusiastic way.

Feeling the enthusiasm from the fans, the self-confidence on the faces of the players is much higher than before.

During the opening ceremony, Tang Tian came out and performed a short breakdance like Walker, which ignited the emotions of the entire arena.

Both sides maintained the starting lineup of the first game.

The Spurs are Parker, Green, Leonard, Duncan and Gasol.

The Pelicans are Holiday, Tang Tian, ​​Ariza, Davis and Whiteside.

Whiteside jumped high and gave the Pelicans the first chance to attack.

At the beginning of the game, Tang Tian hit Green's defense with a kick.

That's not counting, he assisted Davis to dunk under the basket in the next round.

After this series of adjustments, the Pelicans' competitive state on the court is no worse than the first game.

However, the Spurs were in better shape than in the first game. Parker, Gasol and Leonard took turns to score, and they played back and forth with the Pelicans.

Like the regular season record and what the outside world knows, the strength of the two teams is a standard [-]-[-] split.

If you want to win, most of the time it depends on who is better at the details.