The invincible kryptonite of basketball

At this time, Huo Ledi walked to Tang Tian's side.

Tang Tian looked up and saw that it was him, and greeted him with a smile.

"Thank you."

But when Holiday opened his mouth, he was puzzled.

Why are you thankful for this?

"My wife, I took her for a physical examination two days ago. She has a brain tumor, which is benign. The doctor said that surgery can cure it. If you didn't remind me, I can't believe what the consequences would be. .”

Holiday went on to explain.

It was only when Tang Tian heard this that he realized that it was something he had mentioned to Holiday at the end of the season.

"That's good."

Tang Tian said with a smile.

He mentioned it out of good intentions at the beginning, but he didn't expect the result to be so soon. He originally wanted to wait for a while before mentioning it.

With such a good result now, it is a good thing for both Holiday and the Pelicans.

After the makeup photo was taken, it soon appeared on the covers of magazines in major media.

And what's interesting this year is that TNT, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated all chose different teams as their magazine covers.

ESPN used the Big Three of the Rockets, TNT used the Warriors' starting five, and Sports Illustrated used the photos of the Pelicans' dual-core plus Stevens.

On the cover of the magazine of the Pelicans, Tang Tian held the ball with one hand and his eyes were murderous, and Davis made a block with both hands.

The picture of one attack and one defense can make people vaguely feel that Yao and Mai were in the same frame back then.

In addition, Stevens folded his arms around his chest, with wise eyes in his eyes.

Coupled with the words "Pelican Champion", the picture is full of sense.

The global sales of Sports Illustrated are far higher than those of ESPN and TNT. This time they chose the Pelicans because of the consideration of the global market.

It turned out that their choice was completely correct.

In China, this issue of the magazine is completely out of stock.

Everyone has a copy, and the scene of buying magazines for collection in the Yao Mai period has returned.

Many students even discussed after class, what statistics Tang Tian will get in the new season, how much Jokic will improve in the new season, whether Davis can average more than 20 points per game, and whether Bo Yang's three-point shooting percentage will be good. It will explode, how many wins the Pelicans can get and so on.

Yao Ming allowed the Rockets to accumulate a lot of popularity in China, but now even if the Rockets form a super big three, the Pelicans are still their home team.

Chapter 729 Stevens' debut (third update!) (Revised)

The preseason is about to start, and all teams are starting to enter the game state.

The Pelicans and Rockets flew to China together three days before the start of the preseason.

They will play two preseason games in China, which is also known as the China game that fans are familiar with.

Three years ago, Tang Tian, ​​who was still playing for the Spurs at the time, also played in the China game. At that time, their opponent was the Mavericks.

The Spurs played against the Mavericks, and Tang Tian PKed Yi Jianlian. Those two games in China received unprecedented attention.

But this time, it's more than that.

Because of Yao Ming's accumulation, the Rockets' popularity in China is not low. In addition, they have just formed a super big three, which is definitely second only to the Pelicans in popularity.

As for the Pelicans, needless to say, Sports Illustrated magazine is out of stock because of their current domestic popularity. Fans are looking forward to Tang Tian being able to win the championship in the new season to prove himself.

The match between these two teams is definitely the most watched match in the country.

Not to mention that the venue of the game is still in China. When the NBA officially announced the two teams in the China game, its tickets were already sold out.

And in addition to the two teams, another point that fans pay attention to is the contest between the head coaches of the two teams.

The two strong teams are both new coaches, and everyone wants to know what they can lead the team into.

The first stop of the competition between the two sides is in Hangzhou Huanglong Stadium.

Most of the previous Chinese games were held in places like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. The main reason is that these places have large enough basketball stadiums.

This time, the Huanglong Gymnasium, where the China Games will be held, can only accommodate about 1 people despite the temporary increase of seats.

But this time Yao Ming and the Basketball Association worked hard to get it, in order to promote the basketball school.

Basketball schools need students, and it is most appropriate to do promotion on such an occasion.

On the day of the match, Yao Ming came to the locker room to look for Tang Tian.

Davis, Jokic and others saw Yao Ming and went up to say hello one after another.

Although Yao Ming has no championship in his career and only played for 8 years, he is one of the most successful overseas players and a historical center.

In the eyes of these inside big men, the popularity is not low.

After saying hello, Tang Tian and Yao Ming went to the door and chatted about the promotion of the intermission.

Tang Tian will help the Basketball Association to promote the basketball school together.

The two also chatted about the content of the finale, and Tang Tian will also promote his own foundation on this occasion.

This is a Chinese game, but it is not just a game.

Half an hour before the start of the game, players from both sides came out of the player channel one after another.

There were deafening cheers at the scene.

The enthusiasm of the fans is unparalleled.

For Chinese fans who can only watch two live NBA games a year, every opportunity drives them crazy.

Like the past China games, the floor of the venue was consigned from the United States. This game is the home of the Pelicans, and the landmarks of the Pelicans are also printed on the floor.

Moreover, more and more Chinese advertisements have appeared in the NBA arena in the past two years. Even the Chinese advertisements scrolling on both sides still make people feel like they are in the NBA arena.

Before the start of the game, players from both teams warmed up on the sidelines.

Tang Tian saw someone in the front row of the auditorium waving to him.

He fixed his eyes and found that it was Lin Huanyu. This guy was a real fan of him, and he didn't miss this kind of occasion.

Because he had contributed 1000 million to the Tang Tian Foundation before, Tang Tian liked him much more than before.

Seeing him waving at this moment, Tang Tian took the initiative to go over and chat with him.

When the two were chatting, they grabbed each other's elbows, looking very intimate.

This scene was captured by the live camera, which attracted a burst of envious booing from the audience.

It can be foreseen that Lin Huanyu will be fleshed out after this China match.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

The Rockets of the visiting team were introduced first.

The preseason is a game of testing and training the lineup, especially for a team like the Rockets that has experienced a big deal.

D'Antoni played a twin-tower lineup in this game, with Capela and Cousins ​​on the inside, Brewer at small forward, Paul and Harden on the outside.

On paper, this is also the Rockets' strongest lineup.

The Pelicans have a regular lineup, with Holiday and Tang Tian on the outside, Ariza and Davis on the front, and Jokic at the center.

When Tang Tian played for the last time, the cheers were overwhelming. This was his real "home court".

Davis and Cousins' jump ball, Cousins ​​turned the ball back to the Rockets' half court, and the China game officially started.

Paul organized the frontcourt, and Harden came out to catch the ball and made a mid-range shot.

The Rockets scored first.

In 2011, Paul had a chance to team up with Kobe, but the deal was stopped by Stern and the league.

But this time he and Harden's team, the combination of two super guards, finally appeared in front of the fans.

Judging from the first round, Harden's scoring was obviously easier than before.

In the Pelicans' offense, Jokic held the ball near the free throw line, Ariza and Holiday made tactical moves on the outside, and Tang Tian waited for an opportunity to cut to the basket.

The Rockets' defense did a good job, and the Pelicans didn't fully adapt the new tactics. Jokic's pass didn't pass, and he chose to turn around and attack the basket.

Capela fought hard to defend the ball.

The Rockets played a fast break, and Harden broke through to the frontcourt and passed back to Cousins, who followed up to the three-point line, and the latter missed a three-pointer.

Davis protected the defensive rebound, the Pelicans counterattacked a fast break, Tang Tian sent a second pass, but Holiday's layup was quickly taken out by Paul.

The Rockets defended the Pelicans twice in a row.

The live shots were given to the Rockets coaching staff on the sidelines.

In addition to D'Antoni, there is also Jeff Bzdelik sitting next to him, who is the first assistant coach that the Rockets poached from the Grizzlies during the offseason.

The success of the Warriors last season was the offensive + defensive coaching combination.

Most fans only know Cole, but the management of each team also knows the Warriors' first assistant Ron Adams.

Adams is one of the most experienced assistant coaches in the league. He has been in the NBA longer than Popovich.

He is also one of the strongest defensive assistants in the league, and it was he who brought the Warriors infinite switch tactics.

The Rockets' current combination of D'Antoni Garbzdelik is the Warriors to emulate.

Judging from the opening two, the effect is very good.

The Rockets pushed to the frontcourt, and Harden singled Ariza's step-back three-pointer.

The Rockets started 5-0.

There was a commotion on the sidelines, the Big Three of the Rockets were really strong, and the Pelicans seemed a little overwhelmed.

Stevens reached out and called a timeout, which came a bit early.

But this is also because it is in the preseason.

"Defense, pay attention to defensive response, don't give Harden a chance to play singles, switch defenses quickly, I won't ask you to do a good job in offense now, but you must do a good job in defense, even in the preseason."

When Stevens paused, the first sentence was to emphasize defense.

Chapter 7 What can a timeout do (fourth more!)

"We play an anti-cut coordination, AD, you pick and roll in this position..."

After emphasizing, he began to arrange tactics.

Back from the timeout, the Pelicans played positions in the frontcourt.

The fans at the scene are full of expectations.

This is the first show for Stevens, and Stevens was known for his on-the-spot adaptability when he was in the Celtics. This is exactly the weakness of the former Pelicans coach Monty Williams.

In other words, this is what fans look forward to.

There is nothing to worry about in the 0-5 start of the preseason, but if the best improvisation is not done, then the new season of the Pelicans is really worrying.

Holiday took the ball to the frontcourt, but still gave the ball to Jokic in the high position.

The Pelicans played the same tactic, center organization, three-point shooter running off the ball pick-and-roll to contain the defense, Tang Tian cut to the basket.

Their tactics don't seem to have changed much from before.

The fans at the scene couldn't help but feel a burst of disappointment. Could it be that Stevens's strength is not worthy of the name?

You must know that the Pelicans' lineup has not changed much this summer, and the biggest change comes from the coaching staff.

Although it is a preseason game, if Stevens is at this level, how can the Pelicans compete with the Rockets, Warriors or even the Spurs and Cavaliers in the new season?

But just when their disappointment was revealed, there were new changes on the court.