The invincible kryptonite of basketball

But after the game started, the scene was different from what the fans imagined.

In the first half, the Raptors led the Hornets by a score of 50 to 35. Lowry and DeRozan scored 25 points together, and everything was as expected.

But in the second half, the situation changed suddenly, and Walker of the Hornets suddenly fell into a rampage. His sudden shot and defensive counterattack made the Raptors completely lost.

During the Hornets' counterattack, Lowry and DeRozan both disappeared.

Walker scored 20 points in this quarter, and the Hornets also evened the point difference in one quarter.

At the end of the quarter, Walker continued to play bravely, and finally led the Hornets to defeat the Raptors 93 to 83, successfully completing the next game.

The Garbage Brothers performed as usual. They scored 25 points in the first half and only scored 10 points in the second half.

And Walker scored 43 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, unstoppable.

"Kemba played really like Iverson this time, and we will definitely be very good playing with him."

Davis expressed inexplicable emotion.

Chapter 962 Take the playoff training

Tang Tian glanced at Davis, smiled and said nothing.

Davis has participated in the Hard Training Brothers training camp for several consecutive years, and he is naturally familiar with Walker.

And indeed, as he said, as a small player, he led the team to the first victory with crazy output when he was absolutely underestimated. This scene is very similar to Iverson in the 01 Finals.

It's just that it may be difficult to play together. The Pelicans have a stable lineup and can maintain their championship-winning strength in three to five years, so there is no need to change.

However, the future is unpredictable, and no one knows what will happen tomorrow. If you are not afraid of [-], you are afraid of it.

The game between the Pelicans and the Thunder is imminent, and Stevens also reiterated the game plan in the locker room.

In the past two days, Tang Tian mentioned to Stevens his idea of ​​reducing possession of the ball to allow his teammates to adjust their state, and the two hit it off.

In the past two days of training sessions, they have also been training around this.

Fortunately, they played this way two years ago, and they adapted quickly.

And it can be clearly felt that after having the ball, the state of the teammates has improved a lot.

Especially Jokic, who was able to give full play to his organizational advantages, has improved a lot in his self-confidence, and his shooting percentage in full-court confrontations has increased.

These signs all showed that the decisions of Tang Tian and Stevens were correct.

That night, the game between the Pelicans and the Thunder opened at the New Orleans Arena, and the Pelicans also ushered in the opening game of their season playoffs.

The attendance rate in the arena was full, and the fans held up the slogans of "defending the title" and "the second champion".

In the past few years, the New Orleans football market has developed rapidly, and because Tang Tian's attitude towards the fans is surprisingly good, the fans have great loyalty to the team.

Even if it's just the first round opener, the enthusiasm of the fans is extremely high.

Before the start of the game, players from both sides entered the arena one after another.

The expressions of the Pelicans were relaxed, while the expressions of the Thunder were serious.

This seems to be consistent with the performance of both sides before the game.

The pre-game training of the Pelicans is open to the outside world, while the Thunder have been in closed training since they arrived in New Orleans.

During the warm-up before the game, Westbrook didn't greet Tang Tian like he did during the regular season.

It can be seen that although there is a gap in strength, the Thunder will not easily admit defeat.

Moreover, the Hornets have just completed the following gram by virtue of Walker's own strength, which gave them a lot of encouragement.

The Hornets can do it, and they have a chance to do it too.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of the two teams appeared one after another.

The Pelicans still have the regular starting five, but the Thunder's lineup has been adjusted compared to the regular season.

At the four, rookie Sabonis was replaced by Jerami Grant, a third-year player who was better at defending.

There was no news about this before the game, and it seems to be a trick of Thunder coach Donovan.

The lineups of the two sides have changed, but the photographers at the home court are still as naughty as before. They gave Tang Tian and Westbrook a split shot before the game started.

Two protagonists, two triple double kings.

This kind of behavior has caused the home fans to be emotionally suspended, and the fans on the hotline have also started a new round of debates about whether it is true or false.

Amidst the cheers of the fans, Adams turned the ball back to the Thunder's half, officially kicking off the playoffs.

Westbrook took the ball to the frontcourt and looked up to see that Tang Tian was defending him.

During the regular season, Tang Tian only defended in the fourth quarter, and in the first quarter of the playoffs, this change also reflected the difference between the playoffs and the regular season.

After returning to basketball at the beginning of the century, if the regular season is described as a head-to-head game, then the playoffs are really naked.

Everything about the two sides is exposed to the other side without reservation, and the target will be put on the table without any cover.

Westbrook did not attack, but gave the ball to Oladipo.

Oladipo changed direction and broke through Holiday, broke into the inside and encountered a help defense, and gave the ball to Grant in the bottom corner, and Grant missed a three-pointer.

Donovan replaced Sabonis with Grant, and the Thunder strengthened their defense, but their weak perimeter threat also became weaker than before.

Fortunately, their retreat speed is fast enough.

Donovan also yelled on the sidelines to remind the defensive position. It seems that the Thunder is going to fight against the Pelicans in this game and play a defensive counterattack.

To win the Pelicans, you have to try to play to your strengths, and this approach is completely fine.

Tang Tian took the ball to the frontcourt, but what he did next caught Donovan on the sidelines for a moment.

Tang Tian neither attacked with the ball nor called for a pick-and-roll, but directly gave the ball to Jokic in the high position.

This is different from what he expected... not the same!

The players on the Thunder team were also stupefied for a while, that is, at this moment, Tang Tian cut to the inside, received Jokic's pass and flew to the basket to score.

The Pelicans came out on top.

"Stay! Follow!"

Donovan yelled from the sidelines after he recovered.

The Pelicans let Jokic hold the ball, but in the end it was Tang Tian who ended it.

He and his team members were fooled!

The Thunder didn't defend against the Pelicans' offense, and they didn't start a defensive counterattack, so they had to switch positions in the frontcourt.

Oladipo continued to break through with the ball. This time he didn't pass Grant again, but pulled the bar in the air for a layup.

However, Davis' defense was in place, and his shot was interfered and missed again.

The Thunder failed to score in the opening two rounds!

Donovan's lineup adjustment doesn't seem to be very good. Grant has no range, but it allows the Pelicans to shrink their defense at will!

Jokic protected the defensive rebound, and the Thunder continued to retreat quickly.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and continued to give the ball to Jokic.

Donovan's attention was all on Tang Tian, ​​and he also shouted on the sidelines to make Robertson pay attention to Tang Tian's cut.

But at this moment, Davis suddenly cut to the basket, received a pass from Jokic and dunked with both hands!

4 is better than 0!

The Pelicans started off very differently from the regular season, and ended up scoring both times!

Donovan frowned slightly on the sidelines, realizing that things were not that simple.

The Pelicans have completely changed their style of play!

His discovery was a bit belated, not because he was not sensitive enough, but because it was so incredible.

Tang Tian averaged a triple-double this season because he played with the ball high. Now the Pelicans suddenly changed their style of play in the playoffs!

If I tell this, no one will believe it!

This is tantamount to saying that the Pelicans suddenly abandoned their style of play for a season!

But this is unreasonable!

The Pelicans are obviously stronger, there is no need to take risks to do this kind of thing!

Donovan didn't understand, but when the Pelicans went to the frontcourt, Jokic was still holding the ball to support him. He was already convinced that his judgment was correct.

He even thought of a possibility.

The Pelicans seem to be... using them to practice tactics?

Chapter 963 There are some competitions, you can win after practicing

With Jokic's organization, Holiday missed a three-pointer.

On the Thunder's side, Robertson was released from the outside and made a three-pointer, helping the team break the scoring shortage.

Looking back, Ariza's air-cut layup was interfered by Grant's defense.

If you haven't played this kind of tactic for a season, even if you adapt well, it is still a bit difficult to achieve immediate results at the playoff level.

But fortunately, the players of the Pelicans are also prepared in their hearts. If they can't score, they will retreat quickly and don't give the Thunder a chance to defend and counterattack.

The Thunder fell into a positional battle, Westbrook broke through, and after being stopped by Tang Tian, ​​he passed the ball to Robertson.

Robertson glanced at Ariza, who was one meter away, and shot a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

He even went in!

Robertson even scored two three-pointers!

This is a bit of a surprise!

6 is better than 4!

The Thunder didn't score in two consecutive attacks at the beginning, but they now overtake the score!

Donovan watched with excitement from the sidelines.

practice!

Telling you to practice, you really treat the Thunder as a persimmon!

keep practicing!

When something went wrong in practice, the Thunder team played aggressively, and they couldn't change it even if they wanted to!

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, and Jokic continued to support the free throw line.

Donovan yelled from the sidelines, and the Thunder half-retracted to defend against the Pelicans' air cuts. Except for Robertson staring at Tang Tian, ​​​​the outside line was half-empty.

This is a very targeted defense.

Grant's mobility did give the Thunder a big boost on the defensive end.

Jokic glanced at no chance, gave the ball to Tang Tian directly, and then pulled to the high position to pick and roll.

Although the new penalty scale limits his performance, he has a high emotional intelligence and quick brain response.

Tang Tian catches the pick-and-roll and jumps at Adams with one step, and makes a quick stop and makes a hit.

6 to 6, this goal helped the Pelicans tie the score.

Donovan was so angry that he almost slapped his thigh.

What about the basic trust between people?

They agreed to practice tactics, but why did Tang Tian fight again in the blink of an eye? !