The invincible kryptonite of basketball

Duncan responded from the free throw line, and the ball was given to Green who made an empty cut.

Green's flying layup.

But the moment he shot, Tang Tian jumped up from behind him and slapped his hand out of the field.

"Oh!" Ginobili was the first to exclaim from the sidelines.

"A beautiful defense." Budenholzer praised.

The performance of the bench team is not satisfactory, but if you want to talk about the only bright spot, it is probably only Tang Tian's defense.

Green smiled wryly at Tang Tian at this time.

Tang Tian also responded with a smile. Green is a good person off the court, but what he says on the court has nothing to do with off the court.

The sideline ball from the starting group was sent out. Tang Tian followed Green closely and refused to give a chance. Duncan and Parker didn't want to attack. The ball was given to Jefferson. The two seem to be on a completely different level of confrontation.

"We changed the defense. Green spends most of the time on the three-point line, just follow him and don't get thrown off." Tang Tian went over to Anderson at this time and said.

Anderson nodded. He was hit hard by Jefferson just now, and he was not as tall as Tang Tian.

The offense of the bench group is still the same tactic, Joseph rushes in with the ball.

The players in the starting group all shrunk in. Joseph was so reckless in the previous few rounds, and they had gotten used to it.

But at this moment the situation changed suddenly, after Joseph got to the basket, he chose to score the ball!

The ball was distributed to Tang Tian, ​​Tang Tian caught the ball, and after Green reacted, he flew to catch the ball.

"A good defense." Budenholzer gave another evaluation.

Green had relatively few chances to play for the Spurs last season, and only played 8 games in total. This season, because of George Hill's departure, the bench lacked firepower. Popovich intended to put Ginobili back on the bench. Green In the limited time last season, he showed the potential of a 3D player, so he got a starting opportunity.

Judging from this defense, Popovich's decision is still very wise.

But in the next second, something unexpected happened to Budenholzer.

Tang Tian's shot was a fake move. When Green rushed over, he took the ball and dribbled to the side. After Green flew past, he aimed at the frame and shot.

"Shh!"

The three-pointer hit the net.

Tang Tian finally helped the bench team break the scoring drought!

"Not bad." Popovich said at this time.

Facing the defense without rushing back, Tang Tian's performance like this suits him very well.

Joseph was also a little excited after seeing the goal, and turned around to give Tang Tian a high-five.

"He can drive his teammates." Budenholzer continued to speak, and he also saw Tang Tian talking to Joseph earlier.

The starting group advanced to the frontcourt, and Parker was emptied outside the three-point line. He hesitated and didn't make a shot. He gave the ball to Duncan, and Duncan continued to stuff the ball to Jefferson.

"Snapped!"

But at this moment, Tang Tian suddenly rushed out from Jefferson's side, and directly broke the ball!

Duncan's thoughts were guessed by Tang Tian. He had already passed the ball to Jefferson and Green in succession before, and he predicted the next pass.

Tang Tian steals the ball and gives it to Joseph, who counterattacks with the ball.

After Tang Tian lost weight, his footsteps were fast, and he followed Joseph's fast break immediately.

Joseph had no chance to be caught up by Parker. After he calmed down, he didn't choose to force him. He turned around and saw Tang Tian who was following up, and he threw the ball out with his hands.

Tang Tian catches the ball and makes a quick shot before Jefferson catches up.

A summer of hard training made his shooting speed increase rapidly, and Jefferson didn't catch up at all.

"Shh!"

The ball went hollow again into the net.

Tang Tian scored two three-pointers in a row!

Ginobili has already whistled from the sidelines.

With two successful defenses and two three-pointers in a row, the overall strength of the bench team was weak, but it perfectly highlighted Tang Tian's strength.

Jefferson went to the frontcourt and asked for the ball with his back against Tang Tian. This was for a singles.

Parker gave the ball in.

At this time, Tang Tian sank his weight to push Jefferson.

Jefferson pushed a few times but failed to go in.

He looked muscular, but his weight was actually about the same as before Tang Tian lost weight, and after Tang Tian lost weight and gained muscle, the confrontation didn't drop much.

Jefferson was a little surprised by Tang Tian's confrontation. He wanted to turn around and break through, but Tang Tian snatched his position first. In the end, he could only choose to turn around and lean back.

Tang Tian's reaction was quick, and he immediately saved it to cause interference.

"boom!"

Jefferson's shot was interfered and missed, and Diop caught Blair at this time and received a defensive rebound.

The substitute team defended again.

"I'll defend." Back on the defensive end, Jefferson took the initiative to ask Green to switch defenses.

Jefferson defended Tang Tian all the way and didn't give him a chance. Joseph gave it to Anderson. Anderson's shot was missed by Green's interference, and Duncan received the rebound from the basket.

Looking back at Parker and Duncan's pick-and-roll, Diop and Joseph's defensive attention was all attracted by Duncan who rolled down, and Anderson was also forced to shrink to the basket to defend.

Parker, a green who doesn't look the pass and throws the ball to the weak side.

"Snapped!"

But at this moment, it was Tang Tian again, he suddenly rushed out from the side, making consecutive steals!

His hard work on dynamic vision finally paid off. Parker's pass was unexpected enough, but he still caught it.

The substitute team played a fast break again, and this time Joseph received a pass from Tang Tian and scored a fast break layup.

After a wave of 10-0 offensive, the substitute group returned to the starting group for a wave of 8-0!

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ginobili had realized that he had fallen in love with Tang Tian at this moment.

"He has the ability to play in the rotation." Budenholzer gave a very high evaluation when he saw this.

Popovich nodded, but he was thinking bolder than Budenholzer.

Tang Tian can defend the second and third positions, and has a stable three-pointer. He seems to be more suitable for starting than Green?

This is Popovich, who will never waste a good seed, even if he is just a rookie.

Chapter 152 The Thunder in the first game of the preseason (6/10)

After being chased and defended one after another, Duncan began to exert force inside, and the bench was forced to shrink in.

Duncan's passing was extremely good, and Green made consecutive catches and hits from the outside. After a wave of offensive, the starting group still won 20-10.

However, the loss could not conceal Tang Tian's outstanding performance. He contributed 6 points, 3 steals and 1 block alone.

There are 8 people in a team, but only 9-10 players can play in a game. Popovich is special, but only 12-[-] people are used at most. Some people will definitely sit on the bench for the whole game. .

(Note: The NBA has a 15-man roster, but a maximum of 12 players can be included in a game, that is, the 12-man activation list. This year is an exception for the shrinking season. Because the game time interval is short and there are many back-to-back games, it is stipulated that a team can have a maximum of 13 players.)

In other words, if you want to play, you must squeeze into the coach's rotation list, and to squeeze into this list depends on your performance in the training game, because in addition to personal strength in the training game, there is also state.

Superstars are indispensable, and they have to play regardless of whether they are in good or bad form. However, role players have relatively little defensive pressure and easy work. The coach must hope that they can play a role as soon as they play, and they will naturally choose good form.

Tang Tian's competitive state in this game is the result of his hard training all summer, and Popovich has already put him on his list.

训练营12月9号开启，马刺队第一场季前赛在12月18号，这中间只有9天时间。

During these 9 days, the team has basically been training every day. The old players are looking for the feeling and tacit understanding of the game, because the time is short and the difficulty is not small.

For Tang Tian and the other three rookies, they had to learn team tactics, which was even more difficult.

However, during this process, Tang Tian's performance continued to amaze Popovich and the Spurs' coaching staff.

This rookie who has just turned 19 years old has an unbelievable speed in mastering tactics. He does not look like a rookie at all, but someone like Duncan and Ginobili who have been in the team for more than ten years.

"We really picked a talent." Budenholzer has said similar things in front of Popovich more than once.

Popovich is still relatively stable. After all, he has been coaching in the league for a long time. It is not uncommon for players who perform well in training but fail as soon as they play, so he just holds an optimistic attitude.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, on December 12, the Spurs boarded a plane to Oklahoma City, where they will usher in the first preseason game of the new season against the Thunder.

The Thunder have selected talented rookies such as Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden for several consecutive years. Last season's record has reached fourth in the Western Conference. Not only has unlimited potential, but also has excellent combat power.

Because each team has only two preseason games in the shrinking season, it can be foreseen that the intensity of this game will definitely not be like a normal season. It will definitely be a half-time game to let the water out and inspect new players. This will definitely be a fierce battle.

When he arrived in Oklahoma City, Popovich arranged daily training, which shows that he also attaches great importance to this preseason game.

"Our goal for the new season is the championship. The Thunder will be our main competitor this year. We need a morale-boosting victory, which is this game." Popovich's pre-match mobilization fully demonstrated his vision.

After the training, he also announced the team's starting lineup and 13-man activation list.

Starting lineup: Parker, Green, Jefferson, Duncan, Blair.

The starting lineup was the same as in the training match. Although Tang Tian's outstanding performance in the first training match made Popovich have the idea of ​​putting him in the starting lineup for a while, but that was just a fleeting thought. It is still the safest lineup.

The remaining 8 substitutes: Neil, Ginobili, Leonard, Bonner, Splitter, Joseph, Tang Tian, ​​Malcolm Thomas.

Oklahoma City is a well-known small town, but one characteristic of the small town is that the locals have relatively few entertainment options, and the ball game has naturally become the object of everyone's pursuit.

Especially the rapid rise of the Thunder in the past two years, coupled with the suspension of the season, the attendance rate in this preseason game has exceeded [-]%. The hot scene is really different from the normal season.

It is said that it is a preseason game, but whether it is the importance of both sides or the attendance rate of the scene, it is no less than the regular season.

There was more than half an hour before the game started, and the players from both sides came to the court to start the final warm-up before the game.

When Tang Tian came out, he was pleasantly surprised. He saw fans holding "Godfather" signs in the front row of the stands. Although there were not many of them, this away game was really rare.

It seems that the influence of the "Godfather" is greater than many people expected.

However, this is also an invisible pressure. If he does not perform well in official games, his popularity will disappear quickly.

"Don't be nervous, don't worry, I'll cover you." Ginobili also saw the sign, came over and put his shoulders on him and said.

Tang Tian turned his head and glanced at Ginobili.

Ginobili smiled at him.

"Manu, I've played live matches with 7 people."

"..." Ginobili froze for a moment.

"In 2 games, I also hit the lore, so don't worry about me."

"..."

"Haha~" Parker was next to him at this time, and couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard the conversation between the two. This was the first time he saw Ginobili deflated.

Ginobili also laughed. He reached out to touch his head, felt something for a while, and then put his hand down again.

On the other side of the court, Kevin Durant, the core core of the Thunder, sat on the sidelines to rest.

He looked around the stadium and found those fans and the signs they were holding.

His face suddenly became ugly.

During the offseason, because of the trumpet incident, his image suddenly became very bad. Seeing this now, it was like peeling off the scar that had just healed on the wound.

"Boss." At this time, the team's rookie Reggie Jackson finished his warm-up and sat on the sidelines.

Durant glanced at Jackson, and then said: "I heard that you challenged the 'Godfather' in the summer?"

Hearing what Durant said, Jackson nodded with embarrassment. He wanted to step on Tang Tian to increase his popularity, but he failed. He didn't expect Durant to know about it.

But what Durant said next made him happy.

"Wait a second if you're on the court with him, blow him up, Coach Brooks needs to see this, and I believe you have the ability."