Chapter 1186 History Is Always Surprisingly Similar

Embiid played a pick-and-roll with Holiday in the frontcourt. After splitting, he received Holiday's return pass from the high post and hit the big two points.

He can shoot in the low post and shoot from the penalty area to the three-point line. He also has the support and excellent defense.

After the NBA ushered in the small ball era, centers, especially all-around centers, have basically become extinct.

Embiid can be said to be the rare and best player currently in service.

22 to 14, the Mavericks still hold an 8-point lead.

"Defense! defense!"

The Dallas Cowboys cheered again.

The Pelicans want to gain momentum, and Embiid's mid-range is very crucial.

Amid the cheers of the fans, the Mavericks played iron-like defense.

Halfway through the attack time, the Pelicans' continuous tactical coordination failed.

Tang Tian held the ball at the top of the key and signaled Gasol to pick and roll at the free throw line.

Gasol is big enough, and after taking it apart, Tang Tian accelerated to break through Embiid.

The Mavericks shrank in, and Embiid blocked from behind.

Tang Tian broke into the three-second zone and was already heavily flanked, with no chance to make a move.

But he noticed Gasol when he broke through.

Gasol saw Embiid's defensive dynamics after dismantling the ball, and instead of waiting at the three-point line, he also cut in.

He made a beautiful behind-the-back pass, and the ball went to Gasol who had just reached the free throw line.

This is Gasol's attack distance.

A perfect fit.

However, the Mavericks' defensive ability and awareness are really strong, and Powell actually helped defend Gasol!

The opportunity was fleeting. Gasol didn't force a shot or single, but just threw the ball to the right.

In a round similar to the previous one, Davis was empty again!

But Embiid helped defend Davis again!

The Mavericks played the best defense in this round!

Not to mention offense, their core lineup has played together for two years, and their tacit understanding on the defensive end is max!

Davis' chance to take action wasn't good either, but he passed the ball to the center.

Gasol continued to move after passing the ball, and now cut to the basket!

Embiid had no time to return to defense, and Powell chose to foul to stop it, but failed to stop it!

"beep!"

The referee whistle blows.

Gasol scored the ball at the buzzer and caused Powell's foul!

2+1!

A beautiful goal!

Gasol pumped his fist after scoring.

This is the first goal of his Pelicans career!

The Pelicans bench was abuzz.

The ball that assisted Davis earlier, and this 2+1, perfectly demonstrated Gasol's playing style.

Although he is a big man of 2.16 meters, he is really flexible and likes to move and play.

Cut, pass, and then cut again. This style of play is really rare among centers.

It is true that he is not yet familiar with the Pelicans' tactics, and he plays completely by instinct, but this instinct is very imba!

Tang Tian also raised his hand and touched Gasol's head to show encouragement.

Embiid is the best currently, but he is not the only one.

The last best all-around center was Gasol.

Gasol added a free throw to help the Pelicans narrow the point difference to 5 points.

Embiid also cut in from the frontcourt, but when he took a shot, Gasol blocked him and interfered, and his shot that he turned around missed.

Compared with Harrell, Gasol caused obviously greater trouble to Embiid. It would be impossible for Embiid to play as comfortably as before.

The Mavericks were able to take the lead entirely due to Embiid's advantage, or dominance, in the paint.

But now this dominance is gone, and the Pelicans quickly caught up and took the lead little by little.

In the end, the Pelicans lost first and then won, defeating the Mavericks 103-93 on the road for the third time this season.

For the Mavericks, Holiday had 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Conley had 17 points and 10 assists, and Harris had 14 points.

Embiid scored 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, but he only hit 6 goals in 18 shots. Both data and efficiency were far inferior to his previous performance.

Gasol's defense contributed a lot.

For the Pelicans, Tang Tian only scored 43 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, Davis had 21 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, and Siakam had 13 points and 4 rebounds.

Gasol came off the bench for 28 minutes in his first game with the Pelicans, scoring 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block on 2-of-7 shooting.

Although the data does not look very impressive, both head coach Stevens and Tang Tian praised him highly in the post-game press conference.

"His defense on Embiid was the key to us winning the game tonight, he changed the situation on the floor."

After all, Stevens knows the ball, otherwise he wouldn't have given Gasol so much playing time in the first game.

"He's the smartest player I've ever seen play."

Tang Tian was even more generous with his words of praise.

"The data cannot explain his contribution to the team. His movement without the ball is very aggressive. He can always stand in the best attacking position on the field. He is constantly reading the game and then making the best choice. "

Tang Tian really gave Gasol a good blow.

"Yes, this is only his first game. He has only been with the team for two days. We are looking forward to his performance in the future."

Stevens echoed.

After the game, comments on Gasol were quite polarizing on social media.

Half of the fans feel that Gasol is no longer as brave as he once was. No matter what Stevens and Tang Tian said after the game, the data speaks for itself.

A center who plays nearly 30 minutes and scores and rebounds in single digits is really hard to live up to his huge contract of more than 20 million.

The other half of the fans believe that Stevens and Tang Tian are right. They have also watched the game. Gasol's role is not just those statistics.

Because defense will not have other statistics except blocks, the same goes for movement without the ball.

No one on either side could convince anyone.

Two days later, the Pelicans flew to Boston to challenge the Celtics.

This year's All-Star Game is in Boston, and this game also allows the Pelicans players to experience the All-Star atmosphere in advance.

The Celtics finally experienced a renaissance after welcoming Walker last summer.

They currently rank third in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the Bucks and Raptors.

However, compared with the Pelicans, their strength is still inferior.

After four quarters of fierce fighting, the Pelicans finally defeated the Celtics 112-96.

Walker scored 37 points.

For the Pelicans, Tang Tian still only scored 44 points.

Gasol was appointed as the starter by Stevens and played 31 minutes. He scored 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks on 4 of 12 shots.

Although he still doesn't feel very good, as Stevens said, he is becoming more and more integrated into the team and his condition is beginning to recover.

After the game against the Celtics, the Pelicans played against the Knicks and 76ers one after another.

Both teams are struggling this season, and the Pelicans are also struggling.

Gasol's performance is getting better every game.

Against the Knicks, he scored 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Playing against the 76ers, Tang Tian took a rest and scored the first 20+ points of his Pelicans career, with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

As the game progressed, comments on social media began to sway in favor of Gasol.

And naturally, Gasol has been compared to his older brother, Pau Gasol.

Then they discovered that history is always surprisingly similar.

The addition of Gasol is likely to be the most important puzzle piece for the Pelicans to complete their fourth consecutive championship.

Just like Pau Gasol was to the Lakers.