Chapter 153 The Thunder in the First Game of the Preseason (6/10)

Chapter 153 The first preseason match against the Thunder (610)

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

(Note: NBA 15-man roster, but a maximum of 12 players can be included in a game, that is, a 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 no matter 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.

The training camp starts on December 9th, and the Spurs' first preseason game is on December 18th. There are only 9 days in between.

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 incredible 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 18, 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 80%. 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 70,000 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 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."