Chapter 866 Chinese in NBA (Fourth Update!)

Because of Stevens' ability, Demps also considered his opinion when selecting assistant coaches.

After listening to his opinions, Demps also approached Tang Tian before making the final choice.

As a result, Stevens and Tang Tian had the same idea. They both felt that the most suitable person among the four was Alvin Gentry.

However, there are subtle differences in their ideas.

Stevens values ​​Gentry's ability, who is known for his offense.

Last season, the Pelicans' defensive system had not yet taken shape, and the team needed defensive coaching assistance.

But now the team's defensive system already exists, and Stevens himself is a defensive master, so he needs offensive assistants.

Gentry was the second running and gun master after D'Antoni during the Suns, averaging 109 points per game in the season he reached the Western Conference Finals.

This scoring average was terrifying in that era.

This is also the reason why Tang Tian chose Gentry, but of course this is not all.

Another important reason for his choice is that Gentry has been an assistant coach with the Warriors for the past two seasons.

He and Ron Adams played offense and defense together, making them Cole's right-hand man.

Now that Gentry has been hired as the first assistant coach, the strength of the Warriors' coaching staff has been weakened in a different direction.

And for the Pelicans, having an assistant coach who is familiar with the Warriors' tactical system will help them a lot in the playoffs.

Just like Brown last season, with him around, the Pelicans restricted James and got twice the result with half the effort.

After the two parties negotiated the contract, the Pelicans held a press conference for Gentry as soon as possible and welcomed his joining.

After the Pelicans' press conference ended, the Warriors also responded quickly.

They poached Pelicans player development assistant Royce and became the team's second assistant.

The season hasn't even started yet, and this kind of turnover between the coaching staffs of the two teams can be called the NBA version of Game of Thrones.

The scene of intrigue made the fans very interested.

But this is the NBA, and there isn't much emotion in the business world, especially for coaches who don't have many job opportunities.

Tang Tian had seen all this, but he didn't pay much attention to Royce's departure.

People go to higher places, Royce's choice is right, and Royce's departure will not have a big impact on the Pelicans coaching staff.

Stevens + Gentry + Nash, these three talents are the core of the Pelicans' coaching staff in the new season.

What interested Tang Tian at this time were the two signings between the Nets and the Mavericks.

The Nets signed Guo Ailun with a training camp contract, and the Mavericks signed Ding Yanyuhang with a non-guaranteed contract.

After the Chinese team won the gold medal in Rio, some people talked about letting Guo Ailun and Ding Yanyuhang try to enter the NBA.

Now it seems that the two of them listened and succeeded!

Although the contracts signed by the two people do not have much guarantee, at least the two will appear on the NBA preseason stage.

This is a breakthrough for themselves, or for Chinese basketball itself.

You must know that the only non-insider players who have been able to enter the NBA before are Sun Yue and Tang Tian.

Even if he gets a training camp contract, Liu Wei is the only one.

Time flies so fast, half a month passes in the blink of an eye.

On October 2nd, the door to the 2016~2017 season officially opened, and the first to start was the NBA preseason.

The Pelicans had a lot of personnel changes in the summer, and half a month was not enough time for Stevens to adapt. This preseason is mainly about running in the lineup and training new players.

The Pelicans' opponent in the first preseason game is the Mavericks.

Carlisle had the same idea as Stevens. Both sides played the main players in the first half, and both were practicing tactics and did not exert their full strength.

What can be clearly felt is that the addition of Conley has significantly improved the strength of the Mavericks.

Conley can attack, organize and defend. He is very similar to Billups of the Pistons. He can be said to be the most suitable point guard for Carlisle and the Mavericks.

The Pelicans' first preseason game was also a surprise. Their offense was significantly faster than last season.

The tactics of positional warfare have become simpler, and the speed of defensive counterattacks has also been significantly accelerated.

It can be predicted that the Pelicans' scoring average will definitely rise in the new season.

After halftime, the two teams were tied at 55.

In the second half, both sides invariably put on substitute lineups.

The substitute lineups of both teams changed a lot in the summer. The main players in the first half were almost the same, and the substitutes were inspected at the beginning of the second half.

Just over 7 minutes into the third quarter, both teams replaced bench players one after another.

For the Pelicans, Brogdon and Siakam both got opportunities to play, while for the Mavericks, Chinese player Ding Yanyuhang also got a chance to play.

When Ding Yanyuhang came on, there was a burst of whistles and cheers.

Because of Tang Tian, ​​the Chinese market in New Orleans is now the best in the United States, and a lot of Chinese come to watch the game.

Tang Tian had been chatting with Davis about new tactics in the second half. When he saw Ding Yanyuhang come on the court, he also turned his attention to the court.

The Mavericks are a championship contending team, and it will be too difficult for Ding Yanyuhang to stay.

But if you have a dream, pursue it. Regardless of strength, Ding Yanyuhang’s choice is very manly.

When Brog came up, he broke through Ding Yanyuhang and scored with an easy throw after the confrontation.

The Mavericks' offense failed. When Brogdon turned around and signaled to pull away, he then hit Ding Yanyuhang and hit the basket to cause him a foul.

These two goals allowed Ding Yanyuhang to experience the cruelty of the NBA.

In the national team, he does not need to take on defensive tasks. He only needs to catch Tang Tian's pass on the offensive end and score the ball as much as possible.

But in the NBA, he is a defensive breakthrough in the eyes of opposing players.

Moreover, he is very confident in physical confrontation, and he is at a complete disadvantage when facing pitchers like Brogdon.

In the end, the Pelicans' substitutes performed better and defeated the Mavericks 106-93, winning their first win of the preseason.

Brogdon's performance was very eye-catching. He made 7 of 13 shots and 3 of 6 three-pointers, contributing 20 points and 6 assists.

Stevens was very satisfied with his ability to sort out the offense and discover the defensive weaknesses of his opponents on the field, as well as his strong psychological quality.

Ding Yanyuhang performed poorly in his NBA debut. After playing 7 minutes, he made 0 of 2 shots, no points, only 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 turnovers.

After the game, Tang Tian took the initiative to pull Ding Yanyuhang and say some words of encouragement.

Ding Yan Yuhang's mentality surprised him.

Although he was a little disappointed, Ding Yanyuhang's fighting spirit remained unabated.

"Brother Tang, I'm just here to improve myself. If it doesn't work out, I will choose to play in the Development League for a year. I am here for the NBA."

Ding Yan Yuhang's words were so resounding that Tang Tian couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

With this determination, no matter whether you succeed or not, it is admirable.

Moreover, Ding Yanyuhang started to enter the NBA much earlier than in history. Coupled with the fact that there are no injuries, the chance is still great.