Chapter 929 Training for the Playoffs

Tang Tian glanced at Davis, smiled and said nothing.

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

And it is exactly what he said. As a small player, he led the team to the first victory with crazy output despite being absolutely not optimistic. This scene is very similar to Iverson in the 2001 Finals.

It's just that it may be difficult to play together. The Pelicans have a stable lineup and can maintain their championship potential for 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 10,000, you are afraid of just a small chance.

The Pelicans and Thunder game is about to take place, and Stevens also reiterated the game plan in the locker room.

In the past two days, Tang Tian mentioned to Stevens his idea of ​​holding the ball less to allow his teammates to adjust. The two hit it off immediately.

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

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

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

Jokic, in particular, was able to take advantage of his organizational advantages, his self-confidence improved a lot, and his shooting percentage during the entire confrontation went up.

These signs indicate that Tang Tian and Stevens made the right decision.

That night, the game between the Pelicans and the Thunder began at the New Orleans Arena, and the Pelicans also ushered in their season playoff opener.

The stadium was fully occupied, and the fans held up slogans of "Defending" and "Second Championship".

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

Even if it is just the opening game of the first round, the enthusiasm of the fans is extremely high.

Before the game started, players from both sides entered the stadium one after another.

The Pelicans' players looked relaxed, while the Thunder's players looked serious.

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

The Pelicans' pre-game training is open to the public, while the Thunder have been training in closed rooms since arriving in New Orleans.

During the pre-game warm-up, Westbrook did not 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 give up easily.

Moreover, the Hornets had just completed the victory with Walker alone, which gave them a great incentive.

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

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both 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 fourth position, rookie Sabonis was replaced by third-year player Jerami Grant, who is better at defense.

There was no news about this before the game. It seems to be a strange move by Thunder coach Donovan.

There were changes in the lineups of both sides, but the home photographer was still as naughty as before, showing split shots of Tang Tian and Westbrook before the game started.

Two protagonists, two triple-double kings.

Such behavior made the home fans extremely emotional, and the fans on the hotline also started a new round of debate between true and false.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Adams returned the ball to the Thunder half, officially kicking off the playoffs.

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

During the regular season, Tang Tian only defended in the fourth quarter, but in the playoffs, he defended in the first quarter. This change also reflects the difference between the playoffs and the regular season.

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

Everything on both sides is exposed in front of the other side, without any reservation, and the target will be put on the table without any concealment.

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

Oladipo changed direction and broke through Holiday, rushed inside and encountered help defense, and passed the ball to Grant in the bottom corner. Grant's three-pointer missed.

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

Fortunately, they retreated quickly enough.

Donovan also shouted on the sidelines to remind the defensive position. It seems that the Thunder are preparing to compete with the Pelicans on defense and counterattack.

To win against the Pelicans, you have to maximize your strengths, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Tang Tian took the ball to the frontcourt, but what he did next stunned Donovan on the sidelines.

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

This was... different from what he expected!

The Thunder players were stunned for a while. At this moment, Tang Tian cut into the paint and received Jokic's pass and flew for a layup.

The Pelicans came out on top.

"Follow! Follow!"

Donovan yelled from the sidelines after coming to his senses.

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

He and his team members were all fooled!

The Thunder failed to guard against the Pelicans' offense and failed to launch a defensive counterattack, so they had to change positions in the frontcourt.

Oladipo continued to break through with the ball. This time he did not pass Grant again, but pulled the lever in the air for a layup.

However, Davis' defense was in place, and his shot was interfered with 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 shooting 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 pass the ball to Jokic.

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

But at this moment, Davis suddenly cut into the basket, received Jokic's pass and dunked with both hands to score!

4 to 0!

The Pelicans played very differently in the opening game than in the regular season, and ended up scoring both times!

Donovan frowned slightly on the sidelines and realized that things were not that simple.

The Pelicans have completely changed their style of play!

He made this discovery somewhat belatedly, not because he was insensitive, but because it was so incredible.

Tang Tian's triple-double per game this season was achieved by him holding the ball high, and now the Pelicans have suddenly changed their style of play in the playoffs!

I’m afraid no one will believe this!

This is equivalent to saying that the Pelicans suddenly abandoned the style of play they played all season!

But this is unreasonable!

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

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

He even thought of a possibility.

It seems like the Pelicans are... using them to practice tactics?