Chapter 934 The Playoffs at the Beginning of the Century

The Rockets arrived in New Orleans the day before the Western Conference semifinals.

I don’t know when it will start. The Pelicans are like a wealthy team, waiting for their opponents to challenge in every round of the series.

Compared with last time, the Rockets are obviously much more low-key this time.

Training is not open to the public, and players do not accept interviews with reporters in private.

Not everyone is Whiteside. After experiencing last year's defeat, the Rockets have obviously learned a lesson and become smarter.

This performance makes the Pelicans more cautious.

The Rockets have become stronger and have become so low-key. This game is not easy to play.

On game day, the New Orleans Arena was packed.

Not only many fans came to the scene, but many local rich people and celebrities also came.

The first-round game against the Thunder was just a warm-up, but now against the Rockets, it was a big event, with five superstars alone.

They won't miss this exposure opportunity.

Also present was Emilia Clarke, who plays Mother of Dragons in Game of Thrones.

The sixth season of "Game of Thrones" is now a global hit, and Clark's popularity is also very high.

Facing the camera, he showed his trademark embarrassing smile, which caused a burst of cheers from the audience.

Actually...she looks better without smiling.

But another former actor present has greater popularity here.

Elizabeth Olson.

Olson also came to the scene, and she and the maid each held a child in their hands.

Yongqi and Tang Si are both over two years old and very good-looking.

When the on-site photographer took the shot, there were overwhelming cheers.

Tang Tian is the hero of this city, and his two sons are like sons of this city.

Of course, the most important thing is that he has completely inherited the genes of Tang Tian and Olsen and looks so good-looking.

Olson was sitting in the front row, and Tang Tian went to say hello to her while she was warming up, and even kissed his two sons.

His careful movements and intimate manners all reveal the kindness and care of a father.

There were constant whistles at the scene. This was the first time they had seen Tang Tian show such emotion. You must know that they usually saw the god of basketball who was killing everyone on the court.

Sure enough, even gods are still humans.

The pre-game warm-up was over, and the award ceremony for the best defensive player was held in advance.

Tang Tian received his fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy from Tatum.

The cheers were loud.

This trophy has boosted their morale, but their expectations for Tang Tian and the Pelicans are much more than this.

Just like what was written on the KT board they held high, they won the MVP title again and defended the title!

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both teams came on stage one after another.

Both teams have regular lineups.

After last year's encounter in the playoffs and the tit-for-tat confrontation in the regular season, the two teams already know each other quite well.

There is nothing to adjust in the lineup. What matters is the tactical arrangement and on-the-spot performance of both sides.

Jump ball from Cousins ​​and Davis in the center circle.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Davis returned the ball to the Pelicans' half, giving the home team the opportunity to take the lead.

Holiday held the ball through half the court and handed the ball to Tang Tian.

Bzdelik and D'Antoni looked at each other on the sidelines. They made the right decision before the game. The Pelicans would not play them like they played the Thunder in the first round.

After the space was opened, Tang Tian greeted Jokic's high pick-and-roll, and then broke through with the ball.

The Rockets shrank quickly, and Tang Tian was double-teamed by three people as soon as he reached the free throw line.

He passed the ball to Holiday, who was open, but Paul returned quickly.

The Pelicans' first wave of tactics failed.

Over the course of two seasons, Bzdelik built the Rockets' defense very well.

Holiday finally handed the ball to Davis, who hit Markieff Morris in the low post.

Morris has all kinds of upper body. Although his height and wingspan are absolutely at the bottom, his confrontation is really tough.

It's not just Morris, the confrontation at the off-ball end is also the sound of various muscle collisions.

Compared with the regular season where the intensity of the confrontation is already very high, the players of the two teams on the field were like their muscles were tearing at each other.

Davis finally failed to turn towards the basket and chose to turn and fade away.

"Bang!"

Frequent physical confrontations consumed a lot of energy, and he failed to score on his first shot.

Cousins ​​and Jokic protected the defensive rebound after the confrontation.

Paul took the ball to the organization in the frontcourt, signaled to pull away, and then fed the ball to Cousins ​​inside.

During the regular season, the Rockets relied on Cousins' inside advantage to stalemate the Pelicans and almost win the game.

But Jokic's confrontation was also sufficient, and more importantly, Davis' help came quickly enough.

Cousins ​​threw the ball to Morris on the far end. Morris was defended by Ariza as soon as he caught the ball.

The Pelicans' defensive system is more complete than that of the Rockets, and they have a good understanding of each other.

The Rockets' first offense didn't start either.

The ball was finally given to Harden, who broke through Holiday with the ball. His sudden shot was almost blocked by Davis, and the ball hit the front of the basket and knocked out.

The hand-to-hand battle between Jokic and Cousins ​​under the basket, with frequent small collisions between the two, made the audience in the front row feel pain.

In the end, Davis struggled to grab a defensive rebound.

The audience was so excited that they didn't even take a breath.

The first round of the playoffs has ended, but this is the first time they have seen this scene.

It really feels like the air is filled with the smell of burning muscles.

Many old fans are even more excited. This is the feeling when those powerful players collided in the playoffs at the beginning of the century!

The players on the field seemed to be biting each other, and the fans watching the game were so angry that they didn't dare to breathe!

Although there is no score, it is more exciting than scoring!

Tang Tian had a chance to score Jokic. Jokic flew to dunk but was blocked by Cousins. After the confrontation, the ball flew away.

The Rockets were on a fast break and were stopped abruptly. Paul's signature emergency stop in the frontcourt was blocked by Tang Tian from the mid-range.

With this level of confrontation and intensity, any goal is difficult, and any goal is priceless.

In the first three minutes of the game, neither team was able to put the ball into the basket.

"Come on Pelicans!"

The fans at the scene were excited and cheered loudly for the home team.

Holiday reached the frontcourt and continued to pass the ball to Tang Tian.

From the corner of his eye, Tang Tian noticed that both Olson and himself were looking at him.

Instead of calling for a pick-and-roll, he signaled for everyone to spread out.

His role in the team now is to stand up when his teammates can't open up.

No matter what the game is.

Three threats, probing steps, fake shots after collecting the ball.

Tang Tian's technical movements were completed in one go, and he successfully broke into the free throw line.

However, the help of Rockets insider Morris and outside Paul came quickly.

Tang Tian did not choose to pass the ball, but turned and leaned back toward the baseline.

The three people saved the interference, and Morris returned the confrontation in the air.

Tang Tian completed the shot while being double-teamed.

The ball flew past the defense and straight to the basket.

"Uh-huh!"

As the fans watched, the basketball went through the heart and into the net.

Tang Tian scored the first sports station goal on the field!