Chapter 1 The Debut

The players from both teams arrived at the arena one after another.

Looking at the attendance, the Rockets players were visibly excited.

Over the past offseason, the Rockets had basically made no significant acquisitions in the free market.

Although Morey had said in interviews that they would focus on the free market next year to land a big fish, the team's morale was still somewhat low.

But seeing the rare attendance, their confidence grew a little.

Although Morey wasn't as magical this year, at least the fans' support for them was even higher than last year.

During the pre-game warm-up, reporters also interviewed Harden on the sidelines.

"We know that the team lost to the Spurs in the playoffs last season, and Tang's defense caused you a lot of trouble. Have you figured out how to deal with it?"

The reporter asked a question that fans were concerned about right away.

"I did a lot of training with two-handed ball handling to break the double team this offseason, and I'll handle it (referring to Tang's defense)."

Harden seemed confident.

"The Rockets had a chance to get Tang this offseason, but ultimately failed. Do you think it's a regret?"

The reporter continued to ask.

"No, that's the management's business. I'm only responsible for playing. Our current lineup has a good understanding, and we will play better than last season."

Harden said, touching his forehead.

"There are many fans here tonight. What would you like to say to them?"

The reporter asked finally.

"Thank you to everyone who came to the arena. We know it's not the weekend, and it's really important that everyone can take the time to watch the game. It's very motivating for us."

Harden said with a smile, his attitude towards the fans was still very good.

The interview ended on one side, and the pre-game warm-up training on the other side was almost over.

The opening ceremony began, and the starters of both teams were introduced one after another.

For the Pelicans, the backcourt was Holiday and Gordon, the forwards were Tang Tian and Anderson, and the center was Davis.

When Tang Tian was introduced, there was a huge cheer from the crowd.

It seemed that those Chinese fans who came weren't there for the Rockets or Jeremy Lin, but for Tang Tian...

Because of Yao Ming, Houston's Chinese market was huge, but Tang Tian didn't expect so many people to support him.

In addition to being happy, he also took the initiative to wave and interact with the fans.

At this time, Harden's expression next door was slightly unsightly.

He originally said that these extra fans were there to support them, but it seemed that the situation was a little different from what he had imagined.

It was definitely depressing for the home team player when the home fans came to support the away team player.

After the Pelicans, the Rockets' starting lineup was also released.

The backcourt was Beverley and Harden, the forwards were Parsons and Terrence Jones, and the center was Asik.

After the playoffs last season, Jeremy Lin had gone from being a starter to the sixth man off the bench.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both teams took the court one after another.

Tang Tian, ushered in his first show for the Pelicans!

Davis used his long arms to easily outjump Asik, giving the Pelicans the first offensive opportunity.

Duncan used to lose jump balls all the time when he was with the Spurs, and the Spurs rarely had the opportunity to attack first. Switching to the Pelicans was like a serf turning over and singing.

Holiday dribbled the ball across the half-court.

Parsons was defending Tang Tian.

After being blown away by Tang Tian in the playoffs last season, he was badly criticized on Twitter, and his image as a handsome and rich guy was completely gone.

In addition to his own training, he also studied the playoff videos many times during the past offseason.

And he also lost weight, he believed these changes could at least lock down Tang Tian on the defensive end.

Now that he was in position, he looked at Tang Tian with confidence.

In his understanding, Tang Tian would have off-ball movement every time he attacked, and as long as he defended his off-ball movement, the defense would be half successful.

But Tang Tian… didn't move.

Tang Tian went directly to the high post, then turned his back to ask for the ball.

Was he going to… play one-on-one?

Tang Tian's move directly confused Parsons.

In fact, not to mention Parsons, even McHale on the sidelines was stunned.

What the hell was going on?

Some fans on the sidelines rubbed their eyes, they were indeed seeing Tang Tian correctly.

But seeing Tang Tian asking for the ball with his back like this was really weird.

Because Tang Tian had never done this before!

Just as everyone was in a daze, Holiday directly lobbed the ball inside.

Tang Tian turned around after catching the ball.

Seeing this, the fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Were they going to use Tang Tian as the axis?

Speaking of which, this possibility existed.

Of the five players on the court for the Pelicans, Davis was mainly focused on put-backs and second chance points, Anderson was a stretch four, Gordon was a pure scorer, and although Holiday was a point guard, he was also more of a penetrating attacker.

Speaking of which, the best passer on the Pelicans might be Tang Tian.

McHale also looked at the movements of other players on the court for the Pelicans, wanting to see what Williams was up to.

But he soon found that the other players on the court for the Pelicans didn't seem to be moving much!

Anderson and Gordon, two sharpshooters, spread out on the outside, Davis sank to the bottom of the basket, and Holiday pulled Beverley away after passing the ball.

Parsons was confused when he turned his head and saw this.

Could it be that Tang Tian really…

Just as this thought flashed through his mind as he turned his head back, Tang Tian suddenly jumped up.

This jump was so fast that he had no time to jump at all, as if he was frozen in place.

Tang Tian jumped high, a dry pull-up jumper with his hand raised, and his scissor legs were as beautiful as a picture.

The ball left his hand, drawing a perfect parabola in the air.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

Handsome was the only word!

The arena was buzzing.

This was such a familiar scene, and it instantly evoked memories deep in their minds.

T-Mac!

This was a dry pull-up jumper similar to T-Mac's!

The difference was that this time, the one who made this move was Tang Tian, and he wasn't on the Rockets!

T-Mac was also sitting in the audience at this time, and laughed directly after seeing this scene.

Tang Tian really didn't disappoint him, he had practiced the dry pull-up jumper to this level in just over half a year, it was such a surprise!

"A beautiful dry pull-up jumper, I don't think anyone can complete it more perfectly than T-Mac and Melo."

Breen, who was on the commentary, also gave his evaluation as soon as possible.

Miller nodded in agreement, but couldn't help but wonder in his heart, when did Tang Tian learn this skill?

On the Rockets' offense, Harden's breakthrough was defended by Holiday, and Davis grabbed the rebound.

Holiday had an excellent wingspan, strong body, and good defensive awareness, his defensive ability was completely underestimated.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt, Holiday continued to pass the ball to Tang Tian, and Tang Tian continued to turn around to face Parsons.

At this time, the fans in the arena, McHale on the sidelines, and even Parsons, who was guarding Tang Tian, ​​confirmed one thing.

Tang Tian was playing one-on-one!

And the Pelicans were letting him play one-on-one!