Two days later, the Pelicans hosted the Clippers at home for their first game of the season.

After bringing in Rivers this season, the Clippers' defense had undergone a transformation, and the team's strength had also risen.

Their current record of 12 wins and 5 losses was second only to the Thunder and Spurs, ranking third in the West.

The Pelicans had just entered the top eight, and playing against such a strong team was undoubtedly difficult.

However, Tang Tian remained the Pelicans' biggest advantage.

Although the combination of Jason Smith and Davis was at a disadvantage against the combination of DeAndre Jordan and Griffin.

But the Clippers couldn't effectively limit Tang Tian's performance.

Whether it was Willie Green on the guard line, or Matt Barnes or Jared Dudley at the forward position, their defensive strength was far inferior to that of Iguodala and Thompson of the Warriors.

Not to mention JJ Redick and the like.

Tang Tian scored as many as 25 points in three quarters, helping the Pelicans keep the point difference within single digits.

However, at the most critical moment in the fourth quarter, Gordon's two consecutive contested shots missed, causing the Pelicans' situation to collapse.

The Pelicans eventually lost 91 to 106.

Tang Tian scored 31 points and 3 assists this time.

After the game, reporters interviewed Griffin, the Clippers' interior core, on the sidelines. He had a huge double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds in this game.

"Will defeating the Pelicans make you more excited? Because Tang is also on this team."

The reporter's question was a bit cheeky. Tang Tian had played for the Spurs for the past two years, and the Clippers had been ravaged by the Spurs a bit miserably.

"No, this is just a normal regular season game for us. The Pelicans are not our main competitor."

Griffin's answer was concise. He didn't seem to take the Pelicans seriously, and didn't mention Tang Tian's name.

Losing to the Clippers wasn't unacceptable to the current Pelicans, but the way they lost was a bit frustrating.

Williams felt it.

After the training session the next day, he called Gordon to his office.

"Eric, you need more ball possession. You need to control the ball to发挥 (fāhuī - give full play to) your advantages. You are not a shooter, and you need to take shots to find your rhythm. So after discussing with the coaching staff, we plan to make you the team's sixth man."

"Trust me, I know what you're thinking, and I'm completely considering it from your perspective. Your scoring ability is very strong, but your height makes you easily targeted. Coming off the bench will bring greater help to the team."

"Of course, we all know your strength, so in the final critical moments, you will still be the team's choice on the court. Believe me, this decision we made is the best way to help you get out of your current performance difficulties. You can still prove yourself."

Williams was very good at developing players, and this stemmed from his excellent interpersonal skills.

He was always able to make the people he communicated with understand that what he said was all from their interests.

The NBA is a business league. For players, no matter what they do, their ultimate goal is to earn more money.

Williams' words were very infectious and persuasive.

Gordon was finally persuaded.

What Williams said made sense.

Tang Tian was playing so well now that the Pelicans couldn't let him be the main offensive point anymore. Instead of competing with Tang Tian for shots in the starting lineup and exposing his weakness in defense, it would be better to be the sixth man off the bench.

This way, for most of the time he's on the court, he would still be the team's first choice.

And Williams had also guaranteed him time on the court in crucial moments.

Plus, with Tang Tian's actions against the Warriors, he finally agreed.

Gordon agreed, and Williams announced the team's new starting lineup at the next day's training session.

The backcourt was Holiday and Morrow, the forwards were Tang Tian and Davis, and the center was Jason Smith.

After announcing the new starting lineup, the coaching staff also made new demands on Aminu, requiring him to practice three-pointers.

In the original starting lineup, Gordon and Anderson's three-pointers were very stable. Now that they were both on the bench, the Pelicans' three-point ability would become a problem.

In modern basketball, no one is restrained outside the three-point line, which would be heavily targeted.

That's why the coaching staff temporarily arranged for Morrow to start.

But this wasn't a long-term solution, because due to his physical condition, Morrow's defense had always been poor, and it was impossible to improve it.

In comparison, Aminu's defensive ability was much better, but his problem was unstable three-pointers.

Compared to Holiday, who had the task of organizing, and Davis, who was the interior player, Aminu was more likely to develop a stable three-pointer.

And to delve into it, Aminu had an average of 1.8 attempts and a 32% hit rate in his rookie season with the Trail Blazers.

It's just that after coming to the Pelicans, the coaching staff didn't need him to shoot, and he gradually regressed.

This decision was met with a positive response from most of the players.

Gordon's performance in the previous game was actually hurting the team, and Tang Tian had actually proved with more than a month of performance that he was one of the team's core players.

And this arrangement had another benefit: with Gordon and Anderson both going to the bench, the Pelicans' originally weak bench strength had also become stronger.

The day after the starting lineup was adjusted, the Pelicans began their five-game Eastern Conference road trip.

The first game was against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks were in a rebuilding period. Last season's core players, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, had left one after another, and now they were without a leader.

They were currently 3 wins and 15 losses, ranking last in the Eastern Conference.

Facing such an opponent was undoubtedly a good thing for the Pelicans, who had just adjusted their starting lineup.

The result of the game wasn't too surprising.

Tang Tian scored 21 points in three quarters, and the Pelicans eventually won by 20 points.

Morrow, who entered the starting lineup, delivered a performance of 4 three-pointers and 12 points in his first game. In terms of three-point ability alone, he was actually more stable than Tang Tian.

The victory in this game was expected. The only small episode was probably Antetokounmpo's envious look at Tang Tian at the end of the game.

For young players, Tang Tian becoming the team's core in just his third year was enviable.

After playing the Bucks, the Pelicans followed up with a game against the Indiana Pacers, who were second in the Eastern Conference.

The first three quarters of this game were very intense, but in the fourth quarter, the Pelicans were obviously much worse in terms of experience, and eventually lost to the Pacers by 16 points.

Although they lost, Tang Tian's performance was still commendable. He shot 11 of 24 and scored a team-high 30 points and 4 assists.

After resting for two days, they continued their Eastern Conference road trip, this time back-to-back.

They played against the Raptors and Hawks, who were in the top eight, one after another.

The Raptors were currently ranked third in the Eastern Conference and were not weak, but the Pelicans upset them after a fierce four-quarter battle.

Tang Tian scored 36 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals on 12-of-29 shooting, blowing up DeRozan and Gay on the opposite side.

Gordon and Anderson, on the team's bench, also showed their bench strength, scoring 16 points and 14 points respectively.

This victory boosted the Pelicans' morale and proved that the coaching staff's arrangement was correct.