Chapter 1 The First Quarter

After the first quarter, the score was 25 to 22, with the Pelicans leading the Thunder by 3 points.

Both sides then made further rotations on the court.

For the Thunder, Reggie Jackson led the team, along with Lamb, Butler, Collison, and Steven Adams.

For the Pelicans, Gordon and Anderson led the team, along with Roberts, Morrow, and Jason Smith.

This period was crucial for both sides.

If the starters stalemated, falling behind during the bench time would make it difficult to catch up.

The Thunder's offense came up, and Jackson used Adams' screen to drive to the basket and score a layup.

Adams was a rookie, but he was physically strong, and his screen blocked both Roberts and Smith.

However, this play also highlighted the weakness of the Pelicans' bench.

Roberts' defense was poor, and Smith's agility was also very weak.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, Roberts organized on the outside, and Gordon and Morrow used off-ball screens to get open for three-point shots on both wings.

Roberts passed a lead pass to Gordon, who had a good three-point opportunity.

"Clang!"

Unfortunately, the shot was a bit off and didn't go in.

Although it didn't go in, the play was well-executed.

Roberts was much better at organizing than Little Rivers, which was why he was gradually squeezing Little Rivers out of the lineup.

Adams secured the defensive rebound, his physique was really good, completely boxing out Smith of his same size and giving him no chance.

Lamb caught the ball and missed a three-pointer, but Adams used his excellent wingspan to grab the offensive rebound over Smith and pass it to Jackson.

Tang Tian watched this and felt really envious.

"Aquaman" Adams, Westbrook's most important rebounder in the future, was already showing his potential.

If he had come to the Pelicans a year earlier, this would have been his.

If he wanted to compete for the MVP in the future, he would definitely need this type of player.

Jackson made a step-back dribble move to get past Roberts and then scored another layup.

The Thunder scored 4 consecutive points, directly turning the score around.

Williams shook his head helplessly on the sidelines.

The backup point guard and center positions were the two weakest spots for the Pelicans right now.

Gordon shook off Butler and broke through to the basket, but his shot was disturbed by Adams and missed, and Adams also grabbed the rebound.

The Thunder's scouting eye was really something, after continuously drafting the Four Young Masters, they were also able to draft such a sturdy center with the 12th pick last year.

Reggie Jackson's fast break layup missed, Adams fought against Smith's attempted putback but missed, then made the putback on the next attempt.

Smith was being bullied by a rookie…

Williams couldn't stand it anymore and got up to call Whiteside up, telling him to prepare to enter the game.

The ten-day short contract was the lowest-level contract in the NBA at this stage, but it had the advantage that, because it was only for ten days, the coaching staff would give more opportunities to evaluate.

This was also why Whiteside was getting a chance to play before Steinsma and Vesely.

Whiteside heard Williams call him and his youthful face was full of excitement, he jumped up from the spot like a rocket.

"Training clothes."

Metta World Peace reminded him from the side.

After he realized this, he took off his training clothes and trotted to the scorer's table to sit down.

The game hadn't stopped yet, and he looked at the familiar court, rubbing his hands back and forth, looking a little nervous.

"Can he play in the NBA?"

Davis asked Tang Tian from the side.

Tang Tian shook his head.

He didn't know, he really didn't know.

The mature Whiteside was an All-Star level player, but the problem was that Whiteside wasn't mature yet, so it was really hard to say what level he could perform at.

Jackson's layup drew a shooting foul from Smith, earning him two free throws.

A short whistle blew from the sideline, and Whiteside came on to replace Smith.

Smith's expression was a bit ugly at this time, he had been played pretty badly by Adams and Jackson in this stretch.

However, seeing that Whiteside was the one replacing him, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had played against Whiteside, and Whiteside's defense was even worse than his.

Teammates were teammates, but NBA competition was very fierce, if Whiteside really gained a foothold, he might not have playing time.

Jackson made both free throws.

The Thunder launched a 6-0 run, turning around to lead the Pelicans by 3 points.

At this time, less than 3 minutes had passed in the second quarter, if Whiteside wasn't effective either, Williams would have no choice but to bring on the starters early.

In the Pelicans' frontcourt offense, Whiteside screened for Gordon, but the screen quality wasn't good.

Gordon broke through to the basket and was double-teamed, the ball was passed out to Whiteside.

Whiteside took the ball and took a step to dunk, and collided directly with Adams.

He couldn't handle the contact, and the ball in his hand flew out of bounds.

A turnover!

The audience burst into laughter.

Was this guy here to be funny?

Davis couldn't help but cover his face at this time, the Pelicans' management's eye for selecting players…

Williams also frowned.

Although he knew that Whiteside's offense wasn't very good, this was a bit too much.

Tang Tian was still relatively calm, the opportunity wasn't good for Whiteside on that play, and Gordon's pass was also late.

Whiteside was actually just a finisher, he couldn't handle shots that required him to directly attack the rim.

"Let’s.go! OKC!"

The fans in the arena began to cheer for their home team, meaning the Thunder were about to gain momentum.

In the Thunder's offense, Jackson continued to drive to the basket using Adams' pick and roll.

Whiteside was much faster than Smith, but he was too close, and he was immediately called for a defensive foul after making contact.

Williams couldn't help but shake his head.

Sure enough, his expectations for Whiteside were still too high, there was still a difference between practice games and official games.

He had already decided that if the Thunder scored again, he would have to bring on Davis and Tang Tian early.

The Thunder's sideline ball was passed in.

After Jackson used Adams' pick and roll, he drove to the basket again, his speed was extremely fast, he shook off Whiteside and quickly shot at the basket.

"Clang!"

However, at this moment, a hand came from behind and blocked him with a chase-down block!

The audience was in an uproar.

It was Whiteside who made the block!

Adams had quick eyes and hands at this time, turned around to grab the offensive rebound and shot again.

"Slap!"

However, as soon as he shot, it was Whiteside again, another block that sent the ball flying out of bounds!

Two consecutive blocks!

The Pelicans' bench players suddenly got excited.

Davis also widened his eyes, this blocking ability, so strong!

Being a blocking expert himself, he knew this ability very well.

Whiteside didn't have his height and wingspan, it was a natural sense.

The Thunder's sideline ball was passed in, Butler's outside shot missed, and Whiteside boxed out to secure the defensive rebound.

His resistance seemed to be much better than during the scrimmage.

This wasn't because he had suddenly become stronger, but because he hadn't gone all out to guard Smith in the scrimmage in order to show off his blocking ability.

Now that he was on the court, with Smith as a horizontal comparison, his resistance could be seen as not bad.