Chapter 1 "How is it? Pretty cool, right?" Tang Tian said, touching his new hairstyle.

Aside from being eye-catching and adding height, this hairstyle also had another benefit: it was prickly and not easy to touch.

His initial intention for getting the haircut was to prevent Duncan from touching his head.

"No, it's ugly as hell. It doesn't even look like the you I know," Thompson continued to criticize. This was the first time he'd seen such a hairstyle in the NBA.

"No, no, Klay, you have to keep up with the times. Don't spend all your time in nightclubs," Tang Tian said.

"That doesn't matter. You just watch, I'll win this game against you."

Thompson was full of confidence tonight, partly because facing Tang Tian motivated him.

On the other hand, Curry couldn't play due to an ankle injury, so he would be in the starting lineup.

"I'll be waiting," Tang Tian said, touching his new hairstyle again.

As he touched it, he suddenly had a bad feeling. Why did it feel even better to touch when he stroked it like this?

For the home opener, the AT&T Center was over 70% full, more than double the attendance of the preseason games.

Although it couldn't compare to the Los Angeles market before, it was already pretty good.

After the pre-game warm-up, the opening ceremony began, and the visiting and home team's starting players were introduced one by one.

For the Warriors, with Curry out injured, the starting backcourt was Monta Ellis and Thompson, the forwards were Dorell Wright and David Lee, and the center was Andris Biedrins.

The Spurs used the same starting lineup as before, with Parker and Green in the backcourt, Jefferson and Duncan at forward, and Blair at center.

Duncan versus Biedrins in the jump ball.

It was the opening game, and the fans were in good spirits, erupting in cheers right from the start.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the "Stone Buddha" (邓肯’s nickname) used his wingspan advantage to win the jump ball against Biedrins, finally saving some face for himself.

You had to know that he had lost all the jump balls to the bouncy guy in the previous games.

The Spurs had the first possession.

The Warriors hired former ESPN ace commentator Mark Jackson as their new head coach for the new season, preparing to change their historically poor defensive image.

And it proved to be effective.

Although Jackson hadn't been in charge for long, you could clearly feel the difference in this Warriors team from the defensive positioning and mutual support between the players.

Parker's drive to the basket after a pick-and-roll with Duncan was interfered with by Biedrins, and the rebound was grabbed by the help-defending David Lee. The Spurs' first attack was shut down.

However, while the Warriors' defense had improved, their offense hadn't made much progress.

The Warriors team of old, led by Don Nelson in the 2006-07 season, played a wild run-and-gun offense, defeating the peak Mavericks and creating the magical "Black Eight Miracle."

But in reality, even back then the Warriors' offense didn't have much structure. The so-called run-and-gun was basically pick-and-rolls plus fast breaks throwing up three-pointers.

After that group of Black Eight players left the team one after another, the run-and-gun turned into reckless shots, and it became a team culture. Everyone who came only knew how to take bad shots.

Jackson improved the team's defense, but he couldn't change their offense.

Ellis took a three-pointer from outside the arc after a pick-and-roll, but it bounced off the rim.

Blair grabbed the backhand rebound, and Parker organized the offense again. This time he signaled for a zip hammer play, which was clearly more patient than before.

After all, the Warriors were still a newly built team. After more plays from the Spurs, they quickly had a defensive lapse.

Green was left open in the corner, and he caught the ball and seized the opportunity to sink the shot.

Back on the other end, Ellis drove to the basket after a pick-and-roll and passed the ball out to Wright on the outside. Wright caught the ball and kept shooting, but still missed.

Duncan grabbed the rebound, and the Spurs continued to run their offense on the other end. This time, Parker made a quick layup inside.

The opening possessions of the game basically set the tone for the rest of the quarter.

The Warriors were just shooting from the outside, but the Spurs' defense was basically in place, and their shooting percentage was very low.

But back on the other end, the Spurs were steady and methodical, and the Warriors couldn't defend at all.

The point difference kept widening. Six minutes into the first quarter, the score was 14-4, and the Spurs had already built a double-digit lead.

Mark Jackson started out roaring at his players from the sidelines, but later sat powerlessly on the sidelines, completely losing his temper.

It wasn't going to be an easy task to change the style of this Warriors team.

Tang Tian was sitting on the bench at this time, feeling a bit sorry for Thompson.

Although he was starting, he basically didn't touch the ball and just ran back and forth. It would've been better to be on the bench!

Ellis took another contested three-pointer that missed.

Jackson finally couldn't watch any longer and called Nate Robinson and Brandon Rush off the bench, telling them to go in and replace Ellis and Wright.

Although Nate Robinson was short, he preferred to drive and pass compared to Ellis.

His entry into the game added some drive-and-kick tactics to the Warriors' offense, and Thompson finally got his chance at this time.

He got several open looks through off-ball movement on the perimeter, and he hit two of his three three-point attempts, helping the Warriors narrow the point difference to single digits.

Popovich saw that the momentum was shifting and called Tang Tian and Splitter off the bench, telling them to replace Jefferson and Duncan.

"Stay close to that Klay Thompson." Before going on the court, the old man pulled Tang Tian aside and said, making it clear that he had great confidence in Tang Tian's defense.

"No problem," Tang Tian said with a smile and a nod.

He had made Thompson doubt his life back in the NCAA, and now that they were on the NBA stage, he didn't mind doing it again.

Who told the guy to go clubbing every day and make fun of his hairstyle.

Parker's drive to the basket drew a foul on Biedrins, giving him two free throws.

Both teams made substitutions during the dead ball.

On the Warriors' side, Ekpe Udoh also came on to replace Biedrins.

A commotion arose from the sidelines at this time.

Many of them only noticed Tang Tian's mohawk hairstyle at this time. It was just too eye-catching!

The cameraman on the sidelines also immediately gave him a shot.

A chorus of whistles rang out in the arena. The contrast of Tang Tian’s hair was too strong.

"I told you, you'd be the focus of attention," Green couldn't help but say as Tang Tian passed by him.

Tang Tian nodded and walked to the free throw line. Next to him was Thompson. The two of them were now playing the small forward position.

Speaking of which, although the two had trained hard together for a summer, other than the previous NCAA regular season game, the two hadn't met on the official court.

This was the first time.

"I've already scored 6 points," Thompson said without turning his head.

Although Tang Tian couldn't see it, he could still feel the hint of smugness in his eyes.

"This game you can only get 6 points," Tang Tian replied.