After finishing the back-to-back games in Los Angeles, the Spurs flew back to San Antonio the next day.

Leonard's examination report also came out, no fracture, he could recover after a few days of rest.

This was great news.

With good news comes bad news.

Not long after the plane arrived in San Antonio, the suspension results for the previous conflict were also released.

Martin was suspended for 2 games and fined $20,000 for punching Leonard.

Tang Tian was suspended for 3 games and fined $25,000 for punching Martin.

Each side was punished equally, but because Tang Tian caused more serious consequences, and was not one of the conflicting parties, the number of games suspended and the fine were relatively higher.

The most severe NBA suspension was the "Auburn Hills Incident," when Artest was suspended for an entire season.

But that was because of a conflict between players and fans. Fans are the league's God, and the league is very strong in maintaining this aspect.

However, the punishment for conflicts between players is much smaller.

Martin was a repeat offender and an instigator, so being fined $20,000 wasn't a big deal.

But for Tang Tian, a rookie, being fined $25,000 was no small amount.

You know, his first year rookie salary was only over $300,000 after taxes.

That punch was a little expensive.

The Spurs were in the arena when they received the news, having just finished their daily training.

The players couldn't help but complain about the league's fines.

"Is the league's treasury empty again?"

Diaw's words drew laughter from his teammates.

"Tang, I'll pay your fine for you."

Ginobili walked up to Tang Tian at this time, put his arm around his shoulder and said softly.

"No need, Manu, I have money."

Tang Tian said.

"Don't pretend to be rich, kid, you stood up for the team this time."

Ginobili continued, he knew that Tang Tian was just a second-round pick.

"I really have money, I've taken a lot of endorsements."

Tang Tian wasn't an ordinary rookie. With all kinds of endorsements in the past, there were almost 2 million US dollars in his bank card. He wasn't being polite when he said that.

He was already prepared to be suspended and fined when he rushed up at the time.

Ginobili saw Tang Tian's reaction and knew he was telling the truth, so he didn't force it.

After a while, Duncan suddenly walked up to Tang Tian, then sat down and said two words:

"Card number."

Tang Tian was stunned for a moment.

"Fine."

Duncan generally spoke concisely, and he was concise this time as well.

"No need, Tim, I can afford it myself."

Tang Tian said, took out his phone, and showed him the money in his account.

Duncan nodded, smiled and touched his head... then walked back and sat down.

"..."

Green was coming over as well, but he smiled and sat down when he saw Duncan go back.

Looking at the reactions of his teammates, Tang Tian suddenly felt that he was quite lucky to have been selected by the Spurs in the first place.

After standing up for his teammates, the whole team competed to pay his fine for him. This was really rare.

After a while, Leonard walked over and sat down next to Tang Tian again.

"It's not about how much money it is, it's that I have to pay this money."

Leonard had already picked up his phone and was ready to transfer money.

Tang Tian was speechless and was about to refuse Leonard.

The door of the locker room was pushed open at this time, and Popovich walked in with a serious face.

When the players saw this expression, they stopped communicating and turned to look at him.

"Tang's behavior was very irrational and inappropriate. I don't want to see this kind of thing happen again."

Popovich said with a serious expression.

The players nodded one after another after hearing this. Popovich was the head coach, so he definitely couldn't support the players in doing this kind of thing.

After Popovich finished speaking, he walked up to Tang Tian and said:

"Give me your card number, I'll pay your fine."

"..."

Tang Tian was already speechless. This was the fifth person who said they would pay his fine for him today, and this time it was the head coach.

However, Popovich's two sentences before and after highlighted his character: a knife mouth with a tofu heart.

"Don't refuse me, I'm the head coach."

Popovich said immediately when he saw that Tang Tian was about to speak.

The other players in the locker room burst into laughter when they heard this sentence.

This sentence can also be understood as: Don't refuse me, I also want face.

Tang Tian knew that it was inappropriate to refuse again, so he gave his card number to Popovich.

At worst, he would send Popovich a few bottles of high-end red wine later.

Speaking of which, the two of them hadn't had the drink they agreed on during the draft.

Tang Tian's fine was ultimately paid by Popovich, and the Spurs players stopped their actions to pay Tang Tian's fine.

This punch seemed expensive, but the popularity Tang Tian won in the Spurs team was something that more money couldn't buy.

Popovich helped pay the fine, but no one could help with the suspension.

Tang Tian would miss the team's next three games, and according to the rules, he couldn't appear at the game site, and there would be no salary paid for these three games.

Although he couldn't go to the game site, Tang Tian still attended training sessions as usual and flew to away games with the team.

Because it was a league suspension, in fact, for him and the Spurs, the only change for Tang Tian was that he couldn't play.

In Tang Tian's first game of absence, the Spurs played against the Thunder at home.

Popovich arranged for Leonard to enter the starting lineup.

Leonard's movement speed was much slower than Durant's, and his experience was a bit lacking.

Durant madly scored 41 points in this game, helping the Thunder to win in the end and avenge their previous game.

After playing the Thunder, the Spurs ushered in a three-game road trip to the East.

They would first play back-to-back games with the Celtics and Knicks, and then play against the Bulls after a day of rest.

The game against the Celtics was very anxious. Rivers did a good job of controlling Parker and Ginobili, the two ball-handling points.

In the end, the Spurs narrowly lost to their opponents 101-103, suffering a two-game losing streak.

The next day against the Knicks, Popovich rested Duncan and Ginobili and put Diaw in the starting lineup.

JR Smith was in hot form, scoring his first 30+ points of the season, helping the Knicks win the game in the end.

However, Diaw's first start in his Spurs career was very successful, contributing 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, playing his first triple-double of the season.

The Spurs suffered a three-game losing streak, which was the first time since the season.

Although it was related to the strength of the opponents, Tang Tian's absence also had a clear impact.

Durant and JR Smith's successive explosions exposed some of Green's weaknesses in one-on-one defense ability.

If one-on-one defense and help defense are combined, Green is already a quasi-first-class defensive player in the league, but if one-on-one defense is singled out, he is still a bit lacking.

The team's next game will be against the Bulls, the top team in the East, and it can be foreseen that it will be another hard battle.

"I'm starting to miss Tang."

Popovich said wryly after the game against the Knicks.

ps: I was discharged from the hospital today, and then...

Little Eggplant has a name!

Tang Yongqi! (Tang Yongqi - Pinyin)

Qilin (Kirin) belongs to fire, the protagonist of the next book is here!