“And one more thing, we need something to stimulate Hassan, to get his focus back on the court.”

Tang Tian added.

Jokic was shy and didn’t mind being a substitute, but Whiteside was showing some attitude problems because of the potential competition.

Bringing back a player with a similar style at this time could knock him down a peg.

Dempsey nodded after listening to Tang Tian.

The Pelicans' roster was actually quite complete, signing players was just adding insurance.

So who they signed wouldn't have much impact, and Tang Tian's analysis was very convincing.

After talking with Tang Tian, Dempsey went to contact McGee's agent.

But the result was not as smooth as expected.

McGee's buyout with the 76ers wasn't just for playing in the playoffs, but also for playing time.

After all, if he sat on the bench for a season, he might not even have a contract next summer.

The Pelicans had Whiteside and Jokic as two solid rotation players, and Biyombo in front of them, so it would be difficult for him to get playing time if he went there.

This was also to be expected.

The suggestion was given by Tang Tian, but whether it would work or not was not up to him.

The Pelicans' contact with McGee was still ongoing, and Dempsey knew that McGee had a particularly bad reputation among other team GMs, so he could wait and see.

Two days passed quickly, and the players who were bought out during these two days had successively signed with other teams.

Stoudemire went to the Cavaliers, Ishmael Smith went to the Mavericks, Jason Richardson went to the Suns…

McGee, on the other hand, was in a state of rumors with the Pelicans, but no one cared about him.

Because of *Shaqtin' a Fool*, he really had a feeling of being feared by everyone.

With McGee's matter still undecided, the 14-man Pelicans roster welcomed the challenge of the Cavaliers at home.

This game was highly anticipated.

The two teams were ranked second in the East and West, a strong match-up; the feud between James and Tang Tian; the fans' debate on social media about the MVP rankings; a nationally televised game, and so on.

All of these made this game highly anticipated.

TNT also sent their Big Three to the scene to commentate.

"Guys, do you think the Pelicans can successfully avenge themselves at home? Can Tang prove that he should be ahead of LeBron in the MVP rankings?"

Before the game even started, Barkley opened his big mouth and started hyping the atmosphere at the commentary booth.

"Of course!"

O'Neal was now a staunch Tang supporter and immediately slammed the table.

Barkley looked at O'Neal and laughed. He couldn't stand his partner anymore.

Smith also shook his head repeatedly.

"The Pelicans' recent situation is not good. Tang doesn't seem so focused, and the competition between Whiteside and Jokic seems to be developing in a bad direction."

Smith was still relatively professional.

"Yes, Shaq, you have to use your brain."

Barkley echoed with a smile.

He still appreciated Tang Tian very much, but he preferred to go against O'Neal.

"No, no need."

O'Neal smiled and spread his hands, his expression really brainless, making Smith and Barkley call out that they couldn't stand it.

Just as the three were chatting happily at the commentary booth, the players from both sides came out of the player tunnel one after another.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were successively announced.

Both sides played with their full strength in this game.

The Pelicans' starting lineup was Holiday and Tang Tian on the outside, Ariza and Davis on the front line, and Whiteside at center.

On the Cavaliers' side, it was Irving and Dion Waiters on the outside, James and Love on the front line, and Mozgov at center.

After the opening ceremony, Tang Tian and Irving greeted each other at center court.

The Pelicans and Cavaliers were potential Finals opponents, and the feud between Tang Tian and James might be staged again after his Spurs career.

But Tang Tian and Irving were hard-training brothers, and their relationship was not affected by these things.

The two were talking and laughing, which made James, who was sitting on the sidelines, frown.

Amid the cheers of the fans, the game was about to begin.

Whiteside won the jump ball against Mozgov, giving the Pelicans the opportunity to attack first.

Tang Tian received the ball in the frontcourt and was immediately double-teamed by Irving. He passed the ball to Holiday, who took a three-point shot.

"Clang!"

Holiday's first shot missed.

Whiteside grabbed the offensive rebound with his long arms.

Tang Tian accelerated to get rid of Waiters and cut into the paint to receive the ball.

But Whiteside didn't give it to him. He looked a little anxious and took a close-range shot after a hard bump against Mozgov.

Mozgov was 2.16 meters tall and 115 kilograms, just a big meat shield. Whiteside didn't have an advantage in static confrontation, and the shot went wide of the basket.

Love took the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans' first attack ended in vain.

Love passed the ball to James.

James dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and directly broke through Ariza. Davis came to help defend, and he passed the ball to Love in the corner, who made a three-point shot.

The Cavaliers took the lead.

In the Pelicans' attack, Davis received the ball and forced a shot against Love, but James interfered with the help defense and missed. Mozgov protected the rebound.

The Cavaliers played a fast break, James passed the ball to Irving, who used a crossover to shake off Holiday's chase and made a three-point shot.

"Swish!"

Another one!

The Cavaliers were in hot form at the start.

In the Pelicans' attack, Tang Tian ran off-ball, received the ball and broke through to pass to Ariza.

Ariza had an open three-point opportunity.

"Beep!"

"Swish!"

A three-pointer through the heart, Ariza returned an answer ball.

But before the ball went in, the baseline referee's whistle sounded.

Whiteside was a little anxious when fighting for position with Mozgov and directly overturned the latter to the ground.

The referee indicated that the foul occurred before Ariza's shot, the goal was invalid, and Whiteside was called for an offensive foul.

There was a boo from the crowd.

Tang Tian walked to Whiteside and reminded him a few words.

He had been focusing on Olsen before and hadn't noticed that Whiteside's form had fluctuated so much.

The first few possessions became a microcosm of the first half of the game.

The entire Cavaliers team was in hot form, James was like a fish in water, and his presence was explosive.

On the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian's reminder didn't work, and Whiteside was still playing very anxiously.

This emotion also infected the team, and the entire Pelicans team was playing a little impetuously.

About 7 minutes into the quarter, Whiteside committed his second personal foul while defending, and the Cavaliers were already leading by 11 points at 20 to 9.

"What did I say? Shaq, you have to use your brain."

Barkley said with a big laugh. Winning the argument with O'Neal was his greatest pleasure when commentating now.

"The game has only been played for 7 minutes, man."

O'Neal had a calm expression.

Whiteside was replaced, and Jokic stood up from the bench.

When the two brushed past each other, Jokic wanted to give a high-five but Whiteside ignored him, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand.