Tang Tian's speech was very inspiring, and his foundation received a lot of support and response.

And unknowingly, his personal influence has also been enhanced.

Taking care of one's own virtue in poverty, and helping the world when successful, is a creed that many Chinese people adhere to.

What Tang Tian is doing now is helping the world, which can easily resonate with them.

Two days later, the second game of the China Games was held at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing.

The purpose of the previous game was to promote the basketball school, and this one was purely a benefit for fans.

Wukesong is currently the stadium with the most seats and the most advanced equipment in China. It can accommodate 20,000 people at the same time and is an absolute NBA-level stadium.

Before the game, the head coaches of the two teams also revealed to the media that this game would be played as a regular season game.

The process of the game was as the two head coaches said, and the starters on both sides played until the last moment.

The result was similar to the first game, with the Pelicans defeating the Rockets 110-101, achieving a two-game winning streak in the China Games.

The Rockets' Big Three all performed well, with Harden scoring 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, Paul with 20 points and 11 assists, and Cousins with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Even West off the bench scored 13 points.

But fans who watched the game knew that the Rockets, like in the first game, basically relied on personal ability to play.

On the contrary, six players on the Pelicans side scored in double figures, playing a team basketball style.

And at critical moments, Stevens' on-the-spot command really left D'Antoni far behind.

The outcome of the preseason game is irrelevant, but after watching the two preseason games, fans are all grateful that the Pelicans chose Stevens instead of D'Antoni in the first place.

"We still need to run in, and I believe we will find our form before the start of the season."

D'Antoni's tone was relaxed at the post-match press conference, but you could still feel the pressure between his eyebrows.

He failed to succeed in coaching the F4 in the Lakers. If the Rockets' Big Three also fail, then his coaching career will really come to an end.

After painful reflection, he and Bzdelik stayed up all night in the room after the press conference.

By the next day, the two had developed a tactical system called "Moreyball."

The so-called Moreyball refers to focusing the offense on three-pointers that score more points and finishing under the basket with a higher shooting percentage, maximizing scoring efficiency.

They are very confident in this tactical system.

After the end of the China Games, the two teams returned to the United States together.

In the next half month or so, the Pelicans played preseason games with five other teams in succession.

Without exception, they all won the games.

For the first time during Tang Tian's tenure with the Pelicans, the Pelicans achieved a 7-0 record in the preseason.

This record itself doesn't really mean anything, but it was achieved with the main players not playing much time, which is very telling.

This kind of improvement in team strength is clearly visible.

And more importantly, throughout the preseason, the things the Pelicans did in training camp were all used in actual combat.

The offense still needs time to polish, but the defense already has seven or eight parts of what Stevens expected, and it has been qualitatively improved compared to before.

After the preseason, there are still four or five days before the official season program.

At this time, ESPN, as in every year, made a wave of predictions for the new season, and also made a strength ranking.

This is also a list that fans are very concerned about.

Not only because ESPN is an authoritative website and the analysis will be more professional.

More importantly, ESPN has been slapped in the face every year in recent years, and they are very much looking forward to the new year's slap in the face.

Because the original columnist Charlie Ford has left, this list is made by the new columnist Kevin Pelton.

The Pelicans are at the top of the list.

"Their preseason performance is gratifying, and Brad Stevens has proven that he is the most suitable coach to coach this team.

And we have seen a more mature Davis, a more defensively stable Jokic, and it cannot be ignored that they have obtained the best quality shooter Bogdanovic.

Of course, the most important thing is that their desire to win this season will be stronger than all other teams.

They made it to the Western Conference Finals last year, and we have reason to believe that they can break out of the West this year and defeat the Cavaliers to win the final championship."

The defending champion Warriors are ranked second on the list.

"They are excellent. They won the championship in the first year under the Kerr system. Maybe I'm crazy to say that, but I believe they will achieve better regular season results in the new season after running in for a season.

Their only weakness is also their strength. They are a shooting team, which will cause their performance to fluctuate in the playoffs.

This is also the reason for putting them behind the Pelicans."

The Cavaliers are ranked third on the list.

"Understanding is a very important part of basketball. After running in for a season, the Cavaliers' strength will be stronger than last season. More importantly, they have welcomed Love's return and the joining of a number of high-quality role players.

They should have been the hottest team to win the championship, but defense is their biggest weakness, and this will be fatal in the playoffs."

The Spurs are ranked fourth.

"They should have eliminated the Pelicans in last year's playoffs to advance to the Western Conference Finals and face the Warriors in a peak showdown, but Tang's outstanding performance made them regretfully out. In the new season, they added a new player to the original lineup, and his name is LaMarcus Aldridge.

Yes, a Western Conference Finals-level team adds an All-Star player, which sounds like an exciting thing.

I believe Popovich can perfectly solve the integration problem of Aldridge, but the only problem is that they look really old."

The Rockets are ranked fifth.

"Yes, I put it in this position. I don't disrespect any of Harden, Paul, or Cousins. Like I've always mentioned, they need time to run in. Like their preseason game against the Pelicans, the running-in process will be a headache.

But the good news is that D'Antoni seems to have built a good system for this team, and I believe they will prove themselves in the future."

The Knicks, Thunder, and Mavericks are ranked 6th to 8th on the list.

Other popular teams, the Clippers are ranked 9th, the Trail Blazers 11th, the Heat 15th, and the Lakers 25th.

This list has aroused crazy complaints from fans.

Not only because the Lakers are ranked 25th, but more importantly, the first place on this list is not the Warriors or Cavaliers who were in the Finals last season, but the Pelicans!

ESPN's prediction this year is more outrageous than any year in the past. They are simply crazy!