After the timeout, D'Antoni made a substitution, replacing Capela and Brewer with Tucker and Barmote.

This was a lineup with one big and four small players.

Cousins went on the offensive against Jokic in the paint, and Davis came to help defend.

Jokic wasn't as strong as Cousins, but he lowered his center of gravity and held his ground.

Seeing Davis coming to help defend, Cousins directly passed the ball to Tucker in the corner.

The strength of the one-big-four-small lineup lies in the spacing on the court. Once there is a double team, there is a high chance of a direct open shot.

"Pa!"

But the ball was stolen by Ariza, who swooped in from the side!

The results of the Stevens training camp were showing.

Defense doesn't rely on individuals, but on a real system.

Good defense isn't waiting for the opponent to make a choice before moving, but having a prediction, and this prediction comes from the system.

Davis would definitely help defend, and Cousins' choice was either to force a shot or pass. Forcing a shot against two people wasn't a high percentage play, and passing would definitely be in the direction of the double team.

These were all things that Stevens had explained and constantly trained in the training camp.

The Pelicans stole the ball and launched a fast break. In the frontcourt three-on-two, Davis received a pass from Tang Tian and scored with a layup in the middle.

9 to 5!

At the start, the Rockets had a 5-0 run against the Pelicans, but after Stevens called a timeout, the Pelicans responded with a 9-0 run!

But after D'Antoni called a timeout, the Rockets made a mistake and the Pelicans countered with a fast break.

There's no harm in comparison!

Paul held the ball to the frontcourt and hit his signature pull-up jumper after a pick-and-roll with Cousins.

Back on the other end, Jokic orchestrated from the high post, Tang Tian cut in and passed to Holiday on the outside, who made a three-pointer.

These two possessions became a microcosm of the first half.

D'Antoni was completely outmatched by Stevens in terms of tactics, and the Rockets relied more on individual plays.

On the other hand, the Pelicans' offensive coordination wasn't very smooth yet, but they played more like a team, and could launch fast breaks from time to time.

Stevens really outcoached D'Antoni on a tactical level.

After more than eight minutes into the first quarter, relying on individual abilities, the Rockets and Pelicans were tied at 20 to 26.

But after the rotations started, the Pelicans quickly pulled away.

By the end of the first half, the Pelicans led the Rockets by as much as 14 points, 60 to 46.

The fans on the sidelines couldn't hide their excitement.

At the start, they thought the Pelicans were finished this season, but now it seemed like the Pelicans would really explode in the new season.

The Rockets' super big three were completely outmatched in the first half.

The improvement in a team's strength from a good coach and system is obvious.

In history, Stevens once led a core lineup of rookie Tatum, sophomore Jaylen Brown, and Horford to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now he was coaching the Pelicans led by Tang Tian, a team that was already at the Western Conference Finals level.

Moreover, the Pelicans were different from the Celtics led by Irving later. The Celtics had no clear leader, and many players' contracts were about to expire, which destabilized the team.

But the Pelicans' core and role players were clearly defined, and they were determined to win the championship in the new season.

So what the Pelicans showed in the first half was the performance that Stevens could bring to the Pelicans.

During the halftime break, Tang Tian attended the promotion event of the Hangzhou Basketball School as a guest.

"We may need five, ten, or even more years to see the results, but we can afford to wait. Just like our country, it took us sixty years to become a world power again. I have reason to believe that in ten years, Chinese basketball will surpass any previous era and be truly world-class."

Yao Ming's political awareness was really high, and his example of the country resonated with fans.

"I hope that in the Olympics before I retire, I can see that all my starting teammates are NBA players."

Tang Tian's words were full of humor.

He was 23 years old now, and he probably had more than ten or twenty years before he retired. This echoed Yao Ming's statement about the results, which made the fans laugh.

But this kind of laughter was full of hope.

The Chinese love to grow vegetables and build infrastructure, all of which take time to produce results.

Now Yao Ming's basketball school is like planting hope and laying the foundation.

Someday in the future, they will see a forest and skyscrapers.

This basketball school promotion event was very successful, and many people on the scene were eager to try.

Many of these fans have already started families. For them, if their children are interested and there is an opportunity now, they would definitely be willing to try.

In the second half, the starters of both sides didn't play, and it was all substitutes and bench players.

This is also a characteristic of the preseason, both sides will hold back.

On the Rockets side, David West showed excellent competitive form, scoring 15 points alone in the second half.

Speaking of which, he was also a legend this past summer.

He signed a 3-year, $36 million contract with the Pacers in 2013, and he had a player option this summer.

Last season, he still averaged 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for the Pacers, but because he was 35 years old, his free market prospects after opting out wouldn't be very good.

But he ultimately chose to opt out.

Not because he was stupid, but because he had earned enough money and wanted to pursue his desired championship at the end of his career.

In the end, he joined the Rockets at the invitation of his old teammate Paul, signing a minimum salary contract to pursue his championship dream.

Judging from his level in the second half, he still had the strength of a starter.

However, the Pelicans also had some bright spots.

Dinwiddie, who became Nash's new disciple, seemed even more at ease on the court after his sophomore year, scoring 10 points and 4 assists in the half.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who shined. Bojan still made 3 three-pointers in the half, and his outside shooting was very stable.

It could be seen that he was really talented, and the Pelicans' trade to get him with Gordon in the summer wasn't a loss.

In the end, the Pelicans stabilized the situation and won the game 104 to 94.

After the game ended and the two sides exchanged handshakes, Tang Tian promoted his foundation on the spot.

Now around the world, natural disasters are mostly helped by the government.

But because there are too many people involved, often all that can be done is to save people, and how to live afterwards is still up to the victims themselves.

For those who are physically sound, there is still hope to start over.

But for those who are disabled or have lost their ability to work, survival will become very difficult.

Tang Tian's foundation mainly helps these people.

He founded it because of Hurricane New Orleans, but named it the Global Foundation, to help people around the world.