Atlanta is one of the three major highland cities in the United States and the capital of Georgia.

It is one of the most well-known cities in the United States.

If Dallas is the place with the most severe racial discrimination, then this is the place with the most equal racial discrimination.

Because this is the birthplace and main activity place of Martin Luther King, and it is a new city rebuilt after the Civil War.

With the popularity of the American drama "The Walking Dead," its global popularity has also soared.

Although the basketball market here is not large due to the small population, the Hawks' strong performance this season has greatly improved everything.

According to official league statistics, the arena attendance rate this season has exceeded 70%, which is the highest in the past decade.

This highly anticipated game saw a packed house at Philips Arena.

Such high attendance is directly related to the Pelicans.

In addition to the Pelicans' strength, Tang Tian's violent style of play in the new season is also a major reason.

Before the game started, Tang Tian went to greet Budenholzer, congratulating him on becoming the head coach of the Hawks.

Back in the Spurs, the humble and amiable Budenholzer was the team's first assistant coach and had a good relationship with Tang Tian.

After a brief greeting, the pre-game opening ceremony began, and the starting lineups of both sides took the stage one after another.

The Pelicans took the stage first. With Davis out, Aminu started in his place, with no other changes in position.

The Hawks' side featured their regular starting five: Teague and Korver on the outside, Carroll and Millsap on the front line, and Horford at center.

Horford and Whiteside at center court for the jump ball.

Horford came from a power forward background, but since being selected by the Hawks, he has been coaxed by the management and coaching staff to play center, and has been playing it ever since.

Whiteside easily won the jump ball against Horford, giving the Pelicans the first chance to attack.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt. Tang Tian, holding the ball at the arc, was double-teamed. He passed the ball to Ariza, who quickly took a three-point shot.

The Hawks' help defense came quickly.

Although they are a team of ordinary players, Budenholzer has instilled defense in this team in addition to offense.

They could not have achieved such an outstanding record in November by relying solely on offense.

"Clang!"

Ariza's three-pointer hit the iron.

Horford boxed out Whiteside, preparing to collect the defensive rebound.

Just then, a figure quickly cut into the basket from the outside.

Ariza!

After taking the shot, he knew it would probably be a miss.

He had missed many shots when he played for the Rockets, and he could predict the landing point of the ball he shot.

At this time, he rushed into the basket and jumped high to grab the offensive rebound while Horford and Whiteside were fighting under the basket.

After grabbing the rebound, he threw it to Tang Tian, who caught the ball and shot a fadeaway jumper.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

The Pelicans scored first!

The Hawks' offense, Teague organized the offense on the outside.

Korver and Millsap ran around screens in continuous motion.

The Spurs' hammer tactic is essentially a pick-and-roll tactic built on the ability of the GDP (Ginobili, Duncan, Parker) with wing players as the finishing point.

Budenholzer came from the Spurs system and was the team's tactical coach as the first assistant coach.

He had the most thorough understanding of the hammer tactic, so he didn't just copy it, but made some detailed changes based on the Hawks' own characteristics.

This allowed everyone on the Hawks, especially the starting five, to发挥 (fāhuī - bring their abilities into full play) their characteristics in the tactical system.

With continuous ball movement on the court, the Hawks' offense looked like mercury pouring onto the ground.

However, there was never a good shooting opportunity.

The Pelicans' defense on the court was outrageously high, with all kinds of close-up defense and physical confrontation from the start.

The Hawks' players were very uncomfortable. This intensity was completely different from what they had encountered before.

The ball was passed to the end, and the Hawks didn't get a good shooting opportunity.

Korver's last forced three-pointer hit the rim and bounced out!

Whiteside boxed out Horford under the basket and protected the defensive rebound.

Since the game against Adams, his use of positioning has made him more and more experienced in fighting for rebounds.

The Pelicans' offense, the others sank to the baseline, Tang Tian singled out Carroll, changed direction and then hit a step-back jumper.

The Pelicans led 4-0.

The crowd was agitated. This was not a good start for the Hawks.

Teague dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and continued to organize the offense.

The Hawks still had cross-tactical movement. This time their pick-and-roll was successful, but the Pelicans completely kept up after switching defense.

With more than half of the offensive time gone, they still had no chance!

Budenholzer frowned on the sidelines.

The Pelicans started the game with playoff-level intensity, completely disregarding their physical fitness.

But this did restrict the Hawks' style of play.

In basketball, when the defensive intensity is strong enough, any tactic will lose its lethality.

This is why all teams have more one-on-one play in the playoffs, and why the playoffs are said to be a stage for superstars!

The Hawks couldn't run their tactics, so Teague could only give the ball to Millsap to single out Aminu.

Aminu's defense was on point, making Millsap uncomfortable.

Millsap turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper.

Aminu's long arm interfered.

"Swish!"

Millsap still managed to get the ball in with his personal ability.

But Budenholzer shook his head helplessly on the sidelines.

Such a finishing method was obviously not what he wanted to see. Or rather, the Hawks would definitely not win if they played like this, relying on individual one-on-one ability.

The Pelicans' offense, Holiday's three-pointer after receiving a pass from Tang Tian went wide.

Whiteside used his height advantage to grab the offensive rebound and score a put-back.

6 to 2.

The Pelicans suppressed the Hawks at the start through aggressive defense and rebounding.

The Hawks' offense, tactical cooperation still didn't work, the ball was given to Millsap again, and this time his strong attack was defended by Aminu.

The Pelicans launched a fast break. Tang Tian received the ball and dribbled the ball down the court, and dunked the ball into the basket after a confrontation with Teague.

8 to 2!

The fans on the sidelines were agitated.

This was completely different from what they had imagined.

Originally, with Davis out, they felt that the Hawks had an advantage on paper.

But in the first few minutes of the game, the Hawks were almost beaten into chickens!

The Hawks' offense, continuous ball movement was fruitless. Carroll was forced to have no shooting space when he finally caught the ball. They were directly defended for 24 seconds!

They looked like they didn't know how to play basketball anymore!

The commentators on the sidelines were dumbfounded by the situation.

But Tang Tian was not surprised.

When the Hawks played the Cavaliers in the playoffs, the scene was similar to this.

In that series, the Hawks' average score was a full 7 points less than in the regular season, but the points lost were 2 points more, and they were out-rebounded by an average of 52 rebounds per game.

Fear of high-intensity defense and insufficient rebounding ability were the fatal weaknesses of this Hawks team.

In addition, Budenholzer hadn't been in charge for long, and the Hawks hadn't fully taken shape.

This situation was completely expected.