Chapter 1 The Curtain Rises

In an atmosphere of burgeoning prosperity, the 2014-2015 season officially kicked off.

The preseason games started first.

The Pelicans' first preseason opponent was the Rockets.

However, several key players from both sides would be absent from this game.

For the Rockets, both Harden and Bosh were in suits, while for the Pelicans, Tang Tian, Davis, and Holiday would also not be playing.

Both teams had ambitions for the new season, and they were preparing to seize the opportunity in the preseason to evaluate players and determine rotations and lineups.

The Rockets' starting lineup consisted of Beverley and Nick Johnson in the backcourt, Parsons and Terrence Jones on the front line, and Tarik Black at center.

For the Pelicans, it was Cole and Gordon in the backcourt, Ariza and Ilyasova on the front line, and Whiteside at center.

The Pelicans were playing at home, and the arena was more than half full.

This reflected the Pelicans' current popularity in New Orleans; even for a preseason game, many fans didn't want to miss out.

Whiteside won the jump ball against Black, opening the game.

Tang Tian was sitting in the "VIP audience seats" at this time, chatting with Davis while watching the game.

Since Nash joined the coaching staff, the performance of several new players in team training had improved compared to before.

But what kind of performance they could actually deliver would depend on the official games.

With Tang Tian and Holiday out, Gordon became the Pelicans' primary ball-handler on the court. He easily broke through Johnson in the frontcourt, scoring the first 2 points for the Pelicans.

Having Gordon as a backup for the Pelicans was a good thing for his injuries; less playing time and lower defensive pressure significantly reduced his "glass" attribute.

However, in return, Jones scored a basket in the low post against Ilyasova.

Ilyasova was truly a completely weakened version of Anderson, and his defense seemed even weaker than Anderson's.

Back on the other end, Cole passed out to Ilyasova, who hit a three-pointer from the corner.

This shot could be considered his way of proving his worth.

Jones's breakthrough layup in the frontcourt was blocked by Whiteside, and Ariza caught the ball on the outside and hit a three-pointer.

Jones then scored another basket in the low post, and Whiteside immediately responded with a dunk in the frontcourt.

With a little over seven minutes played in the first quarter, the Pelicans led 14-6.

Both teams had their dual cores out, but the Pelicans were clearly a notch above the Rockets in terms of strength.

Tang Tian, with his professional habits, silently graded his teammates' performances in his mind.

Among the five, Whiteside's performance was the best.

He not only completely shut down Black, but his several help defenses were also impressive. His fouling and defensive habit problems seemed to have improved significantly. He deserved a 9 out of 10, deducting 1 point to prevent him from becoming arrogant.

The second-best performer was Ariza.

After Nash took over, he had regained his shooting package, and coupled with his defense on Parsons, who basically didn't get a chance to shoot, he deserved an 8.

Next were Gordon and Cole, whose performances were similar to last season, both decent, earning a 7.

The worst performer was Ilyasova, who, although he made a three-pointer, was fooled several times on the defensive end by Jones.

Jones was known as the "noob-killer prince," and Ilyasova was that noob.

The preseason was focused on evaluation, and after this point in the game, except for Ariza, who was still left on the court, other positions were gradually substituted.

Dinwiddie, Tyler Johnson, Aminu, and Jokic were brought into the game.

Tang Tian's attention became even more focused than before.

This batch of players that the Pelicans had brought in included the team's three rookies this year, all of whom he had recommended.

The Rockets also made substitution adjustments, with "immortal pills" Daniels, Isaiah Canaan, Jeff Adrien, and Dorsey being brought into the game.

Canaan's penetration and pass found Parsons, who caught the ball and scored a layup, finally adding some points to his tally.

Back on the other end, Dinwiddie held the ball and made a penetration pass, but his lack of experience led to a mistake, which Parsons stole. The Rockets launched a fast break, and Canaan squeezed past Johnson for a layup.

Dinwiddie's layup after a pick-and-roll with Jokic also missed.

He made consecutive mistakes and missed shots, looking a little nervous.

The Rockets coordinated in the frontcourt, and Parsons's pass to Daniels resulted in a three-pointer.

Within just two minutes, the Rockets launched a 7-0 scoring run.

The crowd stirred, and the performance of the Pelicans' rookies looked a bit ugly.

Tang Tian frowned slightly at this time.

The people he had suggested drafting were all potential stocks, not the kind of ready-to-play players who could immediately contribute.

They performed well in training sessions, but it seemed that their performance in official games was still a bit lacking.

This was also reasonable; otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen so far back in the draft.

He turned to look at Williams's expression, and the latter seemed to know this as well, with not much emotional fluctuation on his face.

The Pelicans' offense.

Dinwiddie dribbled the ball at the arc for a while, and the consecutive unsuccessful attacks made him a little at a loss.

Just then, Jokic actively called for the ball at the free-throw line.

Dinwiddie passed the ball in, and Jokic directly started coordinating at the free-throw line.

Ariza shook off Parsons and cut in, and Jokic flicked his wrist as he turned his head.

The ball went straight into Ariza's hands, and the latter leaped up and delivered a heavy two-handed dunk.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

This ball swept away the previous gloom!

Williams's eyes also lit up, and the way he looked at Jokic was clearly different from before.

Tang Tian's furrowed brow also eased slightly at this time.

Speaking of which, both Dinwiddie and Johnson were college students from the NCAA and needed time to adapt to the NBA, but Jokic was different.

Like other European players, most of them didn't go to college and entered professional leagues early.

These players had a characteristic: their speed of adapting to the NBA would be significantly faster than that of NCAA players.

The Rockets coordinated, and Parsons passed to Dorsey, who wanted to dunk over Jokic.

But Jokic was smart; he stood firm under the basket early and raised his hands, and Dorsey's dunk hit his hands and was blocked.

Because he looked like Howard, Dorsey was known as the "European Beast," but obviously, his strength was much worse than Howard's.

Ariza grabbed the ball, and the Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, with Jokic continuing to coordinate at the free-throw line.

The Rockets strengthened their defense against the backdoor cuts at this time, and the Pelicans' cut didn't work out this time.

Seeing that the offensive time was halfway through, Jokic directly turned around and walked towards the basket.

Dorsey had played in Europe before and had a trick or two to deal with European players. He retreated to the basket in advance.

Jokic was big and slow, and Dorsey seized the moment he shot and jumped up to block.

But he soon realized he had been faked.

Although Jokic was slow, his sense of rhythm was very strong. He turned around again the moment Dorsey jumped, faking him clean before scoring with a layup!

The fans in the arena whistled again.

"I like this kid!"

On the bench, Metta Sandiford-Artest couldn't help but shout.

Tang Tian's frown had completely disappeared at this time.

Jokic's performance during this period was quite a fan favorite.

ps: The management told me that all the rewards issued by Qidian for the last book review event have arrived. Please pay attention to the commanders who won the awards before. If there are any problems, please contact me.

ps: Special thanks to 不语微笑xi for the generous reward!!