Chapter 474 Unexpected Agreement

The five-game winning streak was ended, but the Pelicans' players weren't too discouraged.

After all, they were missing Davis, and the Celtics played really well in this game.

After the game, the two teams' players exchanged handshakes on the court.

Tang Tian shook hands with each of them, and when it was Stevens' turn, he hugged him in addition to shaking hands.

As the former Godfather, Stevens' coaching in this game was even more concerning to Tang Tian than the Celtics' players' performance.

He looked like a younger version of Popovich. Aside from possibly lacking some experience, his understanding of and reaction to the game were truly beyond imagination.

For a moment, he even felt that Stevens, like himself, had transmigrated.

This wasn't an exaggeration. The Celtics brought in the young Stevens with the plan of tanking.

But Stevens' performance was truly impressive. In only his second season, he had already shown extraordinary coaching ability.

Now they were ranked seventh in the East, and might even tank their way into the playoffs!

This scenario was rarely seen in history.

"Do you have time?"

While hugging, Tang Tian couldn't help but ask.

Although he wasn't a coach anymore, he still had some primal instincts towards coaches with outstanding abilities.

Elegantly speaking, it was like-mindedness; plainly speaking, it was mutual appreciation.

"What?"

Stevens didn't expect Tang Tian to ask that suddenly.

"We can go get some coffee, just a normal exchange between a player and a coach."

Tang Tian blurted out those words without reason, but now that he'd said them, he continued to explain.

Stevens nodded after listening.

He agreed.

Tang Tian didn't expect him to agree so readily, but perhaps it had something to do with him.

Although his status in the league wasn't as high as James' yet, it was close to matching Durant's. The possibility of such a player's invitation being rejected wasn't high.

After attending the press conference, Tang Tian walked to the entrance of the arena and saw Stevens already waiting for him.

The two greeted each other, and then went to a nearby coffee shop.

"How did you know I would choose to pass the ball on the last possession of the regular season game?"

Tang Tian was asking about the last possession of the regular season game.

The tactic for that possession was suggested by him to Williams, but Stevens successfully predicted it, which led to Smart's fatal steal.

"I guessed."

Stevens said with a smile.

"Guessed?"

Tang Tian was surprised by this answer.

"Yes, from the perspective of a typical coach, the probability of giving the last possession to the team's core player is very high, but I studied some of your season's game footage before the game, and Coach Williams' tactical arrangements seemed to like going against the grain."

Stevens said it was a guess, but judging from the pre-game footage he mentioned, it shouldn't be just a guess, but a judgment.

"Aren't you afraid we'd give the ball to me to shoot at the end?"

Tang Tian asked.

"That's why I said I guessed."

Stevens replied.

Tang Tian and he looked at each other, and then they both smiled tacitly.

As a coach, tactical arrangements on the basketball court, especially for key plays, were essentially a gamble.

And the way to increase the stakes of the gamble was to do more pre-game preparation work, like Stevens did.

To look at the coaching habits of the other coach, to look at the personality of the other players, and so on.

Although Stevens was only in his second year of coaching in the NBA, after a few words, it was clear that he was truly strong, not just relying on luck.

Speaking of which, although Stevens was still an NBA rookie, his coaching in the NCAA was like having a cheat code.

He began serving as the head coach of Butler University, a public university, in 2007, and by the time he left in 2013, his winning percentage had reached 77.2%.

He also led the team to the NCAA finals twice in 2010 and 2011.

Those were also the only two times in Butler University's history that they had reached the finals.

He also became the youngest head coach to lead a team to the NCAA Final Four since Bob Knight in 1973, and the youngest head coach to lead a team to the finals since 1940.

That's right, although Tang Tian and Stevens hadn't met before, it wasn't like they hadn't seen each other.

During the 2011 NCAA finals, UConn's opponent was Butler University, and Butler University's coach at the time was Stevens.

Three years ago, they exchanged a quick glance, and now they were sitting in a coffee shop chatting, and still opponents. The feeling was actually very subtle.

The two talked a lot in the following time, mostly about tactics and basketball understanding.

As they talked, Tang Tian's goodwill towards Stevens increased exponentially, because he found that Stevens was the only coach besides Popovich who he could truly talk to.

And Stevens seemed very humble and gentle, much better than that bad old man Popovich.

Stevens also had a lot of goodwill towards Tang Tian. Among the players he coached, his proudest was Gordon Hayward.

And the latter was known for his basketball IQ.

This also showed the style of players he liked.

Tang Tian's understanding of tactics and basketball, the high basketball IQ he displayed, was truly rare.

The first time the two chatted, they truly came to appreciate each other.

"One last question, do you read novels?"

At the end of the chat, Tang Tian couldn't help but ask Stevens.

"Novels? Yes, I've read some, Harry Potter, The Half-Blood Elf, yes, I've read some."

Judging from Stevens' answer, he probably hadn't read very many.

"Then do you know what transmigration is?"

Tang Tian then asked.

"A person dies, and then their soul transmigrates into another person's body?"

Stevens said tentatively. It seemed that although he hadn't read many novels, he still knew the word transmigration.

After all, transmigration wasn't a name exclusive to novels, it also appeared in TV dramas.

"Yes, are you a transmigrator?"

Tang Tian asked as he looked at Stevens.

Stevens was stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"I do hope I could become such a person, that would make many things easier."

After laughing, Stevens said with a hint of anticipation.

When Tang Tian saw his reaction, he knew that he definitely wasn't a transmigrator.

But it wasn't possible for him to be a transmigrator anyway, there weren't that many transmigrators in this world.

He alone had already brought about such a big butterfly effect, if there was one more, the world would be completely messed up.

He discarded those unrealistic thoughts, and then finally looked at Stevens.

"Okay, then I hope one day we can enter the finals together."

At the very end, Tang Tian said.

He knew that in history, the Celtics led by Stevens had never entered the finals, but his transmigration had already changed a lot of history.

The Pelicans had a chance to break through the siege of the Western powerhouses, and it wasn't impossible for the Celtics either.

After history had changed, the future was always full of unknowns, wasn't it!

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