Chapter 1 Although Suspended, Tang Tian Still Trains with the Team and Travels to San Antonio

The suspension only meant he couldn't participate in the games or appear on the court; other aspects weren't affected.

He did this to cheer on the team.

In the locker room before the game, the players were making their final preparations.

"Tang, we will win this game for you."

Bojan, the chatterbox, started rambling again.

Tang Tian smiled and nodded.

The Spurs were very strong, and with them playing at home, it would be difficult for the Pelicans to win with both him and Ariza out.

But Bojan's mentality was what the team needed; they couldn't have a mindset of defeat before even playing.

"Yes, we will."

Davis nodded in agreement, his eyes firm.

Other players nodded in succession.

They knew about Tang Tian's entanglement with the Spurs, and they also knew that the Pelicans couldn't lose this game.

No matter what their lineup was.

Not long after, Stevens came in to announce the team's lineup.

Bojan would be the starting small forward, Dinwiddie would be the starting point guard, and Harris would be on the active list.

Stevens used a dual point guard lineup for this game.

This was his response, though somewhat forced.

Backup guard Morrow was in poor form this season, and Joe Harris and Forbes were still too inexperienced.

With two wing players missing, the team's rotation was under a lot of pressure.

"Joe, can I interview you? How excited are you to be on the active list for the first time?"

After Stevens announced the starting lineup and precautions, he left, and Bojan turned around and began teasing Harris.

Harris was the kind of person who really didn't talk much. When he heard Bojan's interview, he just stared blankly at him, which made Bojan laugh.

This scene was a bit like Ginobili teasing Leonard.

The game was about to begin, and the Pelicans players left the locker room, leaving Tang Tian alone.

The Spurs' visitor locker room was simple, but he was familiar with the place, so he went straight to the hall outside and turned on the TV to watch the live broadcast.

The movie theater next door hadn't changed its staff, and they even gave him a bag of popcorn when they saw him.

This treatment wasn't any worse than the audience inside the arena.

The attendance rate at the AT&T Center tonight was only about 80%. Although this was a showdown between strong teams, Tang Tian's absence made the game less appealing.

Tang Tian started eating popcorn as the opening ceremony began.

The Spurs had a player resting; Ginobili wouldn't play in this game.

But this didn't have much of an impact on the Spurs; they still had their regular starting lineup.

Parker and Green on the outside, Leonard and Aldridge on the frontline, and Duncan as the center.

Tang Tian felt a little emotional when he saw Duncan.

This wasn't the Pelicans' first game against the Spurs. The last time they played was in New Orleans, and Tang Tian had asked Duncan when he would retire.

Because his main focus at that time was on the game, he didn't pay much attention to some of the details on the court.

But now, seeing Duncan's almost half-white hair on the live broadcast, he really felt a sense of emotion.

When he first entered the league, Duncan was old, but his hair was still black. In the blink of an eye, it had been more than four years, and Duncan had really aged.

The game started quickly, and Duncan, still going strong, won the jump ball against Davis, opening the game.

The league was dominated by small ball, but the Spurs' offensive rhythm was still slow. Parker advanced to the frontcourt, and they still played the hammer tactic.

Aldridge made a mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll on the right side of the free throw line, scoring the first points for the Spurs.

However, in return, Davis also made a shot in the same position after a pick-and-roll with Jokic, receiving a pass from Dinwiddie.

Stevens' tactical system relied on pick-and-rolls, similar to the Spurs' hammer tactics, and produced a mirrored effect.

Leonard broke through to the inside with Bojan defending him outside the three-point line, showing his positional advantage.

Holiday's three-point shot in the frontcourt went wide, and the Spurs launched a fast break. Parker's layup was blocked by Davis, who chased him down.

The Pelicans countered with a fast break. Davis rushed from the backcourt to the frontcourt again, receiving a pass from Dinwiddie and scoring a layup in the middle.

The Spurs wanted to play slowly, but Stevens' dual point guard lineup was speeding up the pace.

The players on the court were fighting hard, and the coaches off the court were also playing games.

The gap between top coaches wasn't that big; it depended more on the players' condition and execution on the court.

The Spurs' condition was stable, but Davis was in surprisingly good form for the Pelicans.

He scored 10 points in the first quarter alone, and he helped the Pelicans hold their own against the Spurs at 20-21.

When Bojan said he would help the team win the game, Davis seriously agreed, and his performance on the court showed that he was doing just that.

With three minutes left in the first quarter, both sides began to rotate players.

Gasol, Diaw, Belinelli, and Joseph came on for the Spurs, while Morrow, Aminu, and McGee came on for the Pelicans.

At this time, the Pelicans' disadvantage began to show.

Morrow's condition was still low, and the excessive playing time caused Holiday and Dinwiddie's efficiency to inevitably decline.

Led by Gasol, the Spurs scored 11-2 against the Pelicans in the last three minutes, and the point difference was suddenly widened to 10 points.

The impact of Tang Tian and Ariza being unable to play was obvious.

Just as Tang Tian was thinking about whether to help the team find a surprise player in the free market to get through this period, as he had done before, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"You're here."

Tang Tian looked up and saw Holt with an assistant beside him.

Tang Tian's relationship with Holt was just average when he was with the Spurs.

When the media reported last year that his departure was Holt's unilateral decision, his impression of his former boss became even worse.

He didn't expect to run into him here.

But that wasn't too surprising, since this was the Spurs' home court.

Tang Tian smiled, considering it a greeting.

Holt didn't mind and glanced at the score on the TV before sitting down.

His experience in the past two years could really be described as miserable.

When Tang Tian went to the Pelicans, he got heart disease after being overly excited while watching the Pelicans and Spurs play.

Later, when the Spurs and Pelicans met in the playoffs, he came out to gloat after leading 3-1 and was slapped in the face, resulting in a recurrence of his heart disease that almost killed him.

The Spurs continued to strengthen this season, but the Pelicans were advancing all the way to the top of the league, making him even more uncomfortable.

He hadn't planned to watch this game because Tang Tian wasn't playing and the Spurs were likely to win.

But he didn't expect to run into Tang Tian here, so he had to watch it.

Leading by 10 points in the first quarter, the Spurs had a great advantage in this game.

Even though Tang Tian wasn't playing, being able to watch the Spurs beat the Pelicans next to Tang Tian, or making Tang Tian unable to sit still out of anger, would make this worthwhile.