The Pelicans' opponents in the first week were of above-average strength, but their opponents in the second week were generally weaker.

The Pelicans easily defeated the Kings, 76ers, and Timberwolves.

With an 8-game winning streak to start the season, the Pelicans showed championship-caliber strength.

Tang Tian also enjoyed life during this time, basically checking out after three quarters each game and going home to shower and spend time with his two beloved sons.

Both Tangs and Yongqi had exceptionally long bodies, and their hands and feet were large, indicating basketball talent.

There have been very few father-son basketball stars in NBA history, and even the descendants of superstars haven't made it big.

Jordan's son was unremarkable in basketball, but that didn't stop him from living a good life.

Magic Johnson's son had no interest in basketball, but that didn't stop him from being interested in other things.

This makes sense. The sons of wealthy men are born with silver spoons in their mouths, and unless they have a passion for it, who would want to play professional basketball?

Anything becomes difficult after it becomes a profession, especially in the NBA where one in a million is selected.

This is why there are so many inspirational stories in the NBA. Physical talent is one thing, but the primary motivation is to fight for money.

However, Tang Tian and his sons have a chance to break this pattern.

After all, he already has two sons, winning in quantity, something Kobe couldn't compete with.

The games during the week were easy, but the last game of the weekend was not.

They were heading to Dallas to face the Mavericks.

The Mavericks' general manager is Little Harris, the son of former Chinese men's basketball coach "Silver Fox" Harris.

He selected Embiid and traded for Butler with Booker, thus helping the Mavericks complete their rebuilding and return to championship contention, a move worthy of the century.

And signing Conley this year completed the aircraft carrier construction.

Conley, Butler, Harris, Nowitzki, and Embiid, this is a standard five-star lineup.

Although the stars aren't as bright as the Warriors, their strength is definitely not bad.

With a record of 7 wins and 1 loss so far, they are still ranked third in the Western Conference despite being surrounded by strong teams, which speaks volumes.

The Pelicans' coaching staff and players were cautious against the Mavericks.

It was easy to beat the Cavaliers because they were familiar with their opponents, but the Mavericks had been transformed after Conley's arrival and were not necessarily weaker than the Cavaliers.

The day before the game, the entire Pelicans team arrived in Dallas.

Tang Tian wanted to pull Butler out for a chat before the game, but he was politely declined.

Butler is now really focused on winning games.

The next night, the game between the Pelicans and Mavericks officially kicked off at the American Airlines Center, with the arena packed.

The Mavericks have returned to championship contention in the past two years, and fan enthusiasm continues to rise. In addition, the opponent is the defending champion Pelicans, making the game even more high-profile.

Mavericks owner Cuban was also standing courtside wearing his signature blue T-shirt.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players from both teams came out one after another.

The Mavericks sent out their five stars, and the Pelicans maintained their starting lineup from the previous game.

Davis outjumped Embiid, kicking off the game.

Tang Tian ran a pick-and-roll with Davis in the frontcourt, mismatching against Nowitzki and pulling up for a contested jumper that went straight in.

Simplifying tactics doesn't mean having no tactics. The Warriors team under Nelson made that mistake.

Taking shots after a pick-and-roll, taking shots with any space, frantically pulling the rhythm to run and gun.

That kind of play eventually became a scramble for shots, a chaotic mess, relying on feel, and ultimately turning into a mess.

True tactical simplification is about targeting the weak points in the opponent's defense.

Just like the first game against the Cavaliers, Whiteside was a point to target, and for the Mavericks, veteran Nowitzki was that point.

The Pelicans took the lead.

But turning back, Conley organized in the frontcourt, and Harris came out to catch the ball and shoot after a series of pick-and-rolls.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net, and Harris answered with a ball!

Harris has been improving every season. In his second year with the Mavericks, his shooting has become more stable.

The Pelicans ran an off-ball play in the frontcourt, with Bojan receiving a pass after screening by Davis and shooting a three-pointer.

This was a great opportunity, and the Pelicans had used this play against Whiteside in the previous game.

However, at the moment Bojan shot, Butler suddenly left Tang Tian and helped defend.

This choice was bold, but it worked. Bojan wasn't very good at passing, so he chose to shoot early.

A shooter's rhythm is very important. Bojan shot early to avoid Butler's interference, but the ball was a bit off and hit the rim directly.

Fortunately, Davis showed his talent and flew in to rebound and put the ball into the basket.

Embiid organized and supported the offense from the high post, Conley cut in to initiate the attack, and Nowitzki went to the basket to receive a pass from Embiid and scored a layup.

4-4, the Mavericks successfully executed their tactics twice in a row at the start, playing evenly with the Pelicans.

This scene continued for nearly a quarter.

The Pelicans' offense was as good as it had been in the previous eight games, scoring as many as 32 points in the quarter.

But the Mavericks weren't falling behind either, scoring 30 points in the quarter.

32-30, a negligible lead, the Mavericks played a close first quarter with the Pelicans.

This reflects the Mavericks' strength, and another point that cannot be ignored is coach Carlisle.

Carlisle is one of the few coaches who can compare to Popovich in terms of tactics.

However, he has always been called a clever woman who can't cook without rice in Dallas, especially after the breakup of the 2011 championship team.

But this situation has finally improved in the past two years.

Especially this year, the Mavericks have five stars, and he's fighting a rare battle of wealth.

He also fully demonstrated his coaching ability. The Mavericks don't have an absolute superstar, so they need a top tactical coach like him to achieve results.

At the beginning of the second quarter, both sides had two starters with three substitutes.

Butler and Embiid for the Mavericks, and Holiday and Jokic for the Pelicans.

It was during this period that the Mavericks gained the upper hand.

After growing up, Embiid was no longer as suppressed by Jokic as he was last season.

Of course, more importantly, Butler, as the Mavericks' new leader, played very tough on both ends of the court.

During this period, under his leadership, the Mavericks went on a 9-2 run against the Pelicans, taking a 5-point lead.

They maintained this 5-point lead until halftime.

At the end of the first half, the score on the court was 60-55.

Tang Tian had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first half, doing what he should do.

But this was the first time the Pelicans had trailed their opponents at halftime since the start of the season.

It's not that the Pelicans didn't play well, but that the five-star Mavericks played a bit well.

Conley had 8 points and 5 assists, Butler had 15 points, Harris had 8 points, Nowitzki had 6 points, and Embiid had 5 points and 7 rebounds.

This data distribution is very similar to the Hawks under Budenholzer, except that their individual strength, overall strength, and coaching strength are stronger!

This is a fully upgraded version of the Hawks!