Chapter 325 Complicated Mood

Compared to the others, Carlisle's expression was the most complex at the moment.

Before the game, Embiid had interacted with fans on Twitter, saying that the Mavericks had defensive tactics specifically for Tang Tian.

They did indeed have some.

And they were easy to guess.

The Warriors and Cavaliers had successfully defended against Tang Tian with targeted strategies last season.

Those ready-made methods were available, so there was no reason not to use them.

So before the game, or rather, over the past three days, the Mavericks had been practicing this defensive approach against Tang Tian.

Carlisle's tactical ability was outstanding, and this kind of targeting was simple and normal for him.

But the most tragic thing in the world is when you prepare hard for something, only to find that you don't even have the chance to use it!

Tang Tian's enhanced ball-handling skills made any targeting useless!

Defending him like the Warriors and Cavaliers did last season would be suicidal.

So his mood was genuinely complex at this moment.

Moreover, Tang Tian's isolation tactics this season were different from those of the past few seasons.

The Mavericks dared to double-team at most, and would never dare to triple-team or more.

Walker, Davis, and Butler, letting any of them go would also be a guaranteed score.

It was even possible that they wouldn't dare to double-team at all.

As a dutiful and conscientious head coach, Carlisle had watched all of the Pelicans' game footage before the game.

This included the two games between the Pelicans and the Bucks.

Kidd had tried to use a localized double-team against the Pelicans at the time, and as a result, Dedmon was fed so many alley-oops that he was throwing up, scoring 16 points in the first half.

If the Mavericks were to double-team, the only players they could afford to leave open were Dedmon or Siakam.

It was very likely that the two of them would be eating alley-oops until they were throwing up tonight.

In the Mavericks' frontcourt offensive play, Holiday ran out of an opening, but Butler's help defense was very quick and didn't give him a chance.

Holiday passed the ball back to Conley to organize.

Conley used the same trick again, passing the ball after a pick-and-roll with Embiid.

"Pa!"

But just as he passed the ball, Butler anticipated it and snatched the ball away!

With one offensive and one defensive play, the Pelicans gradually gained control of the court.

Tang Tian held the ball in the frontcourt again.

The crowd was in an uproar.

At this time, Carlisle didn't have any good way to respond other than to tell Holiday to focus on defense.

Whether it was tactics or strategy, he was not inferior to Stevens.

But the only thing he couldn't compare was the star power; the Mavericks didn't have a Tang Tian!

Tang Tian held the ball again, looked at Holiday's more focused eyes, and also showed an even more focused look.

Holiday was a former teammate, but also an opponent. The best way to respect him was to show an even stronger offensive performance than before!

His teammates spread out the space completely, and Tang Tian dribbled between his legs and in front of him continuously, the ball seeming to be glued to his hand.

The crowd was in an uproar.

This wasn't Tang Tian anymore, this was clearly Tang Irving!

It was funny to think that Tang Tian had joked when he was using low dribbles, "In this league, Walker's dribbling is most like mine."

After tonight, he might have to say, "In this league, Irving's dribbling is most like mine!"

Holiday took a step back, giving Tang Tian a step to protect his defensive position.

After seeing this, Tang Tian stopped dribbling and pulled up for a jump shot.

After he focused, his whole body was very excited, and his movements were very fast.

Even Holiday couldn't react.

"Swish!"

Tang Tian's pull-up jumper hit cleanly!

He scored 4 consecutive points, extending the lead to 7 points!

The two teams had been deadlocked since the beginning, and 7 points was the largest point difference between the two sides!

At this time, Carlisle made a new offensive tactical gesture on the sidelines.

It was impossible to defend against Tang Tian now, so they could only rely on offense to maintain the situation.

At least they had to drag the game into the fourth quarter, when the Mavericks would still have a chance.

"Come on! Mavericks!"

The arena DJ also noticed that the situation on the court was not right, and began to call on the fans to cheer for the home team.

Conley organized in the frontcourt. This time he didn't let his teammates on the weak side run a play, but signaled Embiid to drop to the low post and passed the ball to him.

This was a center isolation play.

Among the matchups on the court, Embiid had an advantage over Dedmon.

This could be seen from the first play of the game.

After Embiid received the ball, he posted up. Dedmon wasn't at a disadvantage in terms of strength, but he was at a disadvantage in terms of footwork.

Embiid shook him off with a series of turns.

But just as Embiid was about to shoot, Butler quickly retreated to the basket to steal the ball.

The ball in Embiid's hand was almost stolen, but he reacted quickly, and in the instant that the ball was about to be stolen, he flung the ball to the middle.

The Mavericks' center isolation tactic was clearly not just one person playing while four others watched. While Embiid was posting up, Conley had already cut in from the middle.

But although Embiid passed the ball out, the angle he gave it was not good in a hurry, and Conley stabilized himself after getting the ball before controlling it.

He started to layup again, but Butler helped defend, and jumped up when he jumped up to shoot, grabbing the ball with both hands in the air.

Conley was very tough and held the ball tightly, but Butler gave him a lot of pressure and he couldn't shoot.

Two people, four hands, fell to the ground together.

The referee blew his whistle, indicating a jump ball!

A small forward and a point guard fighting for the ball, the Pelicans were most likely to get this one.

Butler had made a series of outstanding defensive plays!

He was eye-catching on the offensive end in the first quarter, and when Tang Tian took over the offense in the second quarter, he started to exert himself on the defensive end!

In the jump ball between Butler and Conley, he jumped early and tipped the ball to Walker.

The two sides exchanged possessions, and the Mavericks' offense was unsuccessful again.

Carlisle's expression was a little complicated at this time.

If it wasn't because Butler kept wanting to be the boss and demanding the ball, leading to disagreements and constant quarrels between the two of them.

Every coach would want to have a tough and capable player like Butler.

Walker got the ball, and the Pelicans launched a fast break on the spot.

Tang Tian received the ball and advanced quickly, with Embiid standing behind him.

He dribbled the ball to the left with his left hand, at the same time stepping out with his right leg, switching to dribbling with his right hand, and then in the next second, he suddenly pulled the ball back with his right hand, turning his body upright.

There was an uproar in the arena.

A Sam Gold! (pinyin: Shānmǔ Gāo Dé)

Tang Tian used a Sam Gold in a fast break.

Irving's signature move!

A 2.03-meter swingman used the high-difficulty dribbling skills of a guard!

Embiid was completely off balance in his retreat, and couldn't control himself and fell to the ground.

This time, the uproar was mixed with cheers.

This was too flashy, it was off the charts!

Tang Tian shook Embiid down, and the path ahead was clear. He didn't disappoint the fans either, accelerating to the frontcourt and slamming the ball into the basket with a tomahawk dunk.

The top spot on today's Top 5 plays was reserved!

The Pelicans' bench had gone crazy.

This was so flashy, it was really Tang Irving!

Of course, more important than the show was that Tang Tian had just shaken down Embiid.

The newly promoted "Great Emperor" who was spouting nonsense on Twitter!