This Christmas was especially lively for Tang Tian.

He invited Ding Yanyuhang, Abudushalamu, Lin Yi, and Wang Quanze to his estate as guests.

Besides Yi Jianlian, who had already established a family in Brooklyn and couldn't make it, all the Chinese players he knew in the United States came.

For those playing abroad, it was a truly rare gathering.

Tang Tian and Lin Yi chatted a lot.

In the eyes of others, including Olsen, the two were becoming an unlikely pair of close friends.

After Christmas was Christmas Day.

The game between the Pelicans and the Spurs became the focus of fan attention.

Tang Tian also went to the stadium with Olsen to cheer for the team.

However, the outcome of the game was not satisfactory.

The Spurs used the same strategy they had used against Tang Tian before, using the combination of George and Leonard to limit Durant.

Durant's individual offensive ability and passing ability were not as good as Tang Tian's, and his offensive efficiency was not high, even somewhat low.

In the end, the Pelicans lost the Christmas Day game 91-103.

Aldridge played average for the Spurs, but Leonard scored 34 points and George had 24 points, combining for 58 points and an eye-catching performance.

Davis had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, a stable performance.

But Durant was uncharacteristically inefficient, only making 8 of 25 shots and scoring only 20 points from free throws.

Such a performance obviously couldn't help the team win.

Although they lost the game, Tang Tian went to the locker room after the game to cheer up the team.

The outcome of a single game is really nothing compared to a long season of 82 games.

He also gave each player a Christmas gift, a gold watch, as a form of tangible encouragement.

After watching the Christmas Day game, Tang Tian went home to spend time with his wife and children.

Dempsey and Stevens were in charge of the Pelicans, and he didn't interfere. Instead, he spent more time focusing on Lin Yi.

This was naturally related to the Olympics next year.

For the current Chinese team, Tang Tian could play point guard, Ding Yanyuhang shooting guard, Abudushalamu small forward, Yi Jianlian power forward, leaving only the center position.

Zhou Qi's condition after his injury was average, good enough as a substitute, but definitely not good enough to play center against the American team.

The emergence of Lin Yi would fill all five positions at once.

Plus Fang Shuo, Wu Qian, and Zhai Xiaochuan, who performed well in the World Cup, and Zhou Qi.

This lineup, not to mention a 50-50 chance against the American team, had a good chance of winning outright.

In other words, as long as Lin Yi improved fast enough, next year's Tokyo Olympics would be even more anticipated than the World Cup.

Now that Tang Tian had retired from the NBA, what could attract his attention was naturally the national team, and he naturally paid more attention to Lin Yi.

He even retweeted news of Lin Yi's good games, along with a thumbs-up emoji.

Although Tang Tian had retired, his influence had increased rather than decreased after the Morey incident.

The traffic he attracted when he tweeted was unprecedented.

It's not an exaggeration to say that Tang Tian's tweets were building momentum for Lin Yi's draft.

On ESPN's 2020 draft rankings, Lin Yi had jumped from the second round to the lottery.

This was even before March Madness had started. If Lin Yi had more outstanding performances, he would really be aiming for the top three or even the top pick.

The nickname "the next Tang Tian" was also naturally given to Lin Yi.

Although Lin Yi told fans that he preferred the nickname "Da Mo Wang" (Great Demon King), he didn't resist.

Tang Tian, as the greatest player in basketball history, it wasn't easy for ordinary people to get the title of "next".

Lin Yi was playing better and better in the NCAA, and Tang Tian was enjoying a comfortable life.

He brought back another lion cub from Africa to be a companion for Leo, and watching them chase each other on the grass, his mood was very relaxed.

But just then, someone came to his estate again.

This time it wasn't Yao Ming, but Stevens.

Stevens' appearance was a bit unexpected, but after he explained his intentions, Tang Tian understood.

Durant's performance on the offensive end had been struggling since the Christmas Day game.

Not in terms of ability, but in terms of mentality.

Stevens could see that.

After Tang Tian heard this, he signaled Stevens not to panic, then took out his phone, opened Durant's Twitter, and browsed social media.

After reading this, he knew the reason.

"Durant is indeed not as good as Tang, whether in terms of ability or temperament!"

"Durant, if you're a man, be tough. When will it end if you keep shooting outside!"

"Let Tang come back soon, Durant, Tang Tian's successor, is really not good!"

"With Durant's performance, how can we beat the Spurs in the playoffs? A five-peat is definitely out of the question!"

"Let's trade him, get a better point guard, I think he's always awkward playing shooting guard."

"Yes, take advantage of his trade value and get a super giant back, try Booker or LaVine or something."

……

After reading these, Tang Tian roughly knew why Durant's performance was struggling.

This guy must be spending his time arguing with netizens with his alternate account again.

For a player like Durant who relies on shooting, mentality has a big impact on his shooting percentage.

This can be seen from the contrast between his performances with the Warriors and Lakers and the World Cup.

So Stevens' feeling was right, it was a real psychological problem.

"I'll find a chance to talk to him."

Tang Tian said.

With Tang Tian's words, Stevens was finally relieved.

Although he didn't know what had happened between Tang Tian and Durant, Tang Tian was able to dig Durant out of the Lakers, and he had great confidence in Tang Tian's persuasive skills.

The temperature in New Orleans in January was even lower, and Durant's touch was as cold as the weather.

In the game against the Jazz, he had a repeat of his Christmas Day performance, making 7 of 26 shots.

The Pelicans also lost the game.

The fans were scolding after the game.

Tang Tian was right when he said that the fan atmosphere in New Orleans was better, but fans are just people after all.

They praise you when you play well, and they scold you when you don't.

Moreover, the fans that Tang Tian had accumulated, except for a few who had become hardcore Pelicans fans, did not belong to Durant.

So some of the things Tang Tian said to Durant at the beginning were also lies.

So Durant was even more depressed.

To make matters worse, the Pelicans were going to play the Rockets and the Spurs next.

Being in the Southwest Division, the teams would play each other four times a season, which was unavoidable.

Before the game even started, the fans were already pessimistic.

Not to mention playing the Spurs, they were now worried that Durant would continue to be lost against the Rockets.

But just before the game against the Rockets, reporters found that Tang Tian, who hadn't been seen for a long time, had reappeared at the Pelicans' training facility.