Chapter 131 Minneapolis in February

Minneapolis in February is the coldest season.

When the Pelicans players got off the plane, even though they were prepared with down jackets, they couldn't help but shiver.

No wonder few stars come to this place; the feeling of cold to the bone is really not pleasant.

"Tang, will your touch be frozen off?"

Metta World Peace breathed out hot air, joking with Tang Tian.

Ever since they became friends after a fight on the court, Metta World Peace had become very close to him.

"How could it be? Although Minneapolis is cold, the Target Center has air conditioning."

Tang Tian's words made Metta World Peace laugh.

However, Tang Tian didn't say the next sentence, afraid that Metta World Peace wouldn't get the joke.

After all, not every arena has broken air conditioning like the AT&T Center in San Antonio, right?

That night at the Target Center, the arena's attendance rate was only about 60%.

Of those 60% of fans, 10-20% were there for Tang Tian.

The Timberwolves' market is as cold as the weather now.

But what Tang Tian said was indeed correct; the Target Center had air conditioning, and the fans at the scene were still very enthusiastic.

At least quite a few fans were cheering for Tang Tian, holding up "Godfather" KT boards in their hands.

Um, something seemed off about that; wasn't this an away game?

But it didn't matter; after all, there were many Chinese fans in every city.

The pre-game ceremony began, and the starting players from both sides were introduced one after another.

For the Pelicans, it was the regular lineup: Holiday and Morrow in the backcourt, Tang Tian and Davis in the frontcourt, and Ajinca at center.

For the Timberwolves, it was Rubio and Kevin Martin in the backcourt, Brewer and Love in the frontcourt, and Peković at center.

Davis won the tip-off against Love, officially starting the game.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, and Brewer went straight for Tang Tian with an over-the-top defense without saying a word.

This had become a common sight since Tang Tian's return.

You had to admire the professionalism of the NBA; even though Tang Tian had gradually added pull-up jumpers and breakthrough abilities this season, opponents could quickly make targeted defenses.

Holiday was preparing to turn around and find Davis for a pick-and-roll.

But Tang Tian took the initiative to run to the three-point line to ask for the ball.

Holiday passed the ball over and then signaled for his teammates to spread out.

Davis and Holiday had become his loyal little brothers after being individually guided by Tang Tian.

Not to mention the other teammates, how could they not cooperate after taking Tang Tian's Ferrari?

With Tang Tian holding the ball on the outside, Brewer closely defended him.

Brewer was a Tony Allen with weaker defense and stronger offense; his defensive ability was also in the upper echelon of the league.

If it were before, Tang Tian could only rely on physical strength to force his way through, but this time, after posing in a triple-threat stance, he bent over and started dribbling the ball with both hands.

The key to low dribbling is a low center of gravity, which makes ball control more stable.

Brewer saw this and immediately tried to steal the ball.

He was a very hardworking player and would watch film to study his opponents before games, which was why he could frequently put up excellent defensive performances.

Knowing yourself and your enemy leads to victory in every battle.

He knew that Tang Tian's ball-handling skills were average, so dribbling like this was giving him an opportunity.

"Pa!"

But just as he reached out to steal, Tang Tian suddenly made a sharp change of direction and accelerated, passing right by him!

A crossover!

Basketball techniques are actually interconnected, which is why the skills in the system are all attribute bonuses, rather than really giving you someone's skill.

For example, McGrady's pull-up jumper; if you don't have the waist strength bonus, if you don't have the stability, if you don't have that jumping ability, you won't be able to use that technique in a game.

The same goes for ball-handling skills; whether it's Irving's fancy crossovers or Iverson's butterfly-like steps, they're all variations of the crossover.

Irving is strong in his control of the ball, and Iverson is strong in the absolute speed of his crossovers.

After Tang Tian obtained the low dribble, what he gained was the stability of the dribble.

And besides this stability, what helped him complete this crossover just now was the dynamic vision he had been training for a long time.

Anticipating Brewer's attempt to steal, he dribbled and changed direction almost simultaneously, catching him off guard.

Pa!

Just like that, he was past him.

The crowd was in an uproar.

Brewer, the team's best defender, had been beaten in one step by Tang Tian…

Brewer wanted to reach back for a steal, but Tang Tian had already dribbled the ball quickly to the basket.

Ajinca had mid-range shooting ability, and Peković didn't dare to help defend casually. Tang Tian drove to the basket with no one defending and scored with a one-handed dunk!

A crossover and dunk to start the game; what a show!

The Pelicans' bench erupted.

Darius Miller was still waving his towel wildly.

Williams also looked surprised at this moment.

Tang Tian's ball-handling skills had obviously become stronger.

The Pelicans' coaching staff paid close attention to the players' development, and they also knew that Tang Tian would do extra practice at night.

So they could accept Tang Tian's sudden improvement in ball-handling ability.

If a technique is practiced consistently, a qualitative change will occur on the day it is truly mastered.

Although this qualitative change in Tang Tian came much earlier than expected.

The Timberwolves' offense, Love posted up Davis in the low post.

Love had been gaining weight and adding to his strength in the past few years, and Davis was obviously struggling a bit on the low post defense.

Love fought his way to the basket and squeezed out Davis' shot.

"Pa!"

But he had underestimated Davis' defensive ability.

Although he was pushed away, Davis' wingspan was terrifying, and he blocked the shot with his fingertips.

Love wanted to grab the rebound and shoot again, but Davis' long arm directly grabbed the ball.

After getting the ball, Davis turned around and found Tang Tian, passing the ball to him.

Tang Tian's passing ability was excellent; when the team ran fast breaks, it usually came from one of his long passes.

But this time, Tang Tian didn't pass the ball after receiving it, but dribbled it forward himself.

Rubio helped defend.

"Pa!"

Tang Tian made a crossover in front of his body, directly passing Rubio!

The fans at the scene were dumbfounded.

Was this the Tang Tian they had seen before?

This crossover required a very high level of ball control, and it was generally only used by ball-handling experts like Irving and Walker, but Tang Tian?

Tang Tian had used it!

Before they could come back to their senses, Tang Tian had already widened the gap with Rubio with long strides.

The Timberwolves' offensive firepower was good, but their defense was as bad as Adelman's inherent impression.

They were giving up 105+ points every night this season.

After shaking off Rubio, Tang Tian had a wide-open path in front of him.

He rushed to a step inside the free-throw line and directly glided for a one-handed catch.

"Boom!"

A one-handed slam dunk full of visual impact!

The dunk training during this period was beginning to pay off!

The fans at the scene were amazed.

He was going to participate in the dunk contest soon, but he didn't have to come up with it like this!