After Green left, Tang Tian went to the visiting team's training gym to do extra training.

After two preseason games, although he played well, it was more because his opponents weren't familiar with him.

Take the last game against the Pistons, for example. After the opponents focused on defending his open three-pointers, his scoring seemed a bit weak.

He had to hurry up and improve his catch-and-shoot three-point attribute.

This was something he had been doing all along. To put it in terms of the most direct attribute, his "catch-and-shoot three-pointer" had been trained from 50 to around 57.

If it was raised to 60, with the bonus to 66, he could basically use it in the game.

When he arrived at the training hall, with the help of Procopio, Tang Tian began systematic extra training. First, physical fitness, then open three-pointers, then catch-and-shoot three-pointers, and finally, dynamic vision training.

This was already a systematic set of training content.

When he started practicing catch-and-shoot three-point training, the door of the training hall was suddenly pushed open, and two uninvited guests entered.

Leonard and Engelland.

Engelland was the team's shooting assistant coach. The Spurs traded George Hill to the Pacers for Leonard, and now they were having Engelland privately tutor him, which showed how much they valued him.

The two sides greeted each other and then practiced separately.

Leonard's personality was cold, and he didn't give people the idea of taking the initiative to approach him.

At the next day's training session, Popovich announced the team's active roster, and Tang Tian was on the list.

Moreover, from the full-court scrimmage, it could be seen that his order of appearance was ahead of Joseph, Neal, and others, roughly the eighth or ninth man.

His performance in training camp and the preseason had finally paid off.

That night, the game between the Spurs and the Clippers opened at the Staples Center.

This was the Spurs' season opener, but not the Clippers'.

The Clippers had already played the Nuggets on Christmas Day, winning 125-105 to get off to a good start.

The Nuggets were fifth in the West last season, and the Clippers were third from last. This game fully demonstrated the Clippers' changes.

This past offseason, they traded for their core player Chris Paul from the Hornets, which was managed by the league, and with Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, whom they had selected and cultivated, their strength had obviously improved.

Paul's assists were among the best in the league, and Griffin and Jordan had explosive physical qualities, so they were called "Lob City" by fans.

The Lakers, in the same city, had serious problems after their playoff exit last season. They were ambitious and wanted to replace them as the masters of Los Angeles.

Taking down the Nuggets without Anthony was just a sacrificial flag. Winning against the Spurs with "GDP" was their real battle to prove themselves.

The Staples Center was packed, and every seat was filled.

The Los Angeles market was second only to New York in the league, and with the Clippers forming a Big Three lineup, fans were naturally willing to buy in.

Judging from the atmosphere alone, they were no less than the Lakers in the same city.

After a short pre-match warm-up, the arena quickly entered the opening ceremony, and the visiting Spurs were quickly introduced.

Popovich used the same starting lineup as in the preseason game against the Thunder. The guards were Parker and Green, the forwards were Jefferson and Duncan, and the center was Blair.

After the Spurs' starting players were introduced, the home team followed.

The lights in the arena dimmed, and accompanied by passionate background music, 3D lights began to flash on the court. A dazzling opening montage was projected onto the floor. The Clippers' opening ceremony for the new season was magnificent.

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro put out a dual point guard lineup.

The guards were Chris Paul and veteran Chauncey Billups, the forwards were Caron Butler and Griffin, and the center was Jordan.

After the opening ceremony, Paul gathered his teammates together, had them put their hands together over their heads, and loudly encouraged them.

He came to the Clippers from the Hornets, from New Orleans to Los Angeles, obviously wanting to make a big difference.

"Nervous?" As the game was about to begin, Green turned to Tang Tian and asked.

Although Tang Tian had played very well in the two preseason games, there was a big difference between the regular season and the preseason.

The biggest difference was the opponents and intensity. If Tang Tian entered the rotation, his main opponents would be Reggie Jackson and Singler, the rookies of the same year.

"Danny, he's not nervous. He's played in front of 70,000 people, twice." Ginobili said, chiming in with his trademark trash talk.

What he said made Green and Tang Tian laugh, but Tang Tian's face didn't show any nervousness.

He was different from other rookies. Whether it was competition or the game itself, he was enjoying the process.

A long whistle came from the sidelines, and the starting players from both sides entered the court one after another.

Tang Tian was sitting in the fourth seat from the left, next to Ginobili, Splitter, and Leonard.

To his right were Bonner, Gary Neal, and Joseph, which was basically the order of the team's rotation.

Duncan and Jordan jumped for the ball. Jordan jumped high and tapped the ball back to the Clippers' side of the court, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Compared to the old Duncan, and even the Spurs, the Clippers were full of vitality.

After Paul controlled the ball to the frontcourt, he passed it to Griffin in the paint.

In his rookie season, Griffin averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists with a shooting percentage of over 50%, a performance that was extremely explosive.

Although Paul had more fame and strength, since he was new to the team, the team's offense started with Griffin first.

Griffin turned around with his back to Duncan, his eyes full of killing intent.

In the last game, he had beaten the Nuggets' interior core Nene, and he wasn't going to show any mercy to the old Duncan this time.

The NBA was very cruel. Even if you were a historical superstar, if you continued to stay on the court when you were old, you would inevitably be ravaged by rising stars.

Dribbling the ball once and leaning against Duncan, Griffin turned around and charged towards the basket. Griffin's style of play was very direct and powerful.

However, he overestimated his wingspan and underestimated Duncan's experience. His shot after the turn was directly blocked by the "Stone Buddha" with a palm.

The crowd erupted.

The "Stone Buddha" was still sharp!

The blocked ball was grabbed by Green, who threw it to Parker.

Parker turned and rushed towards Paul, and his spinning layup in the frontcourt caused Paul to commit a shooting foul.

Paul took off his mouthguard and jumped up, indicating that he didn't foul, but the referee didn't change his call.

The crowd booed.

Tang Tian frowned slightly at this time.

After his dynamic vision was improved, his ability to capture details on the court was also improved. Paul's small action of hitting the hand was obvious just now, so it seemed that he would have to be careful after he came on the court.