Chapter 2 Both Sides Have a Starting Lineup with Four Substitutes

The Cavaliers were led by Love, while the Pelicans were led by Davis.

The situation on the court remained deadlocked.

Tang Tian saw the spot next to Whiteside was empty and went straight over to sit down.

Whiteside forced a smile when he saw Tang Tian, but Tang Tian could tell his mood wasn't great.

His form had been off ever since returning from suspension, and the first quarter of this game was a microcosm of that.

Tang Tian hadn't had time to worry about him before, but now he had no choice.

"You're the team's starting center, you need to recognize that."

Tang Tian's opening words made Whiteside turn his head.

"As long as you play well, Coach Williams won't keep you off the court."

Tang Tian continued.

"As for the future, don't even talk about a player's career, life itself is very long, no one knows what will happen, focusing on playing well this season is what you should be doing."

Tang Tian knew that Whiteside's recent poor performance was simply due to a mental problem, so his guidance was also on a psychological level.

Whiteside didn't say anything after listening; he should have been able to think of these things himself.

"Do you know what I said to AD when he couldn't make a shot before?"

Tang Tian continued.

"Keep shooting, you won't have a chance to score if you don't shoot."

Whiteside replied; as a teammate, he knew something about Davis' situation after recovering from his injury.

"That's just what I said, what I actually wanted him to do was to stay confident, and it's the same for you now. Are you worried about Jokic taking your starting spot in the future, or right now?"

Tang Tian continued.

Whiteside didn't speak, which was a tacit admission. Jokic had been playing better than him recently, which was why he was anxious and worried.

"You're wrong, like I said to you right away, you're the starter now, not competing to be the starter. Aren't you confident in your ability to hold onto the starting spot? Or was that thing you told me about buying a big house just something you said?"

When Tang Tian mentioned the big house, Whiteside's expression visibly hardened.

People do things with motivation, and they need motivation, and the big house was Whiteside's motivation.

And Tang Tian was right, he needed to be more confident, because he was the starter now!

Seeing the change in Whiteside's expression, Tang Tian knew that what he was saying was having an effect.

Advising people is like force-feeding chicken soup, it only really works when you get to the other person's heart and they feel like what you're telling them to do is for their own good.

After four minutes of the second quarter, both sides began to substitute their main players back in.

Jokic had come on early in the first quarter and was also the first to be replaced by Whiteside.

Whiteside gave Love a big block as soon as he came on.

One defensive play was enough to show that his competitive state was completely different from the first quarter.

This was his playing style, somewhat similar to Cousins, a top center when he had a calm mind.

Whiteside's resurgence was very important to the Pelicans, his defense was something Jokic couldn't match.

He noticeably reduced the Cavaliers' scoring efficiency in the restricted area.

Moreover, the Cavaliers' outside shooting touch also declined in the second quarter.

The Pelicans took the opportunity to gradually widen the score.

By the end of the half, they had turned it around and led the Cavaliers by 10 points, 56-46.

Including the point difference in the first quarter, they had outscored the Cavaliers by 23 points inside and out.

The Cavaliers had the Big Three, but the Big Three needed to mesh, and the role players' performance was also average.

On the other hand, the Pelicans' two-core lineup had already meshed pretty well, and the performances of role players like Ariza, Whiteside, Holiday, and Jokic were also better than those on the Cavaliers' side.

Just like O'Neal said, you can't see much in 7 minutes of a game, but this difference is reflected in half a game.

At this point, the online discussion was noticeably quieter.

At the half, James had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Tang Tian had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Statistically, the two were similar, but the Pelicans were now leading the Cavaliers by double digits.

Not to mention Tang Tian's performance in leading the team to turn the tide in the second half of the first quarter, his off-court guidance of Whiteside was also very crucial.

It was only at this point that fans collectively upvoted the fans' rebuttal of James' fans' words on the online discussion.

The last time the Pelicans lost, it had a lot to do with Davis' poor form after just recovering from injury.

The score in this half just showed that Tang Tian deserved his mvp ranking.

At this rate, the Pelicans had a good chance of avenging the Cavaliers.

Back from the halftime break, a long shot from Tang Tian and a put-back dunk from Whiteside helped the Pelicans extend their lead to 15 points.

But it was also at this moment that Irving stepped up for the Cavaliers.

He made consecutive breakthroughs and high-difficulty three-pointers, creating a personal scoring surge and forcibly narrowing the point difference to single digits after about 5 minutes of play in this quarter.

Teammates around James always face a lot of pressure, let alone an All-Star like Irving.

His performance in this quarter was a good response to outside doubts.

And during this scoring surge, he also drew two fouls on Whiteside in a row.

Whiteside, a big, black, and tough guy, was most afraid of guards like Irving who could do all sorts of fancy things with the ball.

Jokic was brought back into the game again.

However, his touch was obviously not as good as it was in the first half, and he missed two consecutive open three-pointers.

This was the instability of big men's outside shooting.

Not to mention big men, even regular shooters have a hard time maintaining a high shooting percentage for an entire game.

With Jokic unable to make shots, his spacing effect was gone, and Mozgov contracted to the basket to protect the restricted area, completely leaving him out in the cold.

Anxious to prove himself after missing consecutive shots, Jokic took the ball and drove straight to the basket from the three-point line, using his footwork to force a shot against Mozgov.

Mozgov was faked out, and Jokic successfully put the ball in the basket.

But it was also at this moment that an accident happened, Mozgov was too heavy and couldn't control his body, and fell directly on Jokic's leg.

Jokic's joy one second before scoring turned into pain the next, and he also fell to the ground.

This was completely an accident.

The team doctor came up to ask about Jokic's condition, and finally called the staff to bring a wheelchair and had Jokic leave the court in it.

The knees and feet are the most easily injured parts for big men, and Mozgov was heavy, so this injury was not light.

Jokic's sudden injury caught the Pelicans off guard, and Williams had no choice but to call up Biyombo.

Biyombo's defense wasn't weak, but his contribution on the offensive end was very weak, and back on the defensive end, Irving continued his hot streak and was still constantly scoring.

When this quarter reached about 9 minutes, the Cavaliers had managed to tie the 15-point deficit thanks to Irving's explosive performance of 18 points in a single quarter.

This game was really full of twists and turns.