“We’ll run a pick-and-roll, AD, you set the screen at this spot…”

After emphasizing that, he started to lay out the tactics.

The Pelicans came out of the timeout playing a set offense in the frontcourt.

The fans in the arena were full of anticipation.

This was Stevens' debut, and Stevens was known for his on-the-spot adaptability during his time with the Celtics, which was precisely the weakness of the Pelicans' former coach, Monty Williams.

Or rather, this was what the fans were looking forward to.

A 0-5 start in the preseason wasn't something to worry about, but if they couldn't even show their greatest strength in adapting to the game, then the Pelicans' new season would be a real concern.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Jokic at the high post again.

The Pelicans were running the same play, with the center as the playmaker, the three-point shooters running off-ball screens to draw the defense, and Tang Tian cutting to the basket.

Their tactics didn't seem to have changed from before.

The fans in the arena couldn't help but feel disappointed. Could it be that Stevens only had this much ability, and was not as good as his reputation suggested?

The Pelicans' roster hadn't changed much this summer, and the biggest change came from the coaching staff.

Even though it was just the preseason, if Stevens was only this good, how would the Pelicans compete with the Rockets, Warriors, or even the Spurs and Cavaliers for the championship in the new season?

But just as their disappointment began to show, there was a new development on the court.

Tang Tian, who had been cutting to the basket, suddenly reversed his run towards the free-throw line, and Davis appeared beside him, directly screening Brewer to death.

Jokic handed the ball off to Tang Tian, and also blocked Cousins who was coming over to help.

After a series of off-ball screens, Tang Tian got an open shot opportunity.

He pulled up for a mid-range jumper.

The eyes of the fans in the arena were about to pop out. This was the first time they had seen the Pelicans play in person, and it was also the first time they had seen Tang Tian show off his pull-up jumper.

Scissors legs, a posture as beautiful as a painting.

Because it was Tang Tian, it felt even more intimate than watching McGrady.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound, Tang Tian's pull-up shot went in clean!

The Pelicans also broke their scoring drought!

The arena erupted in cheers.

Some of it was for Tang Tian's pull-up, and some of it was for Stevens' timeout.

Sure enough, Stevens was Stevens, the timeout was called at the right time, and more importantly, they were able to score on the first play after the timeout!

"Defense, defense!"

Tang Tian's pull-up went in, Stevens' face didn't show much reaction, but seeing that the team's transition defense wasn't fast enough, he stood on the sideline and shouted.

The Rockets originally wanted to launch a long pass from the backcourt to run a fast break, but the Pelicans' transition defense was quick, and they didn't get the chance.

Harden ran an off-ball play with Cousins in the frontcourt, and Paul passed the ball immediately.

But the Pelicans' defense was obviously tighter at this time, and Davis, who was switching, didn't give Harden a chance to catch the ball and shoot.

Harden signaled to his teammates to spread out, and prepared to isolate Davis.

But Tang Tian quickly doubled over from the weak side.

Harden passed the ball to Brewer in the double team.

Davis quickly helped over.

Brewer's three-point attempt, Davis used his speed and long arms to rush over from a distance and disrupt the shot.

"Clang!"

Brewer's three-point shot was already unstable, and after being disturbed, he missed the shot, and Jokic held off Capela under the basket to secure the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans not only scored, but also defended on the play after the timeout!

The Pelicans played a set offense in the frontcourt, this time it was Tang Tian who held the ball and ran a play with Jokic.

After the pick and roll, Tang Tian dribbled towards the inside, and Jokic moved to the top of the three-point arc.

The Rockets chose to double-team Tang Tian, and Tang Tian passed the ball to Jokic.

Brewer quickly helped over to Jokic from the weak side.

The presence of Buzdelik made the biggest difference between the Rockets and the Lakers, which was defense. This help defense rotation speed was definitely the performance of a top team.

But the Serbian Golden Right Hand was faster, Jokic received the ball and saw Brewer coming over, and passed the ball to Ariza in half a second.

This passing speed, the Rockets' defensive rotation obviously couldn't keep up.

Ariza got a wide open three-point opportunity.

This past summer, Tang Tian, Davis and others were training hard at the Brotherhood Training Camp.

Ariza didn't participate, but he had been improving his three-point consistency through individual training all summer.

With Tang Tian and Davis by his side, all he had to do was seize this kind of open opportunity.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound, Ariza's three-pointer went in clean.

After the timeout, the Pelicans went on a 5-0 run against the Rockets!

This timeout effect was simply perfect!

The cheers from the fans in the arena didn't stop.

If they were still worried and skeptical about Stevens' coaching ability before, then they were completely convinced by these few plays.

More changes on the offensive end, dealing with pick-and-rolls on the defensive end, double-teaming, etc.

This timeout adjustment really couldn't have been better.

On the Rockets' offense, Cousins posted up Davis in the low post, and turned towards the basket.

Davis had been practicing his low post skills hard this summer. The more he practiced, the more new understanding he had of defending against opponents' low post offense.

This time he anticipated and got in position early, not giving Cousins a chance to get up directly.

Cousins showed off his individual ability with a little floater after turning around.

But Davis' long arms interfered, and he couldn't make the shot.

Jokic held off Capela and grabbed another defensive rebound.

Two consecutive rebounds, these two plays clearly showed Jokic's change.

His physical strength was much stronger than last season, and he wasn't at all intimidated by the sophomore Capela.

"Speed, speed!"

Stevens continued to shout from the sidelines, this was what he had arranged during the previous timeout.

The Rockets had a twin-tower lineup on the court, plus Harden, their biggest weakness was transition defense.

Holiday and Tang Tian quickly went down the court, and Jokic launched a long pass from the backcourt to Holiday.

The Pelicans had a two-on-one in the frontcourt.

Holiday dribbled to the frontcourt with Paul guarding him, he was especially careful this time after being stolen by Paul before.

When he reached the free-throw line, he passed the ball directly to Tang Tian.

Paul turned around and wanted to help over.

Tang Tian knew Paul better than Holiday, and didn't give the latter a chance to make a small move at all. He took the ball and flew up directly.

Paul saw it and dodged away directly, he didn't want to be a background board.

"Boom!"

Tang Tian held the ball with one hand and scored with a tomahawk dunk!

D'Antoni called a timeout.

After Stevens' timeout, the Pelicans went on a 7-0 run, directly stopping the Rockets!

This timeout was so good it made people's scalps tingle.

"Now we have every reason to look forward to the Pelicans' performance in the new season."

For this China game, Breen and Miller also came to China to commentate. Breen exclaimed after watching this segment.

"An excellent coach will bring comprehensive improvement to a team."

Miller echoed, as a Hall of Famer, he had a lot of authority in this area.

The changes that Stevens brought to the Pelicans, one preseason game, one timeout, were already completely visible.