Chapter 1 The New Season Begins

The New Orleans arena was packed that night, the fans were enthusiastic, and the atmosphere was comparable to the playoffs.

It was the team's opening game of the new season, and coupled with the team's strong performance in the preseason, fans were incredibly excited about the new season.

Of course, Tang Tian's contribution during the New Orleans hurricane also raised fan support for him to a new level.

Signs supporting Tang Tian were held high in the arena and were almost everywhere.

Tang Tian's previous contributions to the city were limited to the basketball court, but since then, he had become a true hero of the city.

During the pre-game ceremony, when Tang Tian was introduced, the cheers from the crowd were so loud that they could have lifted the roof off the arena.

Tang Tian felt the enthusiasm of the fans and waved back, which resulted in even greater cheers.

The Pelicans players couldn't help but look up; the decibels were even louder than last year's playoffs.

This phenomenon also gave them more confidence; they couldn't let the fans down again this season!

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced one after another.

The Pelicans had their usual starting five.

The Hornets started with Walker and Batum in the backcourt, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams on the forward line, and Al Jefferson at center.

The Hornets' biggest signing this summer was Nicolas Batum, the versatile swingman from the Portland Trail Blazers. Added to the existing Walker and Jefferson, as well as the fourth-year player Kidd-Gilchrist, their roster looked significantly stronger on paper.

After the opening ceremony, there were a few minutes of warm-up time. Tang Tian went over to greet Walker and chatted with Lin Shuhao for a few words.

Besides signing Batum, another very important signing for the Hornets this summer was Jeremy Lin.

"Tang, I'm more confident than ever," Walker said to Tang Tian.

He wasn't like Thompson, who liked to "brag" to Tang Tian before games. When he said this, he truly meant that he was full of expectation and confidence for the new season.

Tang Tian smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying nothing.

After the greetings, the warm-up quickly ended, and the starters from both sides took the court one after another.

Davis easily tipped the ball from over Jefferson's head back into the Pelicans' half, officially kicking off the new season.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Jokic after seeing him in position.

The Pelicans' style of play was similar to that of the preseason, which was their process of integration.

Tang Tian drove in with the ball, and the Hornets chose to double-team. He passed the ball back to Jokic at the arc, who caught it and shot without hesitation.

Stevens was constantly giving him verbal encouragement. He was now shooting three-pointers much more decisively than last season.

"Swish!"

Jokic's long-range cannon fired and hit, scoring the Pelicans' first goal of the new season!

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

The Pelicans' offense flowed like mercury, incredibly smoothly.

It looked much more comfortable than last season.

The camera focused on Stevens, who was loudly reminding the Pelicans players to retreat on defense from the sidelines.

Walker held the ball on the outside and organized the offense. After calling for a pick-and-roll with Jefferson, he drove to the basket and took a difficult floater over Jokic.

Jokic's defense was well in place, providing ample interference, but Walker still managed to put the ball in the basket.

He roared after scoring.

When he told Tang Tian that he was more confident than ever, he definitely didn't just say it; he meant to stand up and prove it himself.

"Walker looks to be in better form than last season; the Hornets will be a surprise this new season," Breen commented from the commentary box after seeing Walker's performance.

Jeff Van Gundy, his partner on the side, nodded in agreement.

The Pelicans went to the frontcourt, this time with Tang Tian holding the ball. Jokic pulled to the three-point line, and he and Davis ran a pick-and-roll. After the split, he dribbled low and accelerated past Marvin Williams for a layup.

Jefferson didn't manage to get past Jokic and watched Tang Tian score the layup.

The Pelicans scored on their first two possessions, scoring 5 consecutive points.

Back on the other end, Walker and Jefferson ran a pick-and-roll. The Pelicans double-teamed Walker, who passed the ball to Jefferson, whose mid-range shot missed.

Jokic secured the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans launched a fast break. Tang Tian was in the middle, with Holiday and Ariza on the left and right three-point lines, respectively.

Tang Tian drove to the basket, attracting the defense, and passed the ball to Ariza, who was trailing on the right wing.

Ariza caught the ball and shot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went in cleanly!

The cheers from the crowd exploded.

The Pelicans didn't miss to start the game, scoring 8 points on three possessions!

Walker went to the frontcourt and cooperated with Jefferson again. This time, Jefferson faked a move and forced his way past Holiday, turning and laying the ball up at the basket.

"Bang!"

But his movements were too slow and he was directly blocked out of bounds by Davis, who was helping on defense.

Davis' block was beautiful, but Jefferson's competitive state, whether on defense or offense, was much worse than last season.

The Hornets inbounded the ball from the sideline, and Walker was double-teamed while holding the ball. He passed the ball to Kidd-Gilchrist in the double-team, whose wide-open three-pointer clanked off the rim.

Davis grabbed the long rebound.

The Pelicans launched another fast break. This time, Tang Tian took the lead, holding the ball and soaring for a dunk one step inside the free throw line.

"Bang!"

This dunk was full of momentum, igniting the entire New Orleans arena.

10 to 2, the Pelicans had a perfect start.

Hornets coach Clifford called a timeout.

Although only four minutes of the game had passed, he had a feeling that if he didn't call a timeout, the game would be over in one quarter.

After the timeout, Walker broke through for a layup, drawing a foul and scoring for the Hornets.

But this was the Hornets' only score in the next two minutes.

The Pelicans' one-on-one defense, help defense, and double-teaming were all impeccable. Everyone on the Hornets except Walker was completely unable to score.

And the Pelicans were in great form tonight. The Hornets defended this and missed that, defended that and missed this, giving the feeling of being shot to death by random gunfire.

Halfway through the first quarter, the score was 21 to 6, and the Pelicans had directly crushed the Hornets.

And this situation did not improve during the bench players' stage.

The Pelicans' entire team was in high spirits, while the Hornets were clearly a little out of breath after experiencing a disastrous first half of the quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans were already leading the Hornets by 19 points, 32 to 13.

Clifford called a timeout after four minutes to prevent the game from being over in one quarter, but even after he called a timeout, the game was still over in one quarter.

During the break between the first and second quarters, the players all got up from the bench to listen to the coach's tactical arrangements.

Walker looked up at the score on the court, then looked at Tang Tian standing next to Stevens on the other half of the court, and felt indescribable.

He had told Tang Tian before the game that he had unlimited expectations for the new season, but now this scene...

A notification popped up in the Bitter Practice Brothers QQ group: Walker has left the group chat...

ps: I have to go home to worship ancestors and visit graves in the next two days, so the updates will be unstable. I will try to update as much as possible.