Chapter 130 Injury

The Pelicans' next opponent was the Hawks.

The Hawks were currently at the top of the Eastern Conference, making this a direct showdown between two top teams.

Moreover, both were dark horses, and this game would be a test of each team's true potential.

Williams had previously given the players a day off to relax. The day before the game, he prepared to lead the team to Atlanta.

However, just as the team was gathering, bad news arrived.

Davis was injured.

After Tang Tian took over the Pelicans, he suggested that Williams let him play the power forward position.

Williams accepted his suggestion. From Jason Smith at the beginning, to Ajinça, Evans, and now Whiteside.

The Pelicans' starting center had been constantly changing, but Davis had consistently played power forward.

This change, different from history, allowed Davis to avoid going inside to fight with bigger players before he had finished bulking up, and he shed his reputation as being injury-prone.

He had missed very few games in the past season, and this season he hadn't missed any so far.

But no one expected him to get injured during a day off.

And the reason for the injury was even more laughable.

Davis had a habit of using bar soap when he showered, saying it made showering more enjoyable.

As a result, he accidentally dropped the soap while showering, and then slipped when he bent over to pick it up.

In the instant he slipped, he instinctively reached out to grab the nearby wall, making intimate contact with the windowsill, and fracturing his hand bone.

According to the team doctor's report, he would be out for four to six weeks.

When the players heard this news from Williams, they were all dumbfounded, unable to react for a long time.

"Don't look at me like that. I was even more speechless than you guys when I found out."

Williams, ever down-to-earth, spoke directly.

The players' expressions were priceless at this moment. The reason for the injury was truly hilarious.

But Davis would be out for a month due to injury, especially before the game against the Hawks, which made it impossible to laugh.

Tang Tian's reaction was the most normal of everyone.

The reason for Davis's injury was absurd, but it wasn't something he hadn't heard of before. There were even more absurd ones.

Rondo had also missed time due to slipping in the shower, and he was out for nearly two months.

Some more ridiculous ones: Wilkins strained a muscle because a joke told by a teammate was too funny;

Barkley burned his cornea because the stage lights at a rock concert were too bright, and he rubbed his eyes with hand lotion he had just applied;

Miles twisted his ankle while jumping for joy after teammate Rasheed hit a three-point buzzer-beater.

These were already absurd enough, but even more ridiculous was Perkins, who broke his foot when his bed collapsed in the middle of the night;

Iverson had his tailbone aggravated after being slapped on the butt by a teammate...

Even aside from these, Spurs players often missed games due to "gluteal discomfort."

These injuries were, in essence, predetermined, beyond anyone's control.

When it's your turn, it's your turn, and there's no avoiding it.

By the time his teammates had recovered and started laughing about it, Tang Tian had already taken out his phone to send Davis a text message.

Davis had made great progress this season, and this kind of injury, though funny to look at, would definitely be a blow to Davis.

So, maintaining a good attitude was the most important thing.

"...Remember Westbrook? He became even stronger after his injury. Keep a good attitude, and you can too."

Tang Tian encouraged his teammate at the end of the text message.

"I will, thanks, (*^▽^*)."

Davis replied quickly, even adding an emoji, showing that he was in good spirits.

This was the best possible news.

After the players finished chatting, Williams announced that Aminu would replace Davis in the starting lineup and said some encouraging words.

"Guys, let AD experience what it's like to win while lying down!"

Tang Tian also encouraged them in a humorous tone at this time.

The players burst into laughter, finding this kind of encouragement very effective.

The matchup between the top teams in the East and West, plus the highly sought-after Tang Tian, made the game between the Hawks and the Pelicans the focus of external attention.

Before the game, the betting websites gave odds, with the Hawks' odds significantly lower than the Pelicans'.

This was clearly related to Davis's sudden injury.

The Hawks held a pre-game open practice the day before the game.

After the practice, the team's starting point guard, Jeff Teague, was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

When asked if he wanted to win the game, the Hawks' brain gave a very affirmative answer.

"Of course, we need to play against opponents like this, and we need this kind of victory to prove ourselves."

Teague's words were not without reason.

Although the Hawks were currently at the top of the Eastern Conference, they faced even more criticism than the Pelicans.

The most frequently mentioned reason was that they hadn't faced other top-tier teams like the Cavaliers, Spurs, Warriors, and Pelicans.

There were endless comments about how their current record was all thanks to the schedule, that they couldn't play against strong teams, and that they would be the first to be eliminated even if they made it to the playoffs.

Playing against the Pelicans was their first time facing a team of the same caliber, so their desire to win was no less than the Pelicans'.

"Anthony Davis can't play due to injury, does that give you more confidence?"

The reporter then asked.

"Yes, but we won't underestimate the Pelicans because of that. Even without AD, they are a very strong team."

Although Teague didn't hide his desire to win against the Pelicans, he had a good attitude.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why they were able to surpass the Cavaliers and Bulls to rank first in the Eastern Conference.

On the day of the game, the Pelicans also arranged for an in-house training session, but it was closed to the public.

During the training, Tang Tian and Williams chatted for a while.

After the training, Williams gathered the players and talked about the key points of the game that night.

"Defense, we need to play the best defense we can, not only to cut off their passing lanes, but also to constantly give physical resistance, fight for every rebound, and treat this game like a playoff game. That's where our advantage lies."

These words were what Tang Tian had told him, and they were also the key to the Pelicans winning the game tonight.

Tang Tian, being a transmigrator, knew that the biggest problem with this Hawks team was that they were afraid of physical play.

In history, they reached the Eastern Conference Finals this season, but were swept out of the playoffs by the Cavaliers without Love.

In addition to Korver's injury, the more important reason was that their ball movement, which they relied on in the regular season, became ineffective under high-intensity defense.

This was also the bottleneck of team basketball, or ordinary basketball.

The Nuggets had their best season in team history in the 2012-13 season, winning 57 games, but were upset in the first round.

Popovich was able to maximize team basketball, but that was inseparable from the GDP (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker) and Kawhi Leonard, who were all All-Stars.

Because of Budenholzer, the Hawks were known as the "Western Spurs" this season.

But only Millsap and Horford in their lineup had been selected as All-Stars.

The Spurs looked ordinary, but the Hawks were truly ordinary.