Seeing Jokic's expression, Tang Tian was both annoyed and amused.

Fortunately, Jokic seemed quite obedient.

This weight, he should still be able to lose it.

After finishing his evening training and returning home, Tang Tian had a video call with Olsen for a while.

Olsen was in Los Angeles busy with filming.

After hanging up, Tang Tian noticed a text message from Yao Ming on his phone.

It was asking if he was asleep.

He called back and chatted for a while about matters related to running for chairman of the Basketball Association.

The bigwigs in the Sports Bureau were similar to those in charge of the Basketball Association. After the good results in the last Olympic Games, their enthusiasm for taking the initiative to change was very low.

If the higher-ups didn't want to move, no matter how much the people below tried, it was useless.

"I will support you."

Tang Tian gave Yao Ming a definite answer.

This was also his promise to Yao Ming.

After hanging up, he had Karl contact Zhang Weiping in the United States, saying that he wanted an exclusive interview.

After arranging the time, Tang Tian and Zhang Weiping conducted an exclusive interview in a room the next morning. The content of the interview was related to the chairman of the Basketball Association and the Olympic Games.

Yao Ming's influence in China was very large. After he announced his candidacy for chairman of the Basketball Association, it caused a lot of public opinion among fans and the media.

But this kind of public opinion had not been transformed into assistance, it was just one step away.

What Tang Tian was doing now was this one step.

"If Yao Ming cannot be elected as the new chairman of the Basketball Association, I will not participate in the Rio Olympics in two years."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Sure, and very sure."

In the interview, Tang Tian said very absolute words.

This interview was broadcast by Tencent that afternoon and quickly topped the headlines of major media outlets.

Tang Tian's influence in China now was not just limited to basketball, or even the sports world.

This kind of "smash the pot" rhetoric made those high-level officials couldn't help but curse, but they were helpless.

Tang Tian was not part of the system, and they had no way to deal with him.

They were conservative, but not stupid. They knew very well how the results of the 2012 London Olympics came about.

Moreover, the current Tang Tian was not the same as the Tang Tian at that time. Losing Tang Tian would mean losing at least half of the national team's strength, and that was a conservative estimate.

No one could bear this responsibility.

"The CBA will be separated from the Basketball Management Center..."

"The CBA will establish its own basketball association, which will be a non-governmental organization different from the Basketball Management Center..."

"Yao Ming is a popular candidate for chairman of the Basketball Association..."

One domestic news item after another broke out. Tang Tian's exclusive interview was like a guillotine, forcing the higher-ups to take action.

Seeing these positive messages, Tang Tian was in a good mood.

Speaking of which, it's the same everywhere. If you want to have a voice, you have to be important enough yourself.

If it was two years ago, people from the Sports Bureau probably wouldn't have paid any attention to him, but the situation was completely different now.

It was the same in the NBA. Xiao Hua dared to blatantly screw over the Pelicans last season. If he became the league's face in the future and also served as the union president, his voice would not be lower than Xiao Hua's.

You need to know that in the NBA, the labor and capital sides are in a relationship of employment and being employed, and also a cooperative relationship. Neither side can be without the other.

Of course, those were all things for the future. After finishing the interview, Tang Tian focused his attention on the game against the Heat.

The Heat lost James and Bosh in the offseason, and now Wade was leading the team single-handedly.

Speaking of which, thanks to Gary Neal last season, Wade's injuries were much better than in history, and he was still able to be the core of a team at this time.

However, Riley didn't make any other big moves besides signing Wade. The Heat were obviously starting to rebuild.

As for signing Wade, it was just to sell tickets and fill the salary floor.

Facing such an opponent, the Pelicans' goal was definitely to win the game and strive for a winning streak to start the season.

Before the game, the players from both teams were making their final preparations in the locker room.

Whiteside was visibly excited.

He had a very good preseason, but in the opening game, he had limited playing time due to foul trouble.

Just like the reporters' questions at the post-match press conference, the outside media's reports after the game even said that he was no different from last season.

This was a very frustrating thing, knowing that he had been training hard in the brothers training camp almost every day this past summer.

Now, the new game was his best chance to prove himself.

The New Orleans Arena was already packed.

After last season, the New Orleans market had been completely activated, and coupled with the Pelicans' victory over the Trail Blazers in the first game, the fans' enthusiasm was even greater.

Moreover, although the opponent Heat's strength had been greatly reduced, they were still the defending champions.

A close game was good to watch, but this kind of game of ravaging the defending champions was also something to look forward to.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of the two teams were released one after another.

For the Heat, it was Chalmers and Wade on the outside, James Ennis and Josh McRoberts on the front line, and Chris Andersen at center.

The Pelicans' side was the regular lineup, Holiday and Tang Tian on the outside, Ariza and Davis on the front line, and Whiteside at center.

Whiteside was very excited, and Davis gave him the tip-off opportunity this time.

He was facing Andersen for the jump ball.

Andersen's nickname was "Birdman," and he was an amazing jumper. Although he was old, he could still jump very well.

The referee threw the ball high into the air, Whiteside jumped up and used his wingspan to tip the ball back to the Pelicans' half.

Although they changed a person to jump, the Pelicans still got the first chance to attack.

Tang Tian received the ball in the frontcourt and faced Ennis.

Ennis was a second-round pick last year and just signed a contract with the Heat this year. He was also considered a rookie.

However, he was slender and had a good wingspan. He was a good defensive wing.

Tang Tian directly accelerated past him in one step.

Breaking into the inside, McRoberts came over to help defend, and Tang Tian immediately tapped the ball to Davis at the free-throw line.

With the Divine Turtle Bombardment, his breakthrough became easier than before, and his ball handling was really more comfortable than last season.

And unlike last season, his main goal now was not to score points and compete for the scoring title, but to lead the team to win more victories.

So he didn't have to charge into battle every game. Playing against this Heat team was a good opportunity to help his teammates improve.

Davis took a mid-range shot at the free-throw line.

"Bang!"

The basketball bounced off the rim.

He hadn't found his touch yet at the beginning of the game.

Andersen jumped up under the basket, preparing to grab the defensive rebound.

But at this moment, a figure leaped high from behind him, grabbing the rebounding ball with both hands.

Andersen was caught off guard and was directly knocked away in the air.

"Boom!"

Whiteside, holding back his energy, directly slammed a two-handed put-back dunk, entering Andersen from behind in the air and smashing the ball hard into the basket!