Chapter 147 Best Team and Best Defensive Team

Williams was happy when Tang Tian showed up.

After winning against the Clippers, the team management's trust in him soared. But if they were swept by the Grizzlies, the first round would have been for nothing.

"Put Hassan in the starting lineup, we'll shrink the defense and play the fast break."

But Williams was a little stunned when Tang Tian opened his mouth.

Matching defense with the Grizzlies?

This idea didn't seem right no matter how he thought about it. It was attacking the enemy's strengths with one's own weaknesses, and the chances of winning were even smaller.

"Tony Allen has no outside shooting ability. We can focus our defense on the inside by shrinking."

Tang Tian continued to explain.

Williams nodded as he listened.

"Moreover, the Grizzlies' offense relies on Gasol Jr.'s pick-and-roll. If we shrink the inside, it will be difficult for them to play their plays. As long as we defend and play the fast break, we will have a chance even if they retreat quickly."

Tang Tian continued.

The Grizzlies' defense was indeed very strong, but their offense was easily targeted.

The Pelicans wouldn't have an advantage in positional warfare, so they could only bet on transition offense and defense, then at least there would be a chance.

After Tang Tian finished talking about the core idea, he showed Williams the tactical diagrams he had brought, with some details marked on them.

Williams nodded after reading it, he had been convinced by Tang Tian.

But after nodding, he looked at Tang Tian with a strange expression.

Tang Tian had indeed shown a rare understanding of tactics before, but these diagrams were more detailed than what even an average NBA head coach would draw.

This was really a strange person.

Tang Tian didn't explain those things. Although Williams was curious, he didn't ask further. He now needed to take the time to understand the tactical details, and then start practicing in the next day's training session. The three-day rest period was tight for them.

In the next day's training session, Williams directly announced Whiteside's entry into the starting lineup and began training the fast break.

Whiteside seemed very excited when he heard the news.

He had started before when playing the Clippers, but the effect was not good. He thought he would never have a chance again, but now it was here again!

His spirit was high, and his whole state looked very hot.

This was undoubtedly good news for the Pelicans.

Just as the Pelicans were actively preparing for the away game, the league announced the last batch of honor affiliations.

The All-NBA Team and the All-Defensive Team.

The All-Defensive Team was announced first.

All-Defensive Second Team: Roy Hibbert, James, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, and Beverly.

After Tang Tian left, Leonard took over the Spurs' front line, and this was also the first time in his career that he was selected to the defensive team.

Butler was in a similar situation. This season, as a defensive sharp knife, he often played the entire game, and his defensive performance was impressive.

And James was a little surprised not to enter the defensive first team this year.

All-Defensive First Team: Noah, Ibaka, Paul George, Tang Tian, and Paul.

Obviously, James' position was squeezed out by Tang Tian and George.

Tang Tian had won the Best Defensive Player award for two consecutive years, so it wasn't too surprising that he entered the first team.

George led his team to second place in the East this season, and his defensive performance was also fully worthy of it.

James was not wronged this time.

Not long after the All-Defensive Team was announced, the All-NBA Team was also quickly released.

All-NBA Third Team: Tony Parker, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Al Jefferson, and Love.

Rose's absence really gave Butler a chance. In addition to defense, he also played a good offense.

And with the addition of the Hard Training Brothers training camp, his performance was much better than in history, and this third team was well deserved.

All-NBA Second Team: Curry, Harden, Tang Tian, Griffin, and Howard.

This was the first time in Tang Tian's career that he was selected to the All-NBA Team, and it was a second team right off the bat.

This shows that the media reporters were very sure of his performance.

Considering that Kobe was already 37 years old and the Pelicans' growth potential, he had a good chance of being selected to the first team next season.

All-NBA First Team: Paul, Kobe, Durant, James, and Noah.

Although Noah failed to become the Best Defensive Player, he still squeezed out Howard and successfully entered the first team with his outstanding performance.

After the result was released, Tang Tian received congratulatory messages from many people.

An All-NBA Second Team plus an All-Defensive First Team was the best affirmation of his performance in New Orleans this year.

Of course, everyone knew that this was just the beginning.

The starting point was already so high, and the future was worth looking forward to.

Two days later, the Pelicans took a plane to Memphis, where they would usher in two away games against the Grizzlies.

Also on the day they arrived, the third Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Spurs had just ended.

The Lakers lost to the Spurs by a large score of 93 to 110, losing their home game in Los Angeles, and fell behind the Spurs 1 to 2 in the series.

After winning the first game and seizing home court advantage, they were defeated by the Spurs in succession.

Kobe continued his excellent state in the first round, and was able to score an average of 30+ points per game with a 46% shooting rate.

But the Lakers' other points were targeted to death.

Popovich, that old man, was very bad and completely isolated Kobe on the court.

And what was even more fatal was that after losing the third game, Howard started to act up. After the game, he quarreled with Kobe in the locker room and demanded more shots.

This cast a huge shadow over the Lakers' Western Conference Finals prospects.

Also one day later, the third game of the Pelicans and Grizzlies series officially kicked off at the FedEx Forum.

The attendance rate at the home stadium was full.

Although the Grizzlies' playing style was very retro, there was a lot of physical contact and confrontation, especially in the playoffs, where the punches-to-the-flesh style of play was like a boxing match.

So in the playoffs, local audiences liked to come to the scene to watch the game.

Moreover, they had eliminated the Thunder in the Black Seven for two consecutive years, and now they were leading the Pelicans 2-0, so fans were more willing to come.

After the pre-match opening ceremony, the starting players of the two teams entered the court one after another.

On the Grizzlies' side, the outside players were Conley and Tony Allen, the forwards were Courtney Lee and Randolph, and the center was Gasol Jr.

On the Pelicans' side, the outside players were Holiday and Morrow, the forwards were Tang Tian and Davis, and the center was Whiteside.

Gorgel's eyes were thoughtful after seeing the Pelicans change their starting lineup.

He was a college coach, but his style was somewhat similar to Popovich's, and he belonged to the kind of coach who was good at thinking.

He obviously felt something.

Gasol Jr. jumped and won against Davis, giving the Grizzlies the opportunity to attack first.

The Grizzlies attacked to the frontcourt, and Gasol Jr. held the ball on the free throw line.

At this time, the Pelicans' defense shrank inward.

The inside players Whiteside and Davis both sank to the vicinity of the three-second zone, Tang Tian also entered the free throw line, and even Holiday and Morrow shrank to a high position.

This was a defensive formation that was even more shrunken than a 2-3 zone.

As Tang Tian expected, because Allen had no shooting ability, the Grizzlies' tactics couldn't be played out after the Pelicans' formation was set up, and Gasol Jr.'s pick-and-roll was basically abolished.

Gorgel frowned, Williams' move was really targeted enough.

After seeing this, Gasol Jr. chose to attack the basket with his back, and a long-armed long-distance hook shot after shaking his head.

Whiteside tried to block, but directly hit Gasol Jr.'s arm, and the latter got two free throw opportunities.

Seeing this, Gorgel's frown gradually eased again.

This tactical idea was good, but unfortunately there was no executor. Whiteside was too easy to foul, and the Pelicans wouldn't be able to last long.