Chapter 197 He Needs to Change

Tang Tian wasn't too surprised by the MVP selection results.

Just like some fans on social media said, his stats this season were good enough, and his core role was good enough, but his record was indeed a bit lacking.

The fact that he was able to get a higher vote share than James was thanks to the documentary the Pelicans made for him.

And there was really nothing to care about. This was only his first year in New Orleans, and he hadn't originally planned on getting the MVP anyway.

Being ranked second in vote share was already beyond his expectations.

But looking ahead, if they strengthen the team during this offseason, and the Pelicans' record improves, he can really compete for it next year.

The Pelicans defeated the Clippers and advanced to the second round. By this time, all the first-round games were over, and the matchups for the Eastern and Western Conference Semifinals were set.

In the East, the Heat would face the Nets, who eliminated the Wizards in a Game 7 thriller in the first round.

The other semifinal matchup was between the Bulls and the Pacers. The first game of their series had already been played, with the Pacers winning 89-86.

In the West, the first game of the semifinals between the Spurs and the Lakers had also been played, and the result was very surprising.

The Lakers defeated the Spurs 116-106 on the road, stealing home-court advantage from the Spurs.

The Spurs' problems were exposed. They couldn't contain Harden in the first round, and they couldn't contain Kobe in the second round either, as he scored 37 points in the first game.

In the other Western Conference matchup, the Pelicans, after advancing, would face the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies were the most magical team in the league. Since the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong) took shape, they had Black Eighted the Spurs and Black Sevened the Thunder, making them an absolute force in the playoffs.

Moreover, their physicality in the regular season was already strong, and it would only be stronger in the playoffs.

This was the capital that allowed them to complete Black Seven and Black Eight upsets. Their defense was definitely ranked first or second in the league.

And playing against them, the performance of the inside players would be crucial.

The Thunder's failure in the first round, in addition to Durant and Westbrook not performing as expected, the poor performance of the two inside players, Ibaka and Perkins, was also a very important factor.

It wasn't shameful for Griffin to perform poorly against the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong). For the Pelicans, the combination of Davis and Evans wouldn't have much of an advantage either.

The Pelicans could beat the Clippers, but wanting to get past the Grizzlies would be really difficult.

After resting for two days, the first game between the Pelicans and the Grizzlies began at the New Orleans Arena.

The Grizzlies eliminated the Thunder 4-2, getting nearly a week of rest, while the Pelicans had to play Game 7 and then immediately move on.

After the game started, the Grizzlies showed the Pelicans how they eliminated the Thunder in the first round.

The intensity of their interior defense was raised by a whole level, especially Marc Gasol.

Compared to his brother Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol's offense was equally outstanding, but his defense was much stronger.

He was selected to the All-Defensive First Team last year and was second only to Tang Tian in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

He was obviously holding back during the regular season, but his performance in the playoffs improved directly by a level.

In the first round against the Thunder, he averaged 20.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.2 blocks, which was key to the Grizzlies' advancement.

It was the same when playing against the Pelicans, his presence on both offense and defense was explosive.

Davis was entangled by Randolph in the mid-range, and even more blocked by Marc Gasol in the paint. The young Davis finally experienced the pain Griffin felt before.

Without enough offensive skills, it wouldn't be easy to get an advantage against the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong).

To put it bluntly, in the playoffs, the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong) were the touchstone for testing whether an inside player was a true superstar.

Not only Davis, but Tang Tian was also completely targeted in the game.

During the regular season, the Grizzlies basically used Tony Allen to defend him one-on-one, but in the playoffs, this defensive strategy completely changed.

It was still one-on-one defense, but Allen started leading the defense from the entire court, using physical confrontation to wear down Tang Tian from the beginning.

When it came to positional warfare, the Grizzlies also very targetedly drove Tang Tian inside the free-throw line.

Don't underestimate this change. Tang Tian's current offensive skills were relatively simple, and he was facing Allen, so he couldn't shake Allen like he shook Barnes.

So he basically used a crossover to break free, but Allen still chased and defended and wouldn't easily give him a chance to pull up for a shot.

He was forced to go to the basket, and under the basket were the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong).

This was equal to driving him in front of two walls.

He could use the dynamite package (zha yao bao) to create shooting space for himself, but his efficiency against the Black and White Dual Stars (Hei Bai Shuang Xiong) was average.

And more importantly, this kind of offensive method really consumed a lot of his stamina.

Just creating a shot consumed several times more stamina than playing against the Clippers.

The Grizzlies changed coaches this season, replacing him with the young Dave Joerger. Because he was in Memphis, and because of the Grizzlies' style of play, he didn't receive much attention.

But in reality, he was a head coach in the league who deserved to be called a young marshal, and he had already won the monthly coach award three times this season.

In the Coach of the Year voting, he was second only to Popovich and Tyronn Lue.

In addition to the Grizzlies' own configuration, his targeted deployment was really impressive.

87-75, the Grizzlies relied on their iron-like defense to beat the Pelicans on the road and take home-court advantage.

Tang Tian scored 27 points, but his shooting percentage was only in the low 40s, and Davis had a dismal 11 points and 7 rebounds.

The Pelicans' configuration was built around the Twin Stars (Shuang Zi Xing). If the Twin Stars (Shuang Zi Xing) didn't perform well, it would be difficult for them to play well.

The second game was the same as the first game.

The Pelicans seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, with only fighting spirit and effort, but they just couldn't perform.

After two games, they lost two home games in a row and trailed the Grizzlies 0-2 in the series.

Although they knew it would be difficult to play against the Grizzlies, no one expected this situation.

Including Tang Tian.

The Clippers were a bit like paper tigers, but the Grizzlies were real tigers.

Playing these two games exposed a lot of problems. He needed to enrich his offensive skills, Davis also needed to enrich his offensive skills, and the team needed experience, etc...

But those were matters for the offseason and next season. The problem now was how to play this series well.

Losing to the Grizzlies wasn't unacceptable, but the problem was that they couldn't continue to play like this. With two home games already lost, continuing to play like this would lead to a sweep.

The Pelicans gained confidence by defeating the Clippers. If they were swept in the second round, it would affect the team's morale for next season.

So a change was a must.

This time, Tang Tian didn't wait for Williams to come to him. He took the initiative to contact Williams, and then the two met in the coach's office.

"We need to change."

He held a few tactical diagrams in his hand.

The Pelicans were at a disadvantage in terms of roster, experience, offense, and defense. Tactics were the only lever that could influence the balance of victory.

ps: Special thanks to Ru Yi Jin Gu Bang Bing for the ten thousand reward!!