After finishing the game against the Warriors, the Pelicans faced the Bulls in a back-to-back game at home.

Tang Tian's physical exertion was significant the previous night, and Butler was very familiar with him. His performance in this game declined, and he only scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Davis still couldn't find his touch, making only 4 of 14 shots and scoring only 11 points and 9 rebounds.

The Pelicans ultimately lost the game, suffering a 2-game losing streak after a 7-game winning streak.

Fortunately, the 76ers provided timely warmth, and the Pelicans' losing streak was ended.

However, Davis's performance was still poor, with only 10 points and 6 rebounds, as well as 2 turnovers.

The opponents knew he wasn't shooting well from the outside, so the defenders guarding him only focused on preventing drives and let him shoot.

This had a very significant impact on his performance.

After playing the Timberwolves, the Pelicans then faced the Cavaliers on the road.

Like the previous game against the Warriors, this was also a crucial battle.

The two teams played fiercely, tying at 46 at halftime.

In the second half, Cavaliers coach Blatt relentlessly double-teamed Tang Tian, exploiting Davis's poor shooting touch.

Davis still couldn't find his touch, and the Cavaliers gradually established an advantage. James performed bravely, and the Cavaliers ultimately won the game.

Tang Tian once again scored a near triple-double with 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

After this game, fans on social media were buzzing.

Besides complaining about Tang Tian being the leader of the "empty stats club," most of the talk was about Davis.

As the Pelicans' second-in-command, Davis's average performance in the four games since his return was only 10 points and 8 rebounds, with a shooting percentage of less than 30%, only 27%.

This was clearly unacceptable, even a drag on the team.

Although he had just recovered from an injury, as a superstar, his adjustment ability should be very strong.

More importantly, the two most crucial games against the Warriors and Cavaliers were lost because of his performance.

This showed that he wasn't good at playing in tough games!

For a time, there was a great outcry of doubt about Davis, and with Jrue Holiday's performance at point guard not as good as at shooting guard, many even suggested trading him for an All-Star-level point guard.

After playing the Cavaliers, the Pelicans returned home to face the Trail Blazers.

Pelicans fans hoped that Davis could dispel the doubts with a strong performance.

But the result was not that, and may have even been worse.

Tang Tian scored a near triple-double of 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, carrying the whole team to help the Pelicans win the game.

But Davis only made 2 of 9 shots for 7 points and 10 rebounds, with 3 turnovers.

No one knew what was going on with Davis, and no one knew when Davis would recover.

After the game that day, Tang Tian saw Nash coaching Davis on his shooting after the game.

Davis's shooting touch didn't look bad, with high percentages from mid-range and three-point range.

Although practice and games aren't the same, this at least showed that Davis's performance wasn't entirely due to a lack of touch.

After the press conference, Tang Tian came back and saw Davis still practicing alone in the arena, and he walked straight over.

Seeing Tang Tian coming, Davis stopped.

Sweat dripped, he had been practicing for a long time.

"AD, don't worry, we have time. The season isn't even halfway over yet."

Tang Tian went over and smiled to persuade him.

He had thought of a problem while attending the press conference.

Because of his addition, Davis actually had fewer opportunities to perform than in history.

Even though his help allowed Davis to develop in a more correct direction, he had never been the boss and carried the team, so he was a little lacking in the mental toughness department.

In fact, even the historical Davis didn't have the temperament to be the team's boss.

So the ups and downs in performance were more likely a psychological problem.

After all, this was Davis's first time experiencing such a long injury absence, and naturally mentally strong people are in the minority.

This could be seen from Davis's shot data. In each of these games, his number of shots was constantly decreasing.

Davis nodded with a smile.

This seemed to hit the nail on the head.

"A season is long, and it's inevitable to experience injuries. I experienced it last season, including the ups and downs after my return. These are all normal phenomena."

Tang Tian continued to comfort him.

"I know, but I..."

Davis stopped talking.

"But what? It's just the two of us."

Tang Tian continued.

"I'm afraid that missing shots will hurt the team."

Davis glanced around the arena and said with some self-reproach.

"No, not shooting is what hurts the team."

Tang Tian directly refuted his words.

Davis stared blankly at Tang Tian.

"You know Kobe, right? Although I sometimes don't understand his shot selection, his Mamba mentality is worth learning.

Shooting, aside from touch, the most important thing is confidence. If you don't believe you can make it yourself, why would the ball go in? Leave the result to God?"

Tang Tian's words were rough but true.

"We need you to shoot, and you can make it, but you have to be confident. Many shooters are trained through missing shots.

Prokopiou said that your shooting style is like Durant's. Didn't Durant practice by shooting like crazy and missing shots?"

Tang Tian continued.

"We can't do without you in the playoffs. You have to find your form, and you will definitely find it again."

Tang Tian said, reaching out and touching Davis's head.

Davis nodded vigorously when he heard this.

His shots in the two games after his return weren't actually few, but he missed too many, especially in the game against the Bulls, which led to a problem with his confidence.

Tang Tian's encouragement came in a timely and useful manner.

……

"Achoo!"

Durant was doing upper body strength training in the training hall when he suddenly sneezed violently.

Although it was winter, the temperature in Oklahoma wasn't high, but the training hall was air-conditioned. This sneeze came too suddenly.

He called over the staff and asked them to turn up the temperature a bit.

……

Davis's poor performance led to a lot of discussion.

It was also at this time that Woj broke a piece of news.

The Kings submitted a trade request to the Pelicans, hoping to trade Cousins and Ben McLemore for Davis and Gordon.

Cousins and Davis don't need to be said, McLemore, as last year's 7th pick, is averaging 12 points this season with a good performance, and Gordon now also has an overpaid contract.

In terms of trade value, this is a deal that can be matched.

This trade proposal was rejected by the Pelicans.

Pelicans owner Tom Benson liked Davis very much, and he was also very optimistic about the future of the Tang Tian and Davis combination. He would never choose to trade him because of Davis's temporary poor performance.

This trade didn't go into in-depth negotiations, but it was exposed, which had a significant negative impact on both teams.

Especially Davis, who was performing poorly and was caught in trade rumors, this was a huge test for the young player's mentality.

ps: There is a new activity in the comments section, everyone pay attention, this time it's building a building, it's relatively simple.