Lou's answer at the press conference sparked heated discussions among fans.

Some fans compared him to Mike Brown, both skilled in interpersonal relationships and with the strategy of delegating power to James.

This made many fans look forward to the Cavaliers' upcoming games again.

After all, the Cavaliers under Brown's coaching were a single-core team, while the current Cavaliers have the Big Three plus a group of excellent role players.

They can see how far James can take such a team.

While the Cavaliers were in turmoil, the Pelicans continued their winning streak.

After defeating the Trail Blazers for the third time this season, they extended their winning streak to 17 games.

Tang Tian easily scored a near triple-double of 30 points, 12 assists, and 6 rebounds.

This stretch, where the Pelicans played the Rockets while the Cavaliers played the Trail Blazers, was theoretically a tough schedule.

But Tang Tian's dominance made them look effortless.

With only 20-plus games left in the season, the possibility of them breaking the regular-season win record was increasing little by little.

The day after finishing the game with the Trail Blazers, the Pelicans flew to Miami to face the Heat for the first time this season.

The Heat's performance this season was surprising, their current record second only to the Cavaliers, Knicks, and Raptors, ranking fourth in the East.

Whiteside's performance was indispensable, especially after being snubbed for the All-Star game, he averaged 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, a very impressive performance.

The Pelicans' goal in this game was clear: to continue to extend their winning streak.

And for the Heat, their goal was also quite clear: to defeat the Pelicans.

The Pelicans are now the top team in the league, and they are the league's public enemy; other teams will be honored to defeat them.

This is especially true for Whiteside.

He made a name for himself in the Pelicans, but was benched in the playoffs, which he was very unwilling to accept.

Now he wants to seize every opportunity to take revenge on the Pelicans and prove his worth.

He spoke bluntly in front of reporters at the Heat's open practice before the game.

"They gave up on me, and I'm going to make them regret that decision."

Whiteside's hateful eyes said it all.

The Pelicans also arranged an open training session on the day of the game.

Before the training session began, the players were changing their equipment in the locker room, preparing for training.

"Tang, did you see that report? The one about Hassan."

McGee approached with his phone in hand.

"What report?"

Tang Tian rested early after extra training yesterday and didn't browse the news.

McGee didn't say much and handed the phone directly to Tang Tian.

Just as Tang Tian was reading, Bojan was already shouting.

"This Whiteside is stirring up a war of words!"

His words drew sidelong glances from other players.

Whiteside had been with the Pelicans for more than a season and was a former teammate of many people here.

Stephenson had just come to the team and was now asking Bojan questions, looking disdainful after learning the reason.

Tang Tian just smiled helplessly after reading the news.

Whiteside has played well for the Heat this season, but that performance hasn't made his brain any better.

The help he gave him in the past was wasted.

The Pelicans held an open training session at the training hall.

The number of reporters present was double that of the Heat's training session yesterday.

The Pelicans are now performing well and receiving unprecedented attention.

After the training session, Tang Tian accepted an interview with reporters on the sidelines.

The reporters' questions were mostly about the game, after all, this was the first meeting between the two teams this season.

Tang Tian, ​​who knew Popovich's "poisonous milk," also kept praising the Heat's performance this season, calling them one of the most competitive teams in the East.

"What do you think of Whiteside's remarks? He said he will make you regret the decision to give up on him."

Tang Tian frowned slightly, not answering immediately.

He wasn't the type to engage in a war of words, and although Whiteside wasn't the brightest, he was someone he brought out.

"That's just an idiot."

But at this moment, Stephenson suddenly appeared next to Tang Tian, ​​saying with a look of disdain.

Tang Tian didn't speak, but Stephenson immediately attracted all the reporters' microphones.

"Without the Pelicans, would he be able to get such a big contract now? He still says he's going to make us regret it, we're the number one team in the league now, only an idiot would regret it!"

Stephenson's way of speaking was quite rude.

Although he sometimes short-circuits on the court, his emotional intelligence is actually not low off the court.

Tang Tian shook his head helplessly after hearing this.

But Stephenson said what he wanted to say, Whiteside really wasn't the brightest.

Tang Tian didn't like to engage in war of words, and the Pelicans didn't have that tradition before, Stephenson filled that gap all at once.

Stephenson's interview content was reported before the game, and Whiteside's eyes turned blood red after seeing it, as if he were bloodthirsty.

Since being benched by the Pelicans in the playoffs, his thinking has been completely different from before.

He knew he had talent, and even without Tang Tian and the Pelicans, it was inevitable that he would make it.

You are the number one team in the league, right? I'm playing against the number one team, I'm going to make you regret it!

The AmericanAirlines Arena was packed.

A strong matchup was worth watching, plus the war of words between Whiteside and Stephenson made the game even more interesting.

During the pre-game opening ceremony, the starting players from both sides took the court one after another.

Both sides had their regular lineups.

For the Heat, the guards were Dragic and Wade, the forwards were Luol Deng and McRoberts, and the center was Whiteside.

When Whiteside came on the court, he made a signature "strong" sign, which stirred up the emotions of the fans in the arena.

After three minutes of warm-up, the starting players from both sides took the court one after another.

Whiteside and Davis at the jump ball.

Whiteside glanced at Davis, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

The referee blew his whistle, Davis had an advantage in jumping speed, taking the lead in jumping and knocking the ball back to his own half, giving the Pelicans the opportunity to attack first.

"Damn it!"

Whiteside failed to jump, cursing.

His revenge was off to a bad start.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt, and Tang Tian called for Davis' pick-and-roll.

McRoberts can shoot three-pointers and organize, matching well with Whiteside, but his defense is a weakness and also the Pelicans' breakthrough point.

Wade was blocked by Davis, Tang Tian accelerated his breakthrough and layup, McRoberts obviously couldn't keep up.

At this moment, Whiteside gave up on Jokic and directly retreated to the basket to block the shot.

Tang Tian glanced out of the corner of his eye, he collected the ball in the air, and then made a direct pass with his right hand to the center.

Jokic happened to be rushing in from the three-point line.

He caught the ball and flew to the basket, Whiteside turned around and wanted to block the shot but didn't have time to make a move.

"Beep!"

The referee blew his whistle, indicating Whiteside's foul.

After the confrontation, Jokic showed his flexible touch, continuing to complete the shot and throwing the ball into the basket.

It was a 2+1.

There was a commotion on the sidelines, Whiteside said he wanted revenge, but after the opening jump ball he lost and then was called for a 2+1, something seemed off!