Those Fox reporters finished their questions and the others all looked towards Whiteside.

Whiteside didn't say anything, he just nodded.

He nodded!

All the reporters widened their eyes, as if Magellan had discovered a new continent!

Whiteside saying that he wouldn't let Tang Tian get a triple-double wasn't really a problem.

Those Fox reporters loved to stir things up, twisting his words and asking sensitive questions, like whether Tang Tian was a stat padder, which any discerning person would see as a trap.

Ordinary people would definitely shake their heads and deny it when they heard a reporter ask that, even if they were slow to react, they would at least say, "I didn't say that."

But Whiteside actually nodded!

He jumped into such an obvious trap!

Whiteside really wouldn't let people down!

Seeing the excited expressions of the reporters, Whiteside realized that he seemed to have been tricked.

But words spoken were like water spilled, impossible to take back.

"What do you think of Tang and Westbrook? Their stats are both close to averaging a triple-double right now."

The Fox reporter was overjoyed and continued to press.

"We played against the Thunder before. Compared to winning or losing, Westbrook cares more about the stats. The biggest difference between Tang and him is that Tang cares about winning, but he also cares about stats."

Whiteside said, trying to smooth over what he'd just said.

But after he said that, the reporters were even more delighted.

This was equivalent to saying that both Westbrook and Tang Tian were stat padders!

It was definitely the right choice to interview Whiteside, they could always get explosive news from him!

James was being interviewed not far away, and he couldn't help but turn his head when he heard Whiteside's words, feeling a bit of a headache.

He suddenly understood how Tang Tian had felt back then. Being Whiteside's big brother was exhausting.

Whiteside's interview was reported by the media and quickly became a trending topic on social media the next day.

News headlines like "Whiteside says Tang is just a stat padder" were constantly being forwarded.

There were no walls that didn't let wind through. The fact that James had initially advised the Heat management not to choose Tang Tian had been exposed, and the fact that Tang Tian had strongly recommended Whiteside to stay on the team would naturally be revealed as well.

Including his guidance to Whiteside afterwards, those Pelicans players had seen it all.

It could be said that Whiteside was able to make a name for himself on the Pelicans completely because of Tang Tian.

And a large part of the reason he was able to get a $98 million contract was also Tang Tian.

But now, he was actually turning around and saying that Tang Tian was a stat padder!

Ingratitude!

During the Pelicans' training session on the day of the game, the players all looked indignant.

Especially Davis and Holiday, who had been teammates with Whiteside.

It wasn't a big deal if you weren't smart, but ingratitude showed a person's character, and such people would be despised!

After the training session, Stevens and Gentry returned to the office to study game tactics, and the players returned to the locker room, unable to hold back, and immediately spoke out in righteous indignation.

"If we had known it would be like this, Tang shouldn't have brought him to the Pelicans, even if he begged on his knees!"

"If he were my son, I'd regret not shooting him on the wall back then!"

"We have to show him some color today. Isn't this guy saying Tang is a stat padder? Then we'll pad stats for him to see!"

"That's right, win against them, and let Tang get a triple-double, to death!"

"A triple-double isn't enough, we have to get a big triple-double, 40 points, 50 points!"

"It's not like Tang hasn't gotten that before!"

……

They quickly reached a consensus in the discussion, they were going to let Tang Tian pad stats big time.

They also had experience with this kind of thing. Three years ago, Tang Tian had padded stats for 70+ points against the Lakers.

Although the opponent was stronger now, Tang Tian was also stronger!

Tang Tian didn't say anything. Whiteside's words did make him feel uncomfortable.

Davis and the others were right, facing such provocative words, getting a triple-double, or even a big triple-double, was the most positive response.

And his injury had recovered for the most part, he had the ability to do it.

That night, the game between the Cavaliers and the Pelicans kicked off at Quicken Loans Arena.

The arena was packed, and the number of online viewers on the hotline also reached a new high.

This was already a focus game in itself, and Whiteside's remarks made it the focus of the focus.

Especially in China, the ratings were close to last year's Finals.

China had five thousand years of history, and people who were ungrateful had always been despised.

They now couldn't wait for Tang Tian to beat Whiteside up badly.

After the pre-match opening ceremony, the starters of the two teams took the stage one after another.

The Pelicans were the usual starting five, and the Cavaliers had the Big Four of James, Irving, Whiteside, and Love, plus Shumpert.

And at this moment, there was a very subtle detail on the sidelines.

James, who always had the habit of throwing magnesium powder before the game, didn't throw it this time before going on the court.

This move was very intriguing.

Amidst the cheers of the fans at the scene, Whiteside tipped the ball back to the Cavaliers' half, officially kicking off the game.

The Cavaliers' style of play hadn't changed much from the beginning of the season, they were still relying on James and Irving's individual isolation tactics.

James and Whiteside pick-and-rolled and then rushed to the basket, forcing Jokic and Ariza to double-team, then passed the ball back to Whiteside.

Whiteside caught the ball, dribbled once to avoid the help defense of Davis, and directly dunked the ball into the basket with both hands.

From catching the ball to dunking it, his movements were very fast, his feet seemed to have small springs installed.

This was also the change he had now compared to the beginning of the season, after losing weight, he had become more agile.

Cheers erupted at the scene, and Whiteside ignited the atmosphere with a dunk at the start.

Whiteside also excitedly pounded his chest and roared after the dunk.

His path to vindication started with this dunk!

For the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian held the ball on the perimeter, and after everyone else spread out, Davis came up to the high post to set a screen for Tang Tian.

In the season opener, the Pelicans relied on mismatching against Whiteside, which made the Cavaliers' $98 million summer investment go down the drain.

Now that Whiteside had lost weight, it was definitely unwise to play against him again, but the Cavaliers didn't just have Whiteside as a breakthrough point, they also had Love.

Under the new penalty standards, Love's strength had been further weakened, and he had gone from being a breakthrough point to a big hole.

The Cavaliers obviously knew this as well, Love moved back inside in advance, and Shumpert tried his best to pounce outwards to prevent the switch.

But Tang Tian's speed was even faster. The moment Davis set the screen, he had already taken a step ahead to match up against Love.

Shumpert directly went back to trap Tang Tian after seeing this.

The hole had to be filled, otherwise Tang Tian could make it bigger than the sky.

However, after Shumpert trapped him, Tang Tian directly made a signature behind-the-back pass, sending the ball from his waist to the free throw line.

The ball was accurately sent into Davis's hands.

Davis didn't hesitate to shoot a mid-range shot after catching the ball.

"Swish!"

A crisp sound, the shot went in cleanly.

Davis continued his excellent form from recent games, making a steady shot!

Tang Tian got his first assist of the game.

Davis was a little excited after scoring, and waved his fist hard.

They had already decided what to do tonight in the locker room before the game.

His successful shot was executing the established goal!