Chapter 520 Selected to the Best Team (Third Update!)

When seeing Tang Tian appear, Williams was still very happy.

After winning the Clippers, the trust of the team's management in him has skyrocketed, but if he is really swept by the Grizzlies, the first round will be a waste of time.

"Bringing Hassan to the starting lineup, we shrink the inside line and play defensive counterattacks."

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

Fight defense with the Grizzlies?

This way of thinking seems to be wrong no matter what, this is because of its short-term attacking the enemy's strength, and the chance of winning is even smaller.

"Tony Allen doesn't have the ability to shoot from the outside. We can put the focus of defense on the inside by shrinking."

Tang Tian then began to explain.

Williams listened and nodded.

"And the offense of the Grizzlies relies on Gasol's support. We shrink the inside line, and it is difficult for them to cooperate. As long as we defend and play defensive counterattacks, we will have a chance no matter how fast they retreat."

Tang Tian continued.

The Grizzlies' defense is really strong, but the offense is easy to target.

The Pelicans have no advantage in positional battles, so they can only fight for offensive and defensive transitions, so at least they still have a chance.

Tang Tian finished talking about the core idea, and then showed Williams the tactical map he brought, and he marked some details on it.

Williams nodded after reading, he has been persuaded by Tang Tian.

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

It should be said that Tang Tian did show a rare understanding of tactics before, but these pictures, the average NBA head coach may not draw such detailed pictures.

This is a real weirdo.

Tang Tian didn't explain that. Although Williams was surprised, he didn't ask. He now needs to spend time to understand the tactical details, and then he has to start practicing in the training session the next day. The three-day rest period is very tight for them.

In the training session on the second day, Williams directly announced that Whiteside had entered the starting lineup and began to train defensive counterattacks.

Whiteside looked quite excited when he heard the news.

He played against the Clippers before, but the effect was not good. He thought he would never have another chance, but now he is here again!

His spirit is high, and his whole person looks very fiery.

This is undoubtedly good news for the Pelicans.

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

All-NBA Team and All-Defensive Team.

The first to be announced is the All-Defensive Team.

Best Defensive Second Team: Roy Hibbert, James, Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Beverley.

After Tang Tian left, Leonard carried the Spurs forward. This is also the first time in his career that he was selected to the defensive lineup.

Butler is in a similar situation. He often played the whole game as a defensive leader this season, and his defensive performance is impressive.

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

Best defensive team: Noah, Ibaka, Paul George, Tang Tian and Paul.

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

Tang Tian won the Best Defensive Player consecutively, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to enter a round.

George led the team to rank second in the Eastern Conference this season, and his defensive shots are fully worthy.

James was not wronged by being squeezed this time.

It didn't take long for the best defensive team to be announced, and the best team was released soon.

Best three: 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-working brothers training camp, his performance is much better than in history, and this third team is well-deserved.

Best 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 best team, and he was in the second team.

This shows that media reporters are quite sure of his performance.

Considering that Kobe is 37 years old and the growth of the Pelicans, he has great hopes of being selected for the first team next season.

Best team: Paul, Kobe, Durant, James and Noah.

Although Noah failed to become the best defensive player, with his outstanding performance, he still squeezed out Howard and was selected for the first team.

After the results came out, Tang Tian received congratulatory text messages from many people.

An best second team plus best defensive first team is an affirmation of his best performance in the Pelicans this year.

Of course, everyone knows that this is just the beginning.

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

Two days later, the Pelicans flew to Memphis for two away games against the Grizzlies.

On the day they arrived, the third game of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Spurs had just ended.

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

After winning the first game to grab home court advantage, they lost consecutively to the Spurs.

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

But the other points of the Lakers were targeted to death.

Popovich, a bad old man, was so bad that he completely isolated Kobe on the court.

And what's more terrible is that after losing the third game, Howard began to lose his temper. After the game, he argued with Kobe in the locker room and asked for more shots.

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

Just one day later, the third game of the series between the Pelicans and the Grizzlies officially kicked off at the FedEx Arena.

The arena is full at home.

Although the Grizzlies' style of play is very old-fashioned, there are a lot of physical contact and confrontation, especially in the playoffs, the fist-to-body style of play is like a boxing match.

So when it comes to the playoffs, the local audience likes to watch the game live.

Moreover, Black Seven eliminated the Thunder for two consecutive years, and now leads the Pelicans 2-0, and fans are more willing to come.

After the opening ceremony before the game, the starting players of the two teams appeared one after another.

On the Grizzlies side, Conley and Tony Allen are on the perimeter, Courtney Lee and Randolph are on the front line, and Gasol Jr. is the center.

For the Pelicans, Holiday and Morrow are on the outside, Tang Tian and Davis are on the front line, and Whiteside is the center.

Jogel looked thoughtful in his eyes after seeing the Pelicans change their starting lineup.

He is an academic coach, but his style is somewhat similar to Popovich, and he belongs to the kind of coach who is good at thinking.

He obviously felt something.

Gasol beat Davis and gave the Grizzlies the first chance to attack.

The Grizzlies hit the frontcourt and Gasol held the ball at the free throw line.

Just then, the Pelicans' defense shrank in.

Both Whiteside and Davis on the inside sank to the three-second zone, Tang Tian also entered the free throw line, and even Holiday and Morrow shrank to a high position.

This is a more contracted defensive formation than a 2-3 zone defense.

As Tang Tian expected, because of Allen's lack of shooting ability, the Grizzlies' tactics couldn't play after the Pelicans' formation, and Gasol's support was basically abolished.

Jogel frowned, Williams' move was really targeted.

After seeing this, Gasol chose to attack the frame with his back, and after shaking his head, he hooked his long arm from a long distance.

Whiteside's attempt to block the shot hit Gasol Jr.'s arm, and the latter got two free throw opportunities.

Seeing this, Jogel's frown gradually relaxed.

This tactical idea is good, but unfortunately there is no executor. Whiteside fouls too easily, and the Pelicans can't last long.