Vol 3 Chapter 742: Franchise player

Boston North Shore Garden Arena was full.
As one of the NBA's oldest teams, the Celtics fans are also one of the league's most loyal.
The team led by Stevens last year and played into the playoffs. They have also enjoyed a good momentum since the season, and fans have continued to support the team.
And the wave of public opinion created by the media before the game also made this game more interesting.
If the Celtics succeed in knocking the Pelicans off this game, the morale of the team will be unprecedented.
Stevens, look, the team you once looked down on defeated the team you led!
Team general manager Danny Angie also came to the scene.
He looks upset.
As a team meritorious player, he first brought in the Big Three after joining the management team, and once again won the championship trophy after 22 years.
Immediately after that, the Big Three quickly cleared it up and got a lot of high-quality draft picks.
Now that the team is rebuilding while playing in the playoffs, there is nothing more beautiful than this.
Especially tonight, Stevens is under tremendous pressure to coach, and the Celtics have no hope of winning the game.
The end of the 15-game winning streak in the reconstruction. When the salary cap soars next year, he is even more confident in recruiting superstars.
After the players of the two teams came to the field, one after another the Celtics came over to say hello to Stevens.
From this we can see that Stevens' coaching is still very popular.
And at the end of the opening ceremony, when Stevens was introduced to the scene, there was a lot of applause.
Although Anji has been discredited, the eyes of the fans are still sharp. They know that the team has been in the quagmire in the past two years. Stevens is carrying the weight.
Anji frowned slightly, but didn't care too much.
When the Celtics win the game, fans will completely forget Stevens and instead like McHale, who is also a meritorious player.
After the warm-up, the starting players of both sides appeared one after another.
The Pelicans are still the regular five.
Stevens and Popovich are one type in rotation, with 9 to 10 players in a game, which can give the main players a lot of rest.
Coupled with the strong team this season, the main players have played less time, and the Pelicans have not suffered any injuries so far.
On the Celtics, Smart and Bradley are on the perimeter, Claude and Amir Johnson on the front, and Salinger on the center.
This is an absolutely defensive lineup. The Celtics have averaged 98.6 points per game this season, thanks in large part to this lineup.
Salinger is a stout center, and Davis easily jumped to win him, giving the Pelicans a chance to lead the offensive.
Jokic came to the frontcourt and responded at a high post.
The Celtics' defense is really good, the first time to the double-team.
Tang Tian gave the ball to the weak side Ariza, but Smart over there assisted in rotation.
The Pelicans' offense is still slightly inadequate. This wave of tactics did not give them a chance.
Time was short, and Ariza's last layup under the strong layup was disturbed by Johnson.
The Celtics successfully defended the Pelicans' first offense.
Anji smiled in the stands.
He was right, the Pelicans' offense hasn't run out completely, and the Celtics have a good chance to fight defense.
The Celtics have excellent defense, but their own offense is also very urgent.
Salinger attacked Jokic with a basket and wanted to use his competitive advantage to score points, but Davis' defense came in time. After he shot, he got a spiked cap and rebounded by Davis .
The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt and Tang Tian took the initiative to reach for the ball.
When Stevens coached last season, the core of the Celtics' offense was Thomas Jr.
If he is present, the Pelicans can easily catch this defensive loophole.
But now Thomas Jr. is not reused by McHale, and he didn't give up at the start. This has caused their offensive strength to plummet, but their defense has been greatly enhanced.
With the Pelicans' unfinished offensive system, it will be difficult to play.
In other words, the Celtics are the same people as Stevens was when he coached, but the system has completely changed.
Stevens' coaching experience with the Celtics did not help.
Tang Tian signaled the others to pull away after holding the ball, and then asked Jokic to mention the three-point line to play the pick-and-roll.
The five players on the Celtics field, the other four are fast and defensive, and the defense can be integrated.
But Salinger is an exception.
The 2m 06 player, who weighed 127 kg, is the heart of the Celtics' offense.
If it was the last century or even the beginning of the century, such short insiders would be very popular, like Charles Barkley, Elton Brand.
But McHale is obviously a bit outdated. In the small ball era, this kind of inside meets a strong team is the standard breakthrough.
Jokic blocked Smart with his huge body. After dismantling, Tang Tian misplaced and faced Salinger.
He dribbled from side to side, and Salinger was like a wine glass in the wind, and he would fall over at any time.
After seeing Claude on the right to help defend, Tang Tian speeded up and left to pass Salinger.
Davis killed Johnson at this time, and Tang Tian scored with a one-handed dunk after entering.
Tang Tian helped the Pelicans take the lead!
There was a restlessness on the sidelines.
Anji's brow also frowned.
He has worked with Stevens for two years and he still knows Stevens' coaching.
Stevens is very tactical.
It's like training an army. The first thing to do is to obey orders and absolute execution.
This is one of the reasons why the Celtics were able to reach the playoffs with a group of role players last season.
But just now, the Pelicans played obviously not the strategy that Stevens had.
He glanced at Stevens.
Instead of being angry, Stevens reached out and applauded.
This made him even more incredible. Stevens suddenly turned to the Pelicans?
But he immediately discovered that this was not the case.
Because the next round ~ EbookFREE.me ~ the Pelicans defended another wave of offense by the Celtics with strong execution defense.
Anji was puzzled, but it was actually very simple.
Stevens and Tang Tian have been in contact as early as last season. The two were born in high mountains and high water. Stevens admired Tang Tian's tactical ability very much.
Even at the beginning of the season in the training camp, the two did not exchange privately on the tactical system.
Therefore, he will not easily question Tang Tian's judgment on the court.
And although he is very strict, he is far less overbearing than Popovich. He gave Tang Tian a lot of freedom on the court.
Or to put it another way, Tang Tian is a privileged player in Stevens' tactical system.
Tang Tian just used this privilege to gain insight into the Celtics' defensive weaknesses and changed his offensive tactics through his own judgment. This proved to be effective.
So what Stevens will do is give him applause.