Chapter 1330 Tang Tian's Clever Idea

108 to 107, the Pelicans took risks and won their first victory of the season.

For the Lakers, James scored 37 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Simmons had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and Horford had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

For the Pelicans, Durant scored 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and Davis scored 28 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals.

With their first win, the Pelicans are happy.

In the press conference after the game, Stevens also highly praised the performance of Davis and Durant.

"They're a twin-turbo engine for the team going forward."

Stevens also used a very vivid metaphor.

When asked about James' game-winning shot at the end, Stevens was honest.

"We were lucky, but luck is part of the game."

As Stevens said that, Durant had an involuntary picture of the past.

Regardless of whether he is in the Thunder, Warriors, Lakers, or even the national team, he is always the target of lore when facing Tang Tian.

Now that he is in Tang Tian's team, no one else can succeed in killing him.

Is this the legendary metaphysics?

The press conference ended, and Durant and Stevens left the venue.

At the entrance of the passage not far away, Tang Tian has been waiting there.

They came over, Tang Tian hugged them one by one.

"Nice job, it's a start."

When hugging Durant, Tang Tian spoke.

Durant smiled wryly and nodded. He was still thinking about the fans calling him "Tang Tian's successor" in his mind, and he was thinking about metaphysics.

"Keep going and prove yourself."

When hugging Davis, Tang Tian patted his head.

Davis nodded with a helpless smile.

During the first training session of the Pelicans before, the players, especially the teammates from last season, breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang Tian's retirement is a loss to the team, but they can finally end their career of being touched by Tang Tian.

Who would have thought that Tang Tian would come, wearing a suit.

Ever since, they still didn't seem to have escaped that fate.

"Brad, I want to talk to you."

Tang Tian finally looked at Stevens and said.

Stevens nodded, motioned Davis and Durant to go back to the locker room first, and then went to the coach's office with Tang Tian.

"Don, without you, we are really lucky to win this match."

After closing the door, Stevens said with a smile.

He was telling the truth, and a little sycophant.

"No, with you, Kevin and AD, they can do the same."

Tang Tian smiled and sat down, feeling very good.

"I wanted to talk about Pascal."

After laughing, he continued.

Stevens was full of curiosity, wondering why Tang Tian suddenly mentioned Siakam.

"I'm just a suggestion. I think Pascal can be used as the starting small forward. Of course, this may involve weight loss."

Tang Tian knew that he said this a bit late, and it was best to say it before the offseason.

But at that time he was busy preparing for the World Cup and didn't have much time to think about it.

And he is also thinking after watching the opening game, so it is only a suggestion to Stevens.

"Letting Pascal play the third position means that Kevin will play the second position..."

Tang Tian then told Stevens the details.

Siakam plays the third position, as he said, Durant will swing to the second position.

On the bright side, it's not that Durant has never played the 2. When the Thunder were formerly the Sonics, he played the 2.

That height gap makes opposing shooting guards quite desperate on defense.

It's just that after gaining weight, Durant had difficulty defending the opponent's shooting guard's speed, and he grew taller, so he became the third position.

So this is also the weight loss problem he said, not only Siakam, but also Durant.

The benefits of weight loss are also obvious, James tonight is a very good example.

You must know that James is a more physical player. For players like Durant who rely on shooting, the effect will only be better.

The lighter weight can not only make him faster on the defensive end, but even on the offensive end, his running positions and shots will become faster, making him more threatening.

To give an inappropriate example, Durant may become a Kobe one size older.

Even this is of great benefit to Durant in avoiding injuries to these weight-bearing parts of the ankle.

As for Siakam, let alone.

He was with the Pelicans for three years, and he played as a substitute for three years, although he went from the end of the bench to the sixth man on the bench.

But for a player of his talent level, that's clearly not enough.

In fact, his defensive effect is significantly better than Durant when he is facing a heavy small forward, such as James.

"If the new starting lineup works, it might kill two birds with one stone, and you know his rookie contract is up next year."

Tang Tian finally said.

His words are from the perspective of team building.

Although Siakam is a rookie contract, the Pelicans have the right to match the offer, but there is no guarantee that Siakam will feel unhappy with the Pelicans.

If he directly chooses to sign a one-year qualification quotation contract next summer, then he will lose the contract matching right at that time, and the Pelicans will lose.

Stevens nodded.

Tang Tian's suggestion is very good. Siakam has the absolute strength to play the starting lineup, but because Davis has never had a chance.

Siakam can start with a small lineup, but Davis is prone to injuries and that is not a long-term solution.

Just let him play as a substitute all the time, even if he doesn't express it, there will definitely be complaints in his heart.

Moreover, Alexander also exposed his lack of experience in this game, and it may take some time before he takes on the big responsibility.

"It might take some time though."

Stevens continued.

Adjusting the roster will not happen overnight, especially if weight loss is also involved.

Even he needs to ask Durant for his opinion.

If Durant is unwilling to return to the second position, then all these ideas are useless.

Tang Tian didn't object either, he knew Stevens could handle it well.

After leaving the coach's office, when he passed the training hall, he found someone practicing in it.

Looking in through the crack of the door, it was Siakam.

Siakam performed well tonight, contributing 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 23 minutes, meeting the team's requirements on both offense and defense.

It's a good sign that he performed extra well after the game.

Tang Tian didn't go in. In the rematch of the World Cup, the Chinese team finally eliminated Cameroon by point difference and advanced to the quarterfinals.

At that time, Tang Tian encouraged Siakam, hoping that the latter would not be discouraged and continue to improve himself.

Now it seems Siakam is listening.

It was a very correct decision to watch him suggest to Stevens that Siakam should be mentioned in the starting lineup.