Tang Tian turned his head to look at Stevens at this time, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The tactics are similar, and there really feels like Popovich's figures overlapping.

It saved him a lot of effort.

In the next few minutes, the Rockets didn't play at all, and the Pelicans built up a lead, forcing D'Antoni to call a timeout.

Because the Pelicans have a strong defensive system, the Rockets' defensive counterattack is difficult to play, which greatly reduces the strength of their magic ball play.

That's why Stevens was able to limit the Rockets' offense with a 2-1-2 defense.

Limiting your defensive counter-attacks and then pinching your positional attacks, Stevens had the upper hand in the fight against D'Antoni.

After the timeout, both sides brought their main players on the field.

It was at this point that the Rockets made tactical adjustments on the offensive end.

It's still the magic ball, but the offensive starting point has shifted from Paul and Harden on the outside to Cousins on the inside.

Cousins hit Jokic with the ball on his back, arched hard to the basket with his power, and then turned and scored on the board in succession.

Although he never made the playoffs with the Kings, Cousins before the injury was definitely the top three or even the first center in the league.

Although Jokic completed muscle gain in the summer, the ceiling against this area is still much weaker than Cousins.

Didn't defend it, but turned around Jokic showed his talent on the offensive end, sending a second pass from beyond the three-point line at the top of the arc, and Davis received the ball and broke through to score a dunk.

Turning around, Paul pushed forward and continued to give the ball to Cousins.

From the adjustment after the timeout, it can be seen that D'Antoni's tactical level is not as good as Stevens.

He is basically a fresh move, playing artillery bombardment during the sun period, and hitting magic balls on rockets.

But there is one thing in common in both periods, there are superstars in the team, and when the game is not going well, just give the ball to the superstar.

Now that the outside line can't score, the ball keeps going to the inside Cousins.

Because of the Rockets' containment on the outside, Tucker squatted in the bottom corner and pulled Davis very far from the bottom corner, and it was difficult for the Pelicans to help defend.

Cousins continued to play Jokic in the low post.

Jokic's center of gravity sank very low this time, and Cousins didn't move too much, choosing to turn around and shoot.

Jokic reacted quickly and reached out quickly to distract him.

"Bang dang."

Cousins' shot bounced off the back edge of the basket.

But he was fast and scored directly on the second jump.

Cousins scored four straight points above Jokic's head!

Jokic has successfully cultivated and gained muscle in the offseason, and his strength, especially on the defensive end, has improved significantly.

But this time he was educated by Cousins.

It wasn't until this time that many fans at the scene remembered Jokic's words, in fact, he was just a sophomore.

Tang Tian assisted Holiday to score a layup, but in the end, Cousins' strong attack arched Jokic and scored with a one-handed dunk.

He has scored 6 points in a row this time, like an inside monster.

After Tang Tian arrived in the frontcourt, he asked for the ball directly from Holiday in his hand, and then motioned to Jokic to mention the high block and play the No. 1 tactic.

Before the injury, Cousins, whether it was speed or defensive ability, was the top among the big men.

But after all, it is a traditional inside line, and it is still easy for Tang Tian to beat him, and he is well aware of Cousins' weaknesses.

However, Jokic blocked it, and the Rockets' reaction was not what they expected.

Cousins didn't come out, he switched directly to Davis, but Tucker came over.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Buzdrick sitting on the sidelines.

This cloth handsome, the defense really has something.

If Cousins comes out of the box, it's an opportunity, whether it's his one-on-one singles or his pass to Davis, who cuts in.

After all, it is impossible for Cousins to prevent him one-on-one, and it will definitely be too late to go back when he comes out.

But this defensive change from Bouzdrick kept Cousins crouching in the penalty area, and the other four men assisted in defensive rotation, which perfectly solved the problem.

Tang Tian faced Tucker, started with a step after continuous dribbling, and hit a stop-and-go jump shot.

Although the ball went in, Tucker's defense was in place, and the tactical intent of the ball was completely missed.

Cousins continued to single Jokic in the low post, and the shot caused the latter's beating foul.

Jokic defends hard, but there is a real gap in the confrontation.

Stevens, who was on the sidelines, glanced back at the bench and considered whether to bring Biyombo on the court.

Cousins hit both free throws to bring his personal scoring streak to eight.

There were no substitutions on the sidelines, and Stevens knew that Jokic was shy but not low-spirited, and he was still hesitating.

The Pelicans attacked, and Tang Tian continued to call Jokic to block and dismantle.

Cousins still didn't come out, and Tang Tian continued to signal Davis to improve the blocking.

His purpose is quite clear, and he won't stop if he doesn't replace Cousins.

But the execution of the Rockets is very good, even if Tang Tian is given room to make a move, they are determined not to let Cousins come out.

Tang Tian chose to break through to the basket and made a strong pick in the bag, causing Cousins' defensive foul.

"DeMarcus, when did you like to hide like a woman?"

Before stepping onto the free throw line, Tang Tian said to Cousins.

Cousins' brow furrowed.

Ordinary people could hear that Tang Tian was deliberately provoking when he said this, but Cousins' reaction was obviously angry.

Tang Tian was overjoyed when he saw this, and sure enough, Cousins was still the same Cousins.

The nature of the country is easy to change, and it is difficult to change it, and it has not changed this point when it comes to rockets.

Tang Tian's first free throw hit.

"Keep hiding like a woman, that's good for you."

Tang Tian continued to speak to Cousins.

Cousins looked angry, and Tucker on the side looked at Tang Tian in surprise, he didn't know that Tang Tian still had the attribute of trash talk.

Tang Tian hit both free throws, and the Pelicans continued to bite the score.

Back on the defensive end, I don't know if Tang Tian's trash talk played a role, Cousins was a little anxious about the inside strong play this time, and was successfully defended by Jokic.

Stevens saw that this also put away the idea of substitutions.

The Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian continued to change, this time Jokic just blocked and dismantled, Cousins switched to Tang Tian.

His eyes were full of anger.

Tang Tian couldn't help but laugh when he saw this.

Sure enough, Cousins was Cousins, the man with a worse brain than Whiteside.

Buzderrick watched in surprise from the sidelines, but he didn't stand up immediately and said that Cousins was a supergiant on the team after all, and he also wanted to save face.

After his teammates pulled away, Tang Tian accelerated in the face of Cousins' continuous change of direction, made a sharp stop, and easily shook him off to break through to the inside dunk and score.

Cousins, as a traditional big man, had too much trouble keeping up with Don Naive.

Cousins shook his hand angrily.

When Tang Tian turned around, he said to him with a smile.

"Your defense is as soft as a woman."