The Pelicans' next opponent is the Hawks.

The Hawks are now sitting in first place in the East, and it's a direct conversation between the two top-ranked teams.

And everyone is a dark horse, and this game is also a game to verify the dark horses of both sides.

Williams had given his players a day off to relax, and the day before the game, he was ready to lead the team to Atlanta.

But just as the team was reunited, a bad news came.

Davis, injured.

After Tang Tian joined the Pelicans, he suggested that Williams let him play the No. 4 position.

Williams also took his advice, starting with Jason Smith, then Atkinsa, Evans, and now Whiteside.

The Pelicans' starting picks at the No. 5 spot have been changing, but Davis has been playing at the No. 4 spot.

This change is different from history, so that Davis can get rid of the title of glass man without having to go to the inside to fight the big man before the muscle gain is completed.

In the past season, there were only a handful of games missing, and this season is even more full-time.

But no one expected that he would be injured on off-season days.

And the reason for the injury is even more laughable.

Davis has a penchant for using soap when taking a bath, and according to him, he can enjoy bathing more.

As a result, he accidentally dropped the soap while taking a shower, and then slipped and fell just as he bent down to pick up the soap.

At the moment of slipping, he instinctively went to help the wall next to him, and had a close contact with the windowsill, and directly fractured his hand bone.

According to the examination report given by the team doctor, he will be absent for 4~6 weeks.

The team members were stunned when they heard Williams finish the news, and they didn't react for a long time.

"Don't look at me with that expression, I'm more speechless than you know this."

Williams was still very down-to-earth and said directly.

The expressions of the players are wonderful at this time, and the reason for this injury is really funny.

But Davis is out for a month due to injury, and it was before the game against the Hawks, which makes people laugh at all.

Tang Tian's reaction was the most normal of all of them.

The reasons for Davis' injury are outrageous, but he hasn't heard of them, and there are even more ones.

Rondo has also been absent from a shower fall, and he has been off for nearly two months.

To the point of being outrageous, Wilkins stomped his foot because of a joke told by his teammates that was too funny, and as a result, he strained his muscles;

Barkley attended a rock concert, rubbing his eyes because the light was too dazzling, and as a result, his cornea was burned by the hand lotion he had just smeared;

Myers sprained his ankle as he celebrated teammate Raheem's three-pointer and jumped on the spot.

These are outrageous enough, even more outrageous, that Perkins collapsed halfway through his sleep and smashed his foot;

Iverson was slapped on the ass by his teammates and was hit directly in the tail keel, causing the injury to worsen......

Even aside, the Spurs often miss games with hip discomfort.

To put it bluntly, these injuries are all fateful injuries that are out of control.

It's your turn, the kind that can't hide.

By the time his teammates came to their senses a little and began to laugh and complain, Tang Tian had already taken out his mobile phone and sent a text message to Davis.

Davis has improved a lot this season, and this injury looks hilarious, but it's certainly a blow to Davis.

Therefore, the most important thing is to have a clear mindset.

“…… Remember Westbrook? He's got stronger after the injury, calm down, and you can too. ”

At the end of the text message, Tang Tian encouraged his partner like this.

"I will, thanks,(*^▽^*)."

Davis quickly texted back, with an emoji attached, and it was obvious that he was in a good mood.

That's the best news.

After the players finished talking, Williams then announced that Aminu would start instead of Davis, and also said some words of encouragement.

"Guys, let AD experience what it's like to lie down and win!"

Tang Tian also encouraged in a humorous tone at this time.

The team burst into laughter, and this was a useful form of encouragement.

The matchup between the top of the East and West rankings, coupled with the hot Tang Tian, this game between the Hawks and the Pelicans has attracted much attention from the outside world.

Before the game, the Hawks odds were significantly lower than the Pelicans.

This obviously has something to do with Davis's sudden injury outburst.

The day before the game, the Eagles had a pre-game open practice.

After practice, the team's starting point guard, Jeff Teague, spoke to reporters on the sidelines.

When asked if he wanted to win the game, the Eagles' brains answered in the affirmative.

"Of course, we need to play against opponents like that, we need wins like this to prove ourselves."

Teague is not saying this for nothing.

The Hawks are now in first place in the East, but they are being questioned more than the Pelicans.

Having yet to play against teams in the same division as the Cavaliers, Spurs, Warriors and Pelicans is the most cited reason by doubters.

There are endless sayings such as the blessing that the current record is all due to the schedule, the inability to play against strong teams, and the fact that even if you enter the playoffs, you will be the first to be eliminated.

The Pelicans were their first match against a team in the same division, so they wanted to win no less than the Pelicans.

"Anthony Davis can't play because of an injury, does that give you more confidence?"

The reporter then asked.

"Yes, but we don't underestimate the Pelicans, even without AD, they're a very good team."

Although Teague made no secret of his desire to win the Pelicans, he had a good mentality.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons why they're able to beat the Cavaliers and Bulls to top the Eastern Conference.

On game day, the Pelicans also arranged in-team practice, but it was closed.

During training, Tang Tian chatted with Williams for a while.

By the end of the session, Williams pulled the players and talked about the focus of the evening's game.

"Defensively, we're going to play all the best we can defend, not just to cut off their passing lanes, but to keep playing physically, fighting every rebound, and playing this game like a playoff game, that's where our strength lies."

These words were what Tang Tian said to him, and they were also the key to the Pelicans winning the game tonight.

Tang Tian is a traverser, and he knows that the biggest problem of this eagle is that he is afraid of confrontation.

Historically, they reached the Eastern Conference Finals this season, but were swept out by the Cavaliers without Love.

In addition to Korver's injury, the more important reason is that the transfer ball they relied on to survive in the regular season failed under the high intensity of defense.

This is also the bottleneck of team basketball, or civilian basketball.

The Nuggets played the best 57 wins in team history in the 12~13 season, but they were upset in the first round.

Popovich's ability to take team basketball to the extreme is inseparable from GDP and All-Stars like Leonard.

Because of Budenholzer, the Hawks are known as the "Western Spurs" this season.

But only Millsap and Horford have been All-Stars.

The Spurs are looking civilians, and the Hawks are real civilians.