"James, Brad should have told you about the team's plans?" Tang Tian asked.

"Yes." Harden nodded.

"But you still can't accept the fact that you can't start?"

"I can defend well." Harden spoke, and he could hear that he was not convinced.

"Then prove it to me in the game."

Harden shrugged his shoulders and didn't speak, and could feel that Tang Tian's words didn't work for him.

Tang Tian realized that this guy might be a bit soft and not hard.

"You're not the only one who has defensive problems." Tang Tian continued.

Harden looked at Tang Tian curiously at this time.

"Kevin needs to improve defensively as well, so I can choose to remove him from the starter and put you in the starting lineup."

"That's not fair to Kevin." Harden said directly, he is still very righteous.

"But it's not fair to you right now."

Harden was silent and didn't speak.

"You went through the finals last season, you should know that the two of you are defensively right now, and it would be a disaster to be on the court together, so someone has to make sacrifices, and the guy who plays on the bench is not not incompetent, but the sacrifice made for the team, in order to win in the end."

"I see." Harden was silent for a long time, and finally spoke.

"You'll prove it to me." Tang Tian said and reached out and patted Harden on the shoulder.

Harden nodded, then turned around and went back to the locker room.

Tang Tian took a long breath, among the three people, Harden should be the one who can get along with the best.

A month flies quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it is already early October, and the new season is infinitely closer.

After this period of training, Harden is the most improved in a group, and after chatting that day, he often pulls Reggie Jackson to practice, and the effect is remarkable.

By mid-October, the preseason began, and Tang Tian also began to experiment with the lineup.

In the game, it can be clearly felt that after the hard training in the offseason, the strength and self-confidence of the four young people have been greatly improved, and if they continue to play according to this momentum, they really hope to hit the championship of the new season.

What makes the Thunder coaching staff a little happy and troubled is that Kwame Brown and Dio play very well, the former has a large defensive area, solid blocking and dismantling, and after returning to Tang Tian's side, he handles the ball on the court very quickly, and the latter's organization is leisurely, seeing the stitches, and combing the offense smoothly.

Time came to the end of October in a blink of an eye, the 7 games of the preseason ended, the Thunder got a 5-2 record, except for the four, PJ Tucker and Middleton's play was gratifying, especially Middleton, who was calm and calm on the offensive end, not like a rookie at all.

The pre-season is over, and the start of the new season is just around the corner.

The Cavaliers finished the season with layoffs, with Ligins, Alton and Russell being cut on non-guaranteed contracts.

What's more interesting is that after Alton and Russell were cut, they directly signed contracts with the Liaoning team, which is seamless.

It was also at this time that major media announced the strength rankings of each team in the new season.

At the top of the list is the Miami Heat.

ESPN's comment is: James, who is the most mature and at his peak, plus Wade and Bosh who are in good shape, it is hard to imagine that such a team will emerge in the new century, they are the most inexplicable team after the Cavaliers' Big Three, and they are also the deserved favorites to win the championship in the new season.

In second place is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

ESPN's comment is: Although Tang Tian left, after signing Yi Jianlian, signing Carter and Artest, who won the championship last season, and retaining other members of the coaching staff last season, the strength of this team has only increased compared with last season, and they are expected to hit the first 4 consecutive championships of the new century.

In third place is the San Anthony Spurs.

Leonard's performance last season was gratifying, and the Spurs finished first in the Western Conference regular season for two consecutive years without being favored, and with Leonard's growth, they have a reason to win a new championship.

The Thunder came in fourth.

ESPN's Comment: Tang Tian's arrival has reinvigorated the team, and after keeping James Harden on a big contract, they basically kept last season's roster, the only concern is that they lost Kendrick Perkins, the team's only interior barrier, although Boris Dio and Kwame Brown were signed in succession, but neither of them was a qualified starting center last season.

All in all, the Thunder have a chance to challenge for their first championship in franchise history, but there is still a long way to go.

……

ESPN's assessment is very pertinent and has been approved by most fans.

Tang Tian originally traded James away with the Cavaliers, which made countless fans sigh, and in the new season, the formation of the Heat Big Three allows them to reinvest that enthusiasm into it.

Fast forward to November 2, and the Thunder ushered in their opener game of the new season, which is also the first game of the league's new season.

The league has maintained their usual urine nature, and those who can arrange a vendetta will definitely not miss it.

The Thunder's opener game was an away game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tang Tian just left Cleveland in the offseason, and as soon as the new season began, he was back to his old place.

The Thunder arrived in Cleveland the day before the game, and after they dropped off their luggage, it was time for the training hall.

There are two training sub-halls at the Quickloan Arena, one for the home team and one for the away team, both of which are entered from the main entrance.

Just got off the bus.

"That's not the coach!" Bazemore shouted when he came down.

The players looked in the direction of his shouts and fingers, and then saw that in front of the Quick Loan Arena, a statue was erected, and a person was holding a tactical board and staring ahead, that face, even if it was made of copper, couldn't stop that handsome, wasn't it Tang Tian!

Tang Tian was also slightly surprised.

When he was in China before, he also received a request from the stadium, and he agreed without thinking much about it, because he was busy building a basketball school, and even forgot about it afterwards, but he didn't expect the efficiency of the stadium to be so high, and it was completed before the new season.

No, it should only be half completed, surrounded by a circle of construction signs, and the stone carving under the bronze statue has not yet been completed.

But think about it, there will definitely be a ribbon-cutting ceremony when everything is done, and he will definitely be there at the scene at that time.

"The coach is really good!"

There are not many statues set up outside the stadium, and they are generally players, such as Michael Jordan, "Magic" Johnson, and Carl Malone, who erect statues for coaches, which is really the first one.

But it's not surprising that Tang Tian won the city's first championship trophy in team history, and then won a wave of three consecutive championships, and he fully deserves this honor.

"Hey, Coach, you're back." At this moment, the cleaning staff outside the stadium saw Tang Tian and stretched out his hand to say hello with a smile.