"We need some changes, is there anything you have to say?" Dawson sat in the center of the conference table and spoke directly.

Van Gundy glanced at the others, and as the head coach, he naturally needed to speak first.

'I don't think pre-season says anything, our players have just come back from the off-season and they need some time to adjust. Van Gundy spoke, and what he said was more like an explanation.

Van Gundy glanced at his old subordinate, Thibodeau.

"Yes, Sean just traded to the team, we still have rookies, and Yao and T-mac missed a lot of games last season, and these need to be run-in, the season hasn't started yet, and we still have time." Thibodeau continued.

Dawson's brows furrowed slightly, he was here to listen to the solution, but he didn't expect it to become Van Gundy's justification.

He looked at Tang Tian, who had not spoken.

"Don, what do you think? Do you also feel that it takes time? ”

"No, I don't think there's much time left for us." Tang Tian's answer made Van Gundy's brows tighten, but it made Dawson interested.

"What do you mean?" Dawson looked at Tang Tian and said.

"We're going to have strong opponents, not to mention the Eastern teams, the Spurs, the Mavericks, the Suns, and even the Jazz in the West, and if we want to make it past the first round or even go further, we have to get higher up in the regular season standings, so we have to work at the beginning of the season."

After Tang Tian finished speaking, Dawson couldn't help nodding again and again, since Olajuwon retired, the Rockets have not even broken through in the first round, let alone competing for the championship, especially in the two years since the introduction of Maddie, the results are far from meeting expectations, which has a lot to do with the poor record in the regular season and the first round of encountering strong opponents.

"It's something we all want to do, but it's not something that happens overnight." Van Gundy said with some displeasure.

"Do you have any specific ideas?" Dawson motioned to Van Gundy not to speak yet, then looked at Tang Tian and said.

"Jeff's defensive system is great in its own right, and Sean is very good at defending the opposing arrowhead scorer, so our defense doesn't need to change, but our offense needs to be adjusted, Yao Ming needs to be the initiator at the free throw line, we need more off-ball pick-and-rolls and open cuts, we need more three-point shooters on the court."

Tang Tian didn't say much, but he completely said his thoughts, and it was clear.

Van Gundy didn't say anything at this time, Tang Tian praised him for a while when he opened his mouth, and he was really not good at attacking.

"And?" Dawson asked.

"We also need to expand the rotation, and I've taken our rookies, who have been doing really well in the summer league this summer, and they've been training for the last two months, so they deserve playing time and they need playing time to get Yao and T-mac rested."

"How many people do you think are reasonable?" Dawson stopped Van Gundy again and continued to ask.

"Nine people."

"Nine people?" Dawson and Van Gundy spoke almost at the same time, which was just an addition to Van Gundy's original one.

"Yes, 9 people, less than 9 people The main time will be extended, more than 9 people, and the players who come up also have limited contributions, but 9 people, the time of substitution must be more than 5 minutes, otherwise they will not be able to play a role."

Dawson nodded, Tang Tian said very carefully and reasonably.

He then looked at Maddie and Yao Ming, as well as Battier, "What do you think?" ”

"I think Don was right, I went to Las Vegas to watch Summer League and he changed the game with a single timeout." Maddie said almost without hesitation.

"It's a challenge to get my organization organized, but I'll try to do it well." Yao Ming didn't say anything directly, but he also felt that Tang Tian was right.

"The role players have playing time, they play hard, and with competition, the starters are more motivated." Yao Ming and Maddie have spoken, and Battier naturally will not object, but as a team player, he also expressed his thoughts from another angle.

Only then did Dawson look at Van Gundy and Thibodeau: "What about you?" ”

Van Gundy didn't speak, and everyone else agreed, and even though he was the head coach, he couldn't object.

"A little more rotation is good for preventing injuries." Thibodeau said something innocuous that he had a good relationship with Tang Tian, and he didn't want to offend his old boss Van Gundy.

"Okay, then do what Tang Tian said, Jeff, I'm also under a lot of pressure, you know that I'm going to retire next year as an old man." Dawson said one last look at Van Gundy.

"Yes, I understand, I will hand over all the attacks to Tang Tian, and this is also his responsibility." Van Gundy nodded.

In an internal meeting, the whole team reached a consensus.

Tang Tian's movements were also very fast, and after getting the command of the team's offensive tactics, he began to train in the first training session after the meeting.

His system, partly derived from the late Rockets' "magic ball" theory, that is, the three-point shot is king's tactic, and partly combined with the Princeton tactics of the world's gorgeous Kings.

To put it bluntly, he is a three-point-based, simplified Princeton tactic.

Yao's top-notch offensive ability makes him a far greater threat at the free-throw line than the Kings' Brad Miller, which would make this simplified play even more powerful.

But the other, more important thing is the team's three-point shooting.

The Rockets' outside linemen can all shoot three-pointers, but all of them are unstable.

As a result, in every training session before the start of the regular season, the three-point shot became a training program for all players except centers, including interior players like Millsap and forwards like Bunch Wells, who usually don't throw three-point shots.

Yao Ming has an excellent ball quotient and a fast learning ability, although it is not a long time, but the cooperation with his teammates is already good.

In this time, the Rockets also completed the final layoffs of the preseason.

Ryan Bowen, Scott Padgett and Cassie Jacobson were cut one after another.

And Barria relied on the 20-point performance in a single game in the preseason to squeeze out John Lucas III, who has a guaranteed contract, and successfully stayed on the team.

As a result, the Rockets' 15-man roster for the new season is officially released.

And the center forwards: Yao Ming, Dekembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes.

Power forwards: Juwan Howard, Bunch Wells, Paul Millsap.

Small forwards: Tracy McGrady, Kirk Snyder, Steve Novak.

Shooting guards: Sean Battier, Luther Hyde, Vasiris Spanolys.

Point guards: Ralph Alston, Jose Barria, Bob Sulla.