When the time came to the middle of December, at the Sacramento Sleep Train Arena, Li Tian sat on the bench and looked at the court expressionlessly.

After Garcia was injured at the beginning of the month, Li Tian finally entered the rotation list, but half a month passed, and Li Tian didn't seem to have any other tasks except watching the water dispenser.

Head coach Keith Smart doesn't like to use new people, and a month and a half after the start of the new season, Li Tian finally made such a judgment.

This year's three rookies, No. 5 pick Thomas Robinson, have been able to get some playing time every game, but they have also been inconsistent, averaging only about 13 minutes per game.

Chris Middleton has been in the rotation since the first game, but in the last two dozen games, he has only been in the single digits of playing opportunities, averaging just seven minutes per game.

After thinking about it carefully, it is not surprising that Li Tian has not had a chance to play so far.

But today's game rekindled Li Tian's hope, the Kings hosted the Denver Nuggets, the third quarter of the game, the score of the two teams was 99:65, the difference has reached 34 points, there is no doubt that the last quarter is garbage time.

The head coaches of both sides also understood this, so after the start of the fourth quarter, they put the main players on the court and sent the substitutes as much as possible. In fact, from the end of the third quarter onwards, both teams were essentially on the bench.

Li Tian stared intently at the court, the score was so disparity, the whole fourth quarter turned into garbage time, he was thinking that maybe he might finally get a little playing time.

The Kings' bench players rushed very fiercely at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the effect was also very average, with such a large point difference, even the bench players were difficult to fight on the court.

After six minutes in the fourth quarter, there were basically no fans in the arena, and the Kings had a poor winning rate, with only six wins in the last 22 games, a win rate of less than three percent, and the attendance rate was naturally not much better, plus the team was so far behind, the fans were not in the mood to watch it.

On the court, Keith Smart's gaze swept over the bench, Li Tian looked at the other party with a blank eye, hoping to call his name, 12 of the 13 players in the Kings team have been given a chance to play, but he is the only one.

"Chris, replace Travis."

However, to Li Tian's disappointment, Smart did not choose to play him, but replaced Oterlow with Middleton.

Looking at Middleton who walked on the court, Li Tian's eyes were full of confusion, he couldn't even get a second of playing time in such a game, and Li Tian didn't know what to do.

Li Tian was undoubtedly extremely excited when he signed for the Kings, this is a team dominated by young players, which means there are more opportunities to compete, but now, head coach Keith Smart seems to have completely forgotten about him. Desperately training to improve himself, he didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, but now in exchange for such a situation, this made Li Tian feel extremely confused.

At the end of the game, Li Tian still didn't get the chance to play, and followed his teammates to the locker room, Li Tian was extremely depressed.

Li Tian felt that he should talk to head coach Keith Smart, and Li Tian believed that with his current ability, as long as he was given the opportunity to play, he would definitely be able to make people shine.

"Lee, let's go." In the locker room, Thomas Robinson invited Li Tian to go with him.

Shaking his head, Li Tian said to Thomas: "Thomas, you go first, I still have some things." ”

"Alright, man, I'll leave first." Thomas glanced at Li Tian curiously, as if he was surprised that Li Tian would have something to do at such a late hour.

Li Tian didn't explain, stayed in the locker room, and after his teammates left, he saw that head coach Keith Smart also got up to leave, and he immediately stepped forward and shouted: "Coach! ”

"Oh, Lee? Haven't you left yet? Smart glanced at Li Tian and said.

The coach has not forgotten, at least he can still remember his name, Li Tian laughed at himself in his heart, and then thought of the right thing.

"Yes, Coach, I'd like to talk to you, okay?" Li Tian opened his mouth and said that the reason why he stayed and waited until his teammates all left was to talk to Keith Smart.

Smart glanced at Li Tian with some surprise and said, "Talk to me?" Of course. ”

Li Tian thought for a while, and didn't directly say that he wanted to play, but asked Smart: "Coach, what do you think of my training?" ”

Smart pondered for a moment, thinking back to Li Tian's situation in training, and then nodded and said, "Very good, Li, you have trained very hard in the team, and your performance in the competition is also very good. ”

At this time, Smart had already guessed what Li Tian wanted to say.

"Thank you coach for the compliment." Li Tian replied politely, and then said seriously: "Coach, I train hard because I think I am not good enough, I want to prepare myself for the official game of the NBA, I think I am ready for this now." ”

"Of course! You're well prepared. Smart paused for a moment before saying, "Lee, I see what you mean, but I think your teammates are also preparing, and they're doing a great job. ”

Hearing that Sima Zhi was unwilling to promise himself, of course Li Tian would not stop there, otherwise tonight's conversation would have no meaning, so he continued:

"Yes, coach, my teammates did a great job. But I was able to do some things they couldn't, like running off the ball, shooting and defending aggressively, and if I was given the opportunity, I believed I could do great. ”

Smart didn't answer again, his gaze looked straight at Li Tian. Li Tian didn't dodge either, meeting Smart's gaze, his eyes were full of confidence in his tone just now.

After a full minute, Smart smiled, looked away slightly, stayed on Li Tian's face, and said: "Okay, Li, you have impressed me, I like your confidence, I hope you can show me with your performance on the court that your confidence is not arrogant." ”

Hearing that Smart was finally willing to give himself a chance, Li Tian immediately shouted excitedly: "Of course, coach, I will be better than you imagined." ”

Smart smiled, reached out and patted Li Tian lightly on the shoulder, and left the locker room.

“YES！” In the locker room, Li Tian waved his fist excitedly.

The result of the conversation was undoubtedly very satisfying to Li Tian, Smart was willing to give him a chance to play, which was enough, as for how to have such an opportunity in the following games, he needed to fight for it through his performance on the court.

At this time, there was no one else in the locker room, and Li Tian also left the stadium and walked to his residence.

Because of the convenience, Li Tian deliberately chose a place not far from the stadium when renting a house, so although he didn't have a car yet, it would be too troublesome to go back.

The next day, the Kings had another game, back-to-back against the Suns, and finally the Kings lost to the Suns 90-101, and lost another game, Li Tian still did not play in this game, but after talking to Smart, Li Tian was not so anxious, he believed that the day when he played in the NBA would not be too far away.