The invincible kryptonite of basketball

Speaking of which, they were black eight by the Warriors, and now they can work hard to create a black eight.

For the Pelicans, who are aiming to win the championship, what they have to do in the first round is to maintain their mentality, frame the whole team together, and then tie the A.

Chapter 8 Tang Tian Tattoo (Second update!)

After the East-West matchup was released, the media and fans couldn't bear to start predicting.

Like last year, TNT arranged the rights to broadcast all the games of the playoffs. In the latest episode of the program, the Big Three will inevitably have to make professional predictions.

The opinions of the other groups against them are basically the same, except for the Spurs Thunder and the Pelicans Mavericks. The difference between the two groups is relatively large.

"The Thunder will blow the Spurs and the Pelicans will sweep the Mavericks."

O'Neill's prediction was quite straightforward, but it also attracted crazy opposition from Barkley and Smith.

"Man, the Mavericks are not as weak as you think. They won't be swept, and they may even have a chance to black eight."

Barkley agreed with the first half of O'Neill's sentence, but strongly disagreed with the latter half.

"I don't think the Spurs will lose to the Thunder. Popovich's coaching in the playoffs is incredible."

Kenny Smith is a veteran Spurs player, and he admires the former coach very much.

"And Kenny is right. The performance of the Pelicans this season is somewhat similar to that of the Hawks last season. If they don't perform well, I won't find it too surprising to lose to the Mavericks."

Smith completely denied O'Neill's statement.

"come.on! The Pelicans have Don, they're in a completely different situation than the Hawks, and they've got 74 wins, guys, 74 wins!"

O'Neal couldn't complain about the remarks of his two partners.

This is following him for a long time, and instinctively opposed to his point of view, this is a bullshit!

"Shaq, please note that the Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki, Butler, Harris and Embiid. After they run in, they should be the top three teams in the league. It's just an accident that they are ranked eighth now."

Barkley said with a smile.

"Yes, the Pelicans won 74 wins. They still have Don. They have a better chance of winning, but the difference in strength between the two sides is not that big. The Mavericks are very promising."

Smith agreed with a smile.

The hardest thing in the world is to convince people who have a different point of view than yourself.

O'Neill spread his hands helplessly. It seems that in these two groups of matches, they could not reach an agreement.

In fact, not only the media like TNT, but also the fans' judgments on these two sets of matchups also showed huge differences.

The latest survey shows that 53% of fans really think that the Spurs can beat the Thunder.

In the matchup between the Pelicans and the Mavericks, this ratio is higher, but only 62%.

This is much lower than the Warriors (90%) and Rockets (85%).

In theory, the Pelicans' 74 wins are convincing enough.

But the strength of the Mavericks on paper, coupled with the defeat of the Pelicans in the playoffs, still makes fans not confident enough in them.

In other words, although the Pelicans played an incredible regular season, they still have a lot to prove in the playoffs.

The Pelicans have the best record in the league, and they have home court advantage against all teams in the playoffs.

Game [-] of the first-round playoffs will be played in New Orleans, two days after the regular season.

Stevens trained strictly, but in the two days before the playoffs, he let it go appropriately. He only arranged training in the morning and gave the players a rest in the afternoon.

After the day's training was over, Tang Tian came out of the shower and saw Ariza wiping his body.

He deliberately took another look and saw that the tattoo on Ariza's chest was the same as what Stephenson said was the head of Ariza's younger brother.

This shows that the rumors that Stephenson said at the beginning are true.

He looked back, and suddenly thought of something related to tattoos.

During the 2010-2011 season, Jason Terry of the Mavericks tattooed a championship trophy on the inside of his biceps in order to build his teammates' confidence in winning the championship.

This move stunned everyone at the time. Not only did the outside world laugh at his approach, but even his teammates thought he was just joking at first.

After all, the Mavericks at that time were not even the favorites to win the championship.

But in the end, the Mavericks really won the most incredible championship that season.

Terry's performance in the playoffs, especially the finals, was very eye-catching.

While that tattoo wasn't the only reason the Mavericks won the title, it was clearly one of many.

Tattooing, like getting hair done, is a very popular thing among NBA players.

Tang Tian was a coach in his previous life, coupled with his Chinese identity, he was not that interested in this area.

But Terry's story, combined with Ariza's, gave him that idea.

Davis had just come out of the shower at this time, Tang Tian stopped him directly.

"Let's get a championship trophy tattooed on our arm."

Tang Tian said directly.

Davis didn't react at first, but after sitting down and chatting with Tang Tian, ​​he nodded in agreement.

What they have to do is the same as what Terry did in the first place, and even the purpose is the same.

But the situation of the Pelicans now is definitely different from that of the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are reborn from a desperate situation, and they are determined to win.

After failing in the playoffs last year, they have no reason to lose this season.

Especially after playing such a brilliant regular season, the championship has become their only goal.

Since you have no choice, then tattoo it on your arm and remind yourself all the time.

Anyway, there was no training in the afternoon, so the two of them went to the tattoo parlor together.

At the beginning, Terry tattooed the championship trophy on the inner biceps, so that it would not be too public.

But both Tang Tian and Davis chose to have it tattooed on the outside.

They have nothing to cover their eyes, and the tattoo on the outside is a better reminder of themselves.

In the second day's training class, when Tang Tian and Davis appeared in the training hall, they attracted excited screams from their teammates.

Davis had tattoos before, and they didn't notice it immediately, but this was the first time for Tang Tian to be serious.

And such an eye-catching championship trophy, it's hard not to let people see it.

"Yes, that's it!"

Stephenson exclaimed excitedly.

"It's ours!"

Bo Yang followed suit.

Although Jokic and Ariza did not speak, they had confident smiles on their faces.

At the beginning, Terry's tattoo was taken as a joke by his teammates, but after Tang Tian and Davis got their tattoos, the teammates' reaction was to become more confident.

Both the boss and the second child of the team have made such a statement, they really must win the championship this season!

In this day's training session, the team members were all high-spirited.

Stevens was surprised when he saw it, but he understood when he saw Tang Tian and Davis' new tattoos.

His confidence in the playoffs has also increased.

Getting such a tattoo is equivalent to completely cutting off one's escape route.

After all, he got a tattoo. If he didn't win the championship in the end, it would become the laughing stock of his entire career, and he would never recover the embarrassment he lost.

Tang Tian and Davis's approach is to put their lives to death and survive. If you don't succeed, you will succeed. It is pressure but also motivation.

The core of the team is so confident, and he, the coach, must also have confidence.

Chapter 8, Chapter [-], Black Eight is expected? (Third update!)

The news of Tang Tian and Davis wearing the championship trophy was quickly exposed by the media.

This also attracted heated discussions among fans on social media.

"This is determination. Don and AD are desperate. This year, the Pelicans will definitely win the championship!"

"74 wins, this is already a proof of strength. The Pelicans are the strongest team in the league this season, and the championship is already in hand! (Pun intended)"

"Looking forward to the moment when the Pelicans win the championship, looking forward to the moment when Don proposes, and looking forward to the moment when New Orleans history is born!"

……

"Worn the championship trophy before winning the championship? Isn't that too ostentatious!"

"Although the Pelicans won 74 this season, the Warriors also won 73. This approach will stimulate the Warriors and other opponents. Defeat!"

"I'm really looking forward to the moment when the Pelicans are eliminated. I really want to see the expressions of Don and Anthony Davis at that time. It must be very interesting!"

……

The opinions of the fans are very different, divided into two factions of support and ridicule.

In this kind of discussion, the door to the playoffs has quietly opened.

The Pelicans Mavericks and Spurs Thunder in the West, the Cavaliers Nets and Heat Eagles in the East, the first four teams will play against each other.

Dallas is very close to New Orleans, and they didn't arrive in New Orleans until game day.

And after arriving in New Orleans, they only had an hour or two of acclimation training that was open to the public.

The Mavericks players seem to be in a good mood.

Although they played first in eighth place, it didn't seem to affect their morale.

"We all know the strength of the Pelicans. They are not easy to deal with, but we are the same. We played well in the second half of the season. This shows that the tacit understanding between us is getting better and better. We score a lot. We Has a chance to win the series."

Jimmy Butler, one of the core of the team, also showed confidence in front of reporters.

"We know you have a great relationship with Don, does that affect your game?"

The reporter asked.

"No, our relationship off the court will not affect our performance on the court. On the contrary, because I know him well, it will help me defend him better."

Butler replied bluntly.

There are many fans who have hope for the Mavericks Black Eight. Butler's remarks in the interview are well-founded, which makes them more convinced of this.

An hour before the start of the game, fans began to enter the New Orleans Arena in droves.

The faces of the fans were full of confidence. Many fans saw a reporter carrying a camera and ran over to shout their slogans.

"Pelican Championship!"

The matter of Tang Tian and Davis' tattoos caused fans to argue endlessly on social media, and the side that supported them gradually began to speak in unison.

And this is their slogan.

And it's not just verbal, many fans also have such slogans written on the KT boards held up high.

This slogan is catchy and will definitely accompany the Pelicans throughout the playoffs this year!

Half an hour before the game, the New Orleans Arena was packed, and the fans couldn't wait for the new season's playoffs.

Players from both sides are making final preparations in the locker room.

"Keep a normal mentality, don't get too excited, all we have to do is play normally."

The tone of Stevens' pre-match speech was very peaceful. He didn't try to mobilize the emotions of the players. Instead, he asked the players to try their best to calm down.

He is very aware of the strength gap between the two teams. As long as the Pelicans play normally, they have a great chance of winning.