After getting off the plane and arriving at the hotel, Li Tian did some simple strength training and then went back to watch Duncan's game videos.
When I watched the game between Yao Ming and Duncan, I found that Yao Ming's defense against Duncan was pretty good. In the last game, the two of them were at each other's throats.
"Brother Yao, have you rested?" Li Tian dialed Yao Ming's phone number.
"Li Tian, why are you calling at this time? It's already this time and you're not ready to rest. Will your spirit for tomorrow's game be affected?" Yao Ming is still very concerned about the game between Li Tian and Yi Jianlian.
"Yeah, it's because of tomorrow's game that I haven't rested so late. I have to defend Duncan tomorrow. I feel guilty. I just saw the replay of the game between you and him, and I want to ask you how to defend Duncan. Is it better?" Li Tian directly stated his intention.
"Well, let me think about it."
After a while.
"I have considered the advantages and disadvantages of you and him. On the offensive end, it is most appropriate for you to pull him to the outside and use your speed to get away; on the defensive end, you must keep a little distance from him to leave yourself enough room to jump. Pay attention to him. His mid-range shooting and footwork..."
"Thanks, Brother Yao, I will pay attention to it. You can rest early."
After Li Tian hung up the phone, he discovered that Yao Ming and Gasol were talking about the same thing. Using jumping, speed, strength and footsteps, he was far behind Duncan in terms of technique.
After thinking for a while, Li Tian took a rest.
...
"Hey, Li is so envious, but I still can't appear." Conley complained to Li Tian as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Why do you envy me? How about we switch and you defend Duncan." Li Tian was still immersed in thinking about how to defend Duncan.
"I would like to, but Mark won't let me. In this game, I can only sit on the bench." Conley's eyes were dull.
Li Tian sympathizes with Conley. He was the No. 4 pick in the first round of 2007. It has been almost a month since the start of the season and he has not played a few games. Looking at Durant and Horford who are ahead of him, they are already the future of the team.
Looking at the players drafted after him, there are many who have played more minutes than him. Yi Jianlian is vaguely superior to Bogut, who is the team's No. 1 pick. Li Tian is even more surprising, playing much more minutes than Conley.
"Conley, don't be discouraged. I believe you will definitely be able to get a billion-dollar contract in the future. Now that you have less playing time, you can continue to train. When you have the opportunity to play, you can use your performance to shock the world and blind them. Titanium alloy dog eyes." Li Tian encouraged Conley, it was really not easy to compare Conley with himself.
Listening to Li Tian's encouragement to him, Conley's eyes lit up again.
"Hey, the head coach's hiring is really confusing. I really can't understand his personnel arrangements." After Conley left, Gasol's daily complaints began.
"I don't know if I'm confused or not. What I know is that I have to defend Duncan today, and I'm still nervous about it now."
Li Tian still doesn't have much experience in Duncan's defense. After all, he is the man who may become the number one power forward in history.
"Haha, seeing you like this makes me feel better today. I don't have to face Duncan anymore. It's beautiful just thinking about it." Gasol laughed.
"You...you have to help me defend. You can't escape unless you run away. This is a block for you." Li Tian didn't allow Gasol to refute and left with a quick stride.
Gasol, who stayed where he was, was stunned. This was half the blame thrown on himself.
"Li, don't leave. I haven't agreed yet. I'm protesting."
Li Tianli ignored him and continued walking forward.
...
"Director Zhang, who do you think will win today's game?" Yu Jia asked a question that could be answered without thinking at the beginning.
"No need to ask, it's easy to answer. No matter how you look at it, the Spurs win. If the Grizzlies don't have the cavalry, the game may be over in two quarters." Director Zhang felt that the Grizzlies had no chance at all.
"Okay, then in this game, we just expect Li Tian to perform well."
Mark looked at the expressions and expressions of the players and knew that there was no hope for this game. With constant losses and the fact that the problems within the team had not been resolved, it was too difficult for me.
The game started and the Spurs jumped to the ball.
Li Tian ran directly in front of Duncan and defended closely.
Parker holds the ball, and Bowen steps forward to help Parker with the pick-and-roll.
Duncan pulled Li Tian down to his shooting hot spot, which on the one hand opened up space for Parker's breakthrough and on the other hand moved him to his high shooting area.
Parker did not break through the basket, but walked around to Duncan and handed the basketball hand to Duncan.
Duncan held the ball and did not look down upon Li Tian because he was a rookie.
Li Tian was fully focused, his eyes fixed on Duncan's every move.
There is a little distance between him and Duncan. This distance is just right to prevent Duncan from breaking through the basket, and at the same time, it can interfere with Duncan's sudden mid-range shot.
Duncan tried several times, but Li Tian remained unmoved.
He gave up the idea of breaking through Li Tian and prepared to post up Li Tian.
Li Tian put his left hand on Duncan's back to prevent Duncan from pushing himself towards the basket.
Duncan kept using fake moves and combined with the changes in his footsteps, Li Tian was still deceived by Duncan.
The moment Li Tian's center of gravity was shaken, Duncan suddenly took action.
Li Tian didn't have time to stabilize his body, jumped up hard, and threw himself in the direction of Duncan's shot.
Just when the basketball was about to reach its highest point, Li Tian's finger touched the basketball, and the trajectory of the basketball changed.
"Li Tian's reaction speed was too fast. When his center of gravity was shaken, he still used his bounce to successfully block Duncan." Yu Jia kept applauding with both hands, and the entire live broadcast room was filled with his applause.
"This shot blocked Duncan, but it can still be seen that Li Tian's experience is still insufficient. There are many areas that need improvement, and there is still a lot of room for improvement." Director Zhang still saw that Li Tian's lack of experience.
Gasol struggled to grab the rebound, and the Spurs players had already started to defend. Gasol, who grabbed the rebound, saw that the fast break was hopeless, so he had to hand the ball to Navarro.
Positional offense and defense are the Spurs' special skills. The Grizzlies don't have a player who can break through the Spurs' defense.
With Navarro holding the ball, the Grizzlies' only way is to create an opening for Li Tian and then open up the space.
Gasol sank to the bottom line, and Duncan followed Li Tian. Li Tian activated his running skills and constantly changed the direction and speed of his running. Duncan almost couldn't keep up with Li Tian's pace several times, but in the end he still managed to follow. Following Li Tian's footsteps.
Guy suddenly came up to block for Li Tian, blocking Duncan behind him.
After receiving Navarro's pass, Li Tian directly shot a three-pointer and hit a three-pointer.
The Spurs still focused on Duncan, but Li Tian failed to cover Duncan. The moment Duncan suddenly took off, Li Tian secretly hit Duncan. Duncan's shooting posture changed, the shot was interfered with, and the basketball bounced out of the frame.
Li Tian defended Duncan and did not take off. He turned around and blocked Duncan's shot. Gasol grabbed the rebound.
The Grizzlies successfully launched a quick counterattack, and Navarro hit a layup.
The Grizzlies started 5-0 and beat the Spurs 5-0.
"Beep!"
Popovich called a timeout.
"This, just one minute into the game, the Spurs called a timeout. Li Tian stopped the Spurs." Director Zhang couldn't believe it. It is estimated that only Popovich would call a timeout so quickly.