Carter entering the Slam Dunk Contest pushed this year's All-Star hype to an even higher level.
Combined with Xiao Hua's reforms, this year's All-Star festivities were absolutely going to make history.
Because of that, the Pelicans' upcoming game against the Magic became even more anticipated.
It was actually quite interesting. In the Pelicans' schedule, Tang Tian chose to enter the Slam Dunk Contest, then faced LaVine, followed by Gordon, and finally Carter.
The coincidence in that stretch of games was so perfect that it seemed prearranged.
But perhaps that was God's will.
The Magic were in a similar situation to the Timberwolves, except they did not have as many promising young talents.
The Timberwolves at least had the possibility of cashing in on their potential, while the Magic were truly a bottom-feeder.
Their record was poor, and Gordon was the only one who could really be called talented.
Their ready-to-play players—Vucevic, Fournier, and Biyombo—were all standard starters on weak teams, neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
The matchup between Tang Tian and Gordon was the only thing fans were looking forward to.
Even so, Amway Arena was still packed to capacity on game day.
The Pelican Effect was still going strong.
There were even quite a few people in the arena wearing Tang Tian jerseys.
For fans in these small cities, that sight was genuinely frustrating.
But there was nothing they could do if their own team was not good enough. Strictly speaking, the Pelicans had been a small market team before, an even smaller one than theirs.
During warmups, urged on by the fans, Gordon put on a show with several double-pump power dunks, sending the crowd into wave after wave of excitement.
Gordon's dunking style was completely different from LaVine's.
His defining trait was violence.
With that frame,