Beating D'Antoni to a Pulp

After the timeout, D'Antoni made a substitution adjustment, taking Capela and Brewer off and sending Tucker and Batum in.

He had switched to a One Big Four Small Lineup.

Cousins powered his way at Jokic in the paint, and Davis came over to help defend.

Jokic could not match Cousins physically, but he lowered his center of gravity and held his ground.

Seeing Davis come over on the help defense, Cousins directly flung the ball to Tucker in the corner.

The strength of a One Big Four Small Lineup lay in the spacing on the floor. Once a double-team came, it was easy to create a wide-open shooting opportunity.

Smack!

But Ariza, charging in from the side, leaped through the air and stole the ball cleanly!

The results of Stevens' training camp were showing.

Defense did not rely on individuals, but on a genuine system.

Good defense was not waiting for the opponent to make a choice before reacting. It involved anticipation, and that anticipation came from the system.

Davis would definitely rotate over to help, and Cousins' options were either to force his way in or pass. His success rate attacking one against two was not high, and if he passed, it would definitely go toward the side from which the double-team had come.

These were all things Stevens had explained and drilled repeatedly at training camp.

The Pelicans turned the steal directly into a fast break. It was three-on-two in the frontcourt, and Davis took Tang Tian's pass for a layup down the middle.

9-5!

The Rockets had opened with a 5-0 run against the Pelicans. Stevens called a timeout, and the Pelicans answered with a 9-0 run!

But after D'Antoni called a timeout, the Rockets came back and committed a turnover, allowing the Pelicans to strike back