Harden: Targeting Me?

The course and outcome of this game both left everyone stunned.

The Rockets' Big Three had actually been completely powerless against the Pelicans, playing even worse than the Mavericks had in the first round.

D'Antoni became the target of public criticism.

Those who had previously bragged about how great D'Antoni was were now practically sending their regards to his family.

But amid the torrent of abuse, Tang Tian, who had played brilliantly, did not escape unscathed either.

"What Defensive Player of the Year? He only wins because of the system. System Player!"

The Pelicans had won easily, and Tang Tian had played easily. Some people, furious and unwilling to accept it, brought up the System Player argument again.

Tang Tian did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw it. There were countless haters out there; there was nothing they could not find to criticize.

Still, that System Player comment did remind him of something.

The Rockets' unexpected loss in Game 1 had a lot to do with D'Antoni's suffocating decisions.

As long as D'Antoni was not an idiot, he definitely would not do the same thing again in Game 2.

At that point, besides making use of the key point he and Stevens had identified, the Pelicans also had to consider how to defend Harden.

The Rockets had suffered a Crushing defeat in Game 1, and Harden had played only 26 minutes, but he went 7-for-9 and scored a team-high 25 points.

Nearly a point per minute. That scoring efficiency was enough to show how good his form was.

In fact, in the first round against the Trail Blazers, Harden had averaged 28.8 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds, with a 44% field goal percentage.

Although D'Antoni had only just taken over and Harden had not yet