"The Pelicans can't defend both Harden and Paul at the same time, just like they couldn't defend both Durant and Curry at the same time last game."
Miller watched for a while before withdrawing his gaze. Tang Tian merely looked more fired up, and he still leaned toward the Rockets winning.
"I have a feeling they'll pull it off."
McGrady did not directly refute him, instead expressing his opinion in a very tactful way.
Pre-game warm-up dunks consumed a lot of energy.
And it was not just Tang Tian. The entire Pelicans team looked highly energized tonight.
That was his intuition.
Miller smiled and said nothing more. Relying on intuition to commentate on a game? McGrady was not the second Tang Tian fanboy; he was the second Barkley!
As they spoke, the players on the court had already finished warming up, and the arena entered the Entrance Ceremony.
The two teams' starters took the court one after another.
Ariza returned for the Pelicans. Holiday and Tang Tian remained on the perimeter, with Davis and Jokic inside.
The Rockets also fielded their regular lineup, with Paul and Harden on the perimeter, Tucker and Morris at forward, and Cousins at center.
After the starting lineups took the court, Cousins won the tip-off over Davis, and Pelicans vs. Rockets officially began amid fans' cheers.
The Rockets went to Cousins first in the frontcourt. Cousins powered into Jokic inside and scored.
Under the new referee's whistle, Cousins was truly somewhat unstoppable in the paint.
On the other end, Tang Tian and Jokic ran a pick-and-roll to pull Cousins out. Tang Tian deceived Cousins with a fake pass inside, then stopped sharply and knocked down a pull-up jumper in response.
Cousins continued to attack the basket. After drawing Davis's double-team, he powered up and drew