Davis's honesty made the atmosphere at the postgame press conference much lighter, but the media and fans were still focused on Tang Tian's injury the next day.
Tang Tian's MRI results were negative. There was no structural damage to his bones.
The team doctor's initial diagnosis had been correct. Tang Tian had only suffered muscle spasms and would recover after one to two weeks of rest.
In other words, Tang Tian would miss at most six or seven games. If he was lucky, he might only need to miss three or four.
This was the best possible news for the Pelicans.
Tatum also reacted quickly. After reviewing the game footage, the league handed Paul a Flagrant 2 Foul and a $30,000 fine.
The speed of the ruling also satisfied the fans.
After all, the fans on social media were right. Blindly emphasizing physical play while ignoring Flagrant Fouls would only mean heading toward another extreme.
Tang Tian slept at home that night. When he woke up the next morning, he had expected the pain to leave him unable to straighten his back.
But to his surprise, aside from some swelling and soreness, he could get up by himself, and the pain was still within his tolerance.
Still puzzled, he went into his own basketball arena and took a few shots. There was no problem at all.
Was he... healed?
He tried dunking twice more, but a sharp pain shot through his back, making him break out in a cold sweat.
It seemed impossible for him to recover that quickly. If he had, it would practically mean NBA team doctors were amateurs.
However, he could clearly feel that the pain was far lighter than it had been yesterday, to an almost exaggerated degree.
At this recovery rate, if he rested for