Embiid played pick-and-roll with Holiday in the frontcourt, and then took apart and received the ball from high and passed it back to hit a big shot and two points.

He can be low-level, shoot from the penalty area to the three-point line, and has first-hand support, coupled with excellent defense.

After the NBA ushered in the small ball era, centers, especially all-around centers, have basically disappeared.

Embiid can be said to be the rare and best in service.

22 to 14, the Mavericks still took 8 points to lead.

“defense!defense!”

The Dallas cowboys cheered again.

The Pelicans have the intention to start the trend, and Embiid's mid-range distance is very critical.

Amid the cheers of fans, the Mavericks played an iron barrel defense.

Half the offensive time has passed, and the Pelicans' continuous tactical cooperation has not started.

Tang Tian held the ball at the top of the arc and signaled Gasol to mention the pick-and-roll of the free throw line.

Gasol was big enough, and after taking it apart, Tang Tian accelerated to break through Embiid.

The Mavericks retreated inward, and Embiid also blocked them from behind.

Tang Tian suddenly entered the three-second zone and was already heavily teamed, and he had no chance to get out of his phone at all.

However, he noticed Gasol when he broke through.

After dismantling the ball, Gasol saw Embiid's defensive dynamics. He did not wait at the three-point line, but also cut in.

He was a beautiful passer without looking at people behind the scenes, and the ball was given to Gasol, who had just reached the free throw line.

This is Gasol's attack distance.

A perfect cooperation.

However, the Mavericks' defensive ability and awareness are really strong, and Powell actually assisted in defense at Gasol!

Opportunities were fleeting, and Gasol did not force the attack or singles, but threw the ball to the right.

In a round similar to the previous one, Davis's side was empty again!

But Embiid assisted in defense again!

The Mavericks played the top defense this round!

Not to mention the offense, their core lineup has played together for two years, and this tacit understanding on the defensive end!

Davis's phone is not good, but he passes the ball to the middle.

Gasol continued to move after passing the ball, and then cut to the basket!

Embiid had no time to return to defense, so Powell chose to foul to stop it, but he couldn't hold it back!

"beep!"

The referee whistle sounded.

Gasol scored the ball with a buzzer, which also caused Powell to foul!

2+1!

A beautiful goal!

Gasol waved his fist after scoring the goal.

This is his first goal in his Pelicans career!

The Pelicans' bench was in full swing.

The ball that assisted Davis in the front was 2+1, perfectly showing Gasol's playing style.

Although he is a big man of 2.16 meters, he is really flexible and likes to move and play.

Cut in, pass the ball, and cut in again. This kind of playing style is really rare in the center.

He is indeed not familiar with the Pelicans' tactics, and he plays entirely by instinct, but this instinct is very imba!

Tang Tian also raised his hand and touched Gasol's head to show encouragement.

Embiid is the best in service, but not only.

The last best all-around center is Gasol.

Gasol made a free throw, helping the Pelicans narrow the gap to 5 points.

Embiid also cut in the frontcourt, but when he took action, he was interfered by Gasol, and turned around and failed to make the move.

Compared with Harrell, Gasol caused more trouble to Embiid. It is impossible for Embiid to feel comfortable like the previous one.

The Mavericks' lead is entirely due to Embiid's advantage in the inside, or dominance.

But now that this dominance is gone, the Pelicans quickly caught up with the score and overtook it little by little.

In the end, the Pelicans lost first and then won, defeating the Mavericks 103-93 away, which was the third time in the season.

On the Mavericks, Holiday scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Conley scored 17 points and 10 assists, and Harris scored 14 points.

Embiid scored 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, but he only hit 6 goals in 18 shots, and his data and efficiency were far inferior to his previous performance.

Gasol's defense has made an indelible contribution.

On the Pelicans, Tang Tian scored only 43 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, Davis scored 21 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, and Siakam scored 13 points and 4 rebounds.

Gasol made a 28-minute substitute in the Pelicans' first game, scoring 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

Although the data does not seem very eye-catching, both head coaches Stevens and Tang Tian praised him in the post-match press conference.

"His defense against Embiid was the key to our win tonight, and he changed the situation on the court."

After all, Stevens understands football, otherwise he would not have given Gasol so much playing time in the first game.

“He is the smartest player I’ve ever seen playing.”

Tang Tian was even more proud of his praise.

"The data does not show his contribution to the team. His off-ball movement is very aggressive. He can always stand in the best attack position on the field. He is constantly reading the game and then making the best choice."

Tang Tian really blew Gasol well.

"Yes, this is just his first game. It's only been two days since he came to the team. We are looking forward to his performance later."

Stevens also agreed.

On social media after the game, Gasol's evaluation was polarized.

Half of the fans felt that Gasol was no longer as brave as he was. No matter what Stevens and Tang Tian said after the game, the data said it all.

It is really hard for a center who has scored and rebounds in single digits for nearly 30 minutes on the court, which is really worthy of his big contract of more than 20 million.

The other half of the fans think that Stevens and Tang Tian are saying it well, and they have also watched the ball, and Gasol's role is not just that little bit of data.

Because there will be no other statistics on defense except for blocking, the same is true for moving without the ball.

No one on both sides could convince anyone.

Two days later, the Pelicans flew to Boston to challenge the Celtics.

This year's All-Star Game is in Boston, and this game can also give Pelicans players a taste of the All-Star atmosphere in advance.

The Celtics finally ushered in a revival after welcoming Walker last summer.

They are now third in the East, second only to the Bucks and Raptors.

However, compared with the Pelicans, their strength is still a little worse.

In the four quarters, the Pelicans finally defeated the Celtics 112-96.

Walker scored 37 points in the air.

Tang Tian still scored only 44 points on the Pelicans.

Gasol was entrusted by Stevens in this game, and he played for 31 minutes, scored 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

Although the feel is still not very good, as Stevens said, he is becoming more and more integrated into the team and his condition begins to recover.

After the game with the Celtics, the Pelicans fought against the Knicks and the 76ers one after another.

Both teams are playing badly this season, and the Pelicans are not bloody.

Gasol's performance was better and better.

Against the Knicks, they scored 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

To play 76ers, Tang Tian rested, he scored the first 20+ of his Pelicans career, with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

As the game deepened, comments on social media began to turn to the side that supported Gasol.

And naturally, Gasol was compared with his elder brother Paul Gasol.

Then they found that history would always be surprisingly similar.

Gasol's joining may be the most important puzzle for the Pelicans to complete four consecutive championships.
Chapter completed!