NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 268 The end of the regular season, the record ranking is determined
Su Tian successfully made a two-for-one shot, and by the way, Ariza's self-confidence was hit.

Ariza, as a veteran, will naturally not be affected by Su Tian's words, and how to defend Su Tian is also a strategy set by the coach from the beginning, and he cannot change it casually.

The ball is switched, and it's the Rockets' turn to attack.

Harden held the ball and advanced to the frontcourt, still facing Su Tian's defense.

This time Harden used the pick-and-roll to connect with a step-back and directly made a three-pointer.

Harden was lucky this time. Against Su Tian's defense, he directly hit a three-pointer.

At this stage, there are not many players who can shoot against Su Tian. Harden counts as one, Curry counts as one, and Durant counts as one.

Durant's is because of his height advantage, and it is a misplacement to hit anyone.

In the next few rounds, Harden and Su Tian made consecutive moves, and the field became a rivalry between the two.

After several rounds in a row, Harden obviously developed symptoms of subsequent fatigue, physical problems began to appear, and the point difference began to be gradually caught up by Su Tian.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Su Tian successfully led his team to overtake the Rockets, and D'Antoni called a timeout.

The meaning of this timeout is very clear to both sides. After this timeout, both sides will have all the main lineups, and the two sides will enter the final decisive time.

Soon, the timeout ended, and as expected, both sides replaced all the main starting lineups at the same time.

Paul hasn't fully rested yet, but if he doesn't play again, the point difference will only get bigger and bigger, and there will be no chance if he plays again.

After the substitutions and adjustments, Paul came up and played a single with the ball by himself, and made a direct hit from the middle distance.

Harden's physical exertion is not small, and Su Tian can only block one bullet hole, so Paul needs to stand up and take responsibility at this time.

The possession of the ball was changed, and Su Tian advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

At this time, there are only 5 minutes left, and the score is 95-93. The Lakers still lead by 2 points temporarily.

After Su Tian came to the frontcourt, facing Ariza's defense, he called Lopez for a pick-and-roll, and used the pick-and-roll to break through. As Su Tian expected, the Rockets let go of Lopez and double-teamed Su Tian. .

But Su Tian didn't force a shot this time, but passed the ball to Lopez behind the back.

Lopez felt very comfortable when he received the ball, and he didn't adjust and shot directly.

Swah——

Lopez hit a three-pointer directly.

98-93
Lopez has been resting off the court for a while, and his physical strength has recovered a lot. With the addition of Su Tian's pass, he directly hit a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court.

Seeing Lopez's neat name, Su Tian also heaved a sigh of relief, and went to Lopez to give a high five to celebrate.

As long as the players can contribute, Su Tian can relax a lot. The next time the Rockets double-team, they may become hesitant, and Su Tian can play more easily.

It was the Rockets' turn to attack again, and it was still Harden who opened up the space, and Paul held the ball to organize the attack. This time, after Paul broke into the inside with the ball, he did not choose to make a shot himself, but passed the ball to Ariza in the bottom corner.

Ariza catches the ball and makes a three-pointer directly.

boom--

Ariza missed a three-pointer and shot hard.

Su Tian turned around and jumped high, successfully rushed to grab the rebound, and after grabbing the basketball, he turned around and started a fast break.

Su Tian held the ball and ran all the way to the frontcourt. Harden wanted to catch up, but was pulled away by Su Tian, ​​and the distance was getting farther and farther.

When Su Tian came to the front basket, there was no one around, so Su Tian directly dunked with both hands.

100-93
The Lakers successfully played a defensive counterattack, which increased the pressure on the Rockets sharply, and the point difference also came to 7 points.

Paul quickly took over the ball and wanted to stabilize the situation, but although the rhythm slowed down, the offense was still useless if he couldn't get in.

In the next few rounds, Paul tried to give the ball to Harden and let Harden lead the team again, but Harden was limited by his physical strength and Su Tian's defense, and he failed to become tough in the last few minutes.

And when Harden wanted to use fouls to score, Su Tian reacted alertly and never let Harden succeed.After all, after strengthening in the fourth quarter, Su Tian's ability to respond has also been strengthened.

Until the last minute, Su Tian hit a three-pointer, directly opening the point difference to double digits.

D'Antoni saw that the point difference had been stretched to double digits. He wanted to replace the main force and just admit defeat, but was rejected by Paul.

"Chris, I know you don't want to give up, but there is obviously no chance. Let's think about how to deal with the Warriors in the playoffs." D'Antoni gently persuaded.

"No, I refuse to leave the field. How will I know if I have a chance if I don't try it. What's more, our three-pointers are good at creating miracles!" Chris Paul is not tall, but his firm eyes make D'Antoni feel the pressure.

"Okay, Chris, but you must ensure your health and don't work too hard." D'Antoni saw Paul's insistence, so he had to compromise.

So the Rockets continued to be in the main lineup. As soon as the Rockets got in the car, they shot three-pointers frantically, trying to change their fate against the sky, but the result was not as good as the Rockets imagined.

In the end, the game ended, the Lakers successfully defeated the Rockets 110-99, and won this key battle!

The fans at the scene also burst into huge cheers at the end of the game. The Lakers won the game, which also means that the Lakers' No. [-] position in the Western Conference has been completely stabilized.

After the game, the Lakers' record came to 66 wins and 15 losses, and the Rockets' record came to 64 wins and 17 losses.

And both sides have only the last regular season game left, so that is to say, even if the Lakers lose the last game and the Rockets win, the Lakers still have a better record than the Rockets and still occupy the first place in the Western Conference!

Therefore, it can be said that this game is the final game of the Lakers' regular season this season, and the main players of the Lakers will definitely not attend the last game.

本场比赛，苏天全场拿到了37分12助攻8篮板2抢断1盖帽，全场最佳。

As for the Rockets, Harden's performance in the first three quarters was not bad, but in the fourth quarter's matchup with Su Tian, ​​he was obviously suppressed by Su Tian, ​​scoring 21 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

Paul is the Rockets' best player, scoring 22 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.

As soon as the game was over, Harden and Su Tian hugged each other.

What the fans saw through the camera was that the two hugged each other friendly and greeted each other with a smile at the same time, showing a very close relationship.

In fact. . .

"Su, you are really ruthless. You don't give me a chance. If you take away the first place in the Western Conference, you will be allowed to take it, but I guarantee that you will not be able to make it to the Finals! Our Rockets will definitely keep you in the Western Conference."

"James. It's not that I look down on you. You should first find a way to pass the Western Conference semifinals. Don't work hard for a season, and you won't even make it to the Western Conference finals."

"Are you kidding! Only you and I are the heroes of the world, and the rest are all sold to Seoul."

After the two finished speaking, they patted each other on the shoulder.

"By the way, James, watch out for Draymond Green."

Although Su Tian didn't say it clearly, Harden also nodded. Everyone played in the league and knew more or less, so they could probably guess what Su Tian wanted to say.

Seeing Su Tian and Harden embracing intimately, Barkley in the commentary suddenly remembered that these two are still the biggest competitors for this season's regular season MVP.

So, I naturally thought of another superstar of the Rockets.

"I remember that in the season when Kobe and Paul competed for the MVP of the regular season, was it the last game where the two played against each other to completely determine the winner?"

Kenny Smith thought about it after hearing it, and said: "It should be in 08, but Paul was still at his peak in that season. To be honest, I think it's reasonable for both of them to win, but the last match between the two is indeed true. It will affect the selection of the two."

When O'Neill heard that Kobe was involved in the topic, he immediately regained his spirits.

"No, no, I think Paul should win the MVP. Although the two lost the match, Paul's high-level statistics were better that year, and Paul was also the assists and steals leader that season. .He just suffers from his age."

"Don't say that, the regular season MVP selection is still very fair, at least we can be sure that there will be no parallel imports of MVP." Kenny Smith hurried to make up.

"I don't think so, maybe there will be a parallel MVP in the future." O'Neill said.

Barkley immediately laughed loudly when he heard it, "Dude, are you serious? Hahahaha MVP will have parallel imports? No. [-] pick will have parallel imports, even MVP will have parallel imports."

"I would rather believe that a second-round pick leads the team to win the championship and win the fmvp, and I don't believe that the regular season MVP will have parallel imports."

Although O'Neill has always insisted on his own views, he was still overshadowed by Barkley's ruthless ridicule.

After the game against the Rockets, the Lakers played back-to-back the next day, the last regular season game, and played the Clippers away.

It is said to be an away game, but in fact Staples has already been conquered by the Lakers this season, or in other words, by Su Tian.

And in this game, as everyone predicted before, the Lakers did not let the main players play, and they took turns resting the entire starting lineup.

On the Clippers side, the main players were all out, and there was no disturbance in the game. The Clippers suppressed the Lakers from the beginning of the game until the end of the game.

In the end, the Clippers defeated the Lakers 115-100, but even if they defeated the Lakers, the Clippers' record was only 43 wins and 39 losses, and they missed the playoffs.

The moment the game ended, it also meant that the Lakers' 17-18 regular season games were all over, and the Lakers' record was also frozen after this game ended, with 66 wins and 16 losses.

Compared with the previous season, the Lakers only got 26 wins and 56 losses. This season, the Lakers have improved a lot, with a full 40 more wins. In addition, the Lakers have not changed much in the past two seasons, and the coach has not changed. It is clear at a glance who influenced the team to go to No. [-] in the West.

And this is also one of Su Tian's powerful weapons to compete for the MVP of the regular season, and it can be regarded as a bonus for some of the Lakers' weakness last season.

At the same time, the Rockets are also playing against the Kings in an away game. Like the Lakers, the Rockets have all the starting lineup rested. In the end, the Rockets lost to the Kings 83-96, with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses.

April 4 is also the end of the league's regular season. After this day, all the league's regular season games are over.

As soon as the regular season ended, the final results regarding the record rankings came out.

The first is the Eastern side. From first to eighth, they are Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Digital, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Washington Wizards.

The Cavaliers dropped from No. [-] in the Eastern Conference to No. [-] at the beginning. The main reason is that the Cavaliers have been changing their lineup this season. An unstable lineup means that the locker room is unstable. Even James is gradually unable to hold back. up.

But there is also good news. At least Tyronn Lue was not changed halfway this time. It may be that the title of two consecutive championships is still shining enough, and the management has no intention of moving for the time being.

However, if this season still fails to produce results, it is estimated that Tyronn Lue's Cavaliers coaching career is over.

The first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs is nothing to watch. The biggest thing to watch is what kind of performance James can play when he obviously lacks helpers.

On the west side, from first to eighth are the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, and San Antonio Spurs.

On the western side, the Rockets and the Lakers fought to the death for the No. [-] position in the Western Conference. The competition for the second ranking is equally fierce. Just look at the record to see how fierce it is.

从第四到第八分别是，开拓者49胜33负，雷霆48胜34负，爵士48胜34负，鹈鹕48胜34负，马刺47胜35负。

The fourth to the Blazers and the eighth Spurs are only 2 games apart, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh records are the same.

This is not over yet, the ninth-ranked Timberwolves and the eighth-ranked Spurs are both 47 wins and 35 losses, and the tenth-ranked Nuggets are 46 wins and 36 losses.

The tenth Nuggets in the West can be ranked sixth in the East.

From this we can see how fierce the competition in the West is.

Before the start of the playoffs, the league also gave a two-day holiday, which cannot be called a holiday. For the playoff teams, it is more about preparing for the playoffs.

The Lakers first performed a physical examination on all the players in the team to ensure that everyone played in a healthy state.

Especially Su Tian who was taken special care of by the team.

Su Tian is the top priority of the Lakers. Once Su Tian has a physical problem, the Lakers can announce the end of the playoffs before it starts, and then watch the Spurs black eight.

Speaking of the playoffs against the Spurs, Walton is the most excited.

Although Wharton knew that he was taking advantage of Su Tian, ​​being able to face Popovich and beat him in the playoffs was undoubtedly a huge temptation for Wharton as a coach.

But fortunately, Wharton's head is still clear, and he didn't want to play some tricks because of this. In order to show his coaching ability, he used some weird tricks, and everything was centered on Su Tian.

(End of this chapter)