NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 291 The Fired Luke Wharton
The intermission ended quickly, and the third quarter began.

As expected on the Warriors side, it was the five small lineups that were sent to the field.

On the Lakers side, after a while of consideration, Walton also took the five small lineups.

Although the Lakers' five small tacit understanding is not as good as that of the Warriors, at least they can keep up with the speed of defensive rotation, and they will not be beaten by the Warriors like walking their dogs.

In the third quarter, the first ball was given to the Warriors. Curry advanced to the frontcourt with the ball and passed the ball directly to Green.

Green got the ball and stood at the top of the arc. This is the Warriors' classic "top-of-the-arc deal".

Su Tian also ran back and forth following Iguodala, not daring to give him a chance.

The rest of the Lakers, perhaps inspired by Su Tian's words, ran very actively.

But after all, there is still a big gap between the two sides. After a while, Curry ran an opportunity to cut to the basket, and Green quickly passed the ball with a ground hit.

Curry got the ball and went straight to the basket for a layup.

53-61
The ball is switched, and it's the Lakers' turn to attack.

Ball held the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. Instead of passing the ball to Su Tian, ​​he held the ball and directed everyone to move.

"It seems that the Lakers still want to try to let Su continue to play off the ball, but will this really work?" Barkley said.

"I don't know if this will work, but at least the last game proved that letting Su play with the ball by himself is useless. You must know that Su Tian broke Jordan's record in the last game and failed to win. If this game continues The style of play in the last game will only make death worse." Kenny Smith said.

Barkley nodded upon hearing the words. If there is no change, there will only be a dead end. If there is a change, there may be a glimmer of life.

At this time, the Lakers are still actively running tactics on the court. Ball holds the ball to make a breakthrough to the basket, and passes the ball to Ingram in the bottom corner.

Ingram got the ball and broke through again. After successfully attracting Green's defense, he passed the ball to Randall.

Randall did not hesitate to receive the ball and shot directly.

Randall's position is not very good, the position of two steps inside the three-point line, which is the least cost-effective one for a long two-pointer.

bang - swish -

Randall was lucky, the basketball bounced off the backboard and fell into the net just in time.

55-61
The possession of the ball changed again, and the Warriors continued to organize the offense. This time, Clay ran a three-pointer. Green quickly passed the ball, and Clay caught the ball and made a three-pointer.

Swah——

Clay's three-pointer hit directly and steadily.

Seeing this, Su Tian couldn't help but frowned. It's impossible to continue like this. The offensive firepower of the Warriors is obvious to all. If the Lakers' defense can't have an effective impact on the Warriors, then the Lakers will only fall into a deadlock.

In the next few rounds, the development on the court was the same as Su Tian expected. The Warriors continued to expand the point difference, and the Lakers gradually began to weaken offensively.

Halfway through the third quarter, the difference between the two sides was once again opened to double digits.

Walton called a timeout and wanted to make substitution adjustments.

But before Wharton could speak, Su Tian spoke first.

"Coach, you don't need to replace me. I have no problem with my physical strength in this game, and now the team needs me."

Wharton was stunned when he heard it, and after thinking about it, he still left Su Tian on the court, so the Lakers' lineup became Hart, Clarkson, Su Tian, ​​Kuzma, and Nance.

As the Warriors played more and more minutes, the Lakers' inside players Lopez and Nance played less and less.

Now Nance finally got the chance to play, and he was very excited.

Soon, the timeout ends and the game continues.

After the game started again, everyone found that Su Tian hadn't ended, which made everyone doubtful.

"Why didn't Su take a break? Is it because he wants to chase points? But his physical strength won't make it to the end."

"Not necessarily, it may just be used as a firepower attraction point, and the main offense is handed over to teammates."

"I think Su wants to put all his eggs in one basket. If he loses this game again, the Lakers will have no hope of winning. The next game will just be slow suicide."

"I think Su has his own judgment. What if Su thinks he can catch up with the score before the end of the third quarter?"

At this time, Su Tian was advancing with the ball to the frontcourt.

After the timeout just now, the Warriors naturally made substitution adjustments, with Durant leading the bench.

At this time, it was Nick Young of the Lakers who was defending in front of Su Tian.

Seeing Nick Young defending himself, Su Tian smiled slightly, followed by a change of direction and an explosion, easily throwing off Nick Young's defense, breaking through near the free throw line and making an emergency stop to shoot a jumper.

Swah——

Such a goal is easy for Su Tian.

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

Livingston advanced to the frontcourt with the ball and passed the ball directly to Durant.

And it was none other than Su Tian who was in charge of defending Durant.

Durant is much taller than Su Tian, ​​so Durant didn't dribble too much, and directly made a jumper from outside the three-point line.

boom--

It's a pity that even Durant's shooting percentage is not much higher than Su Tian's shooting.

Nance turned around and got the rebound, and passed the ball directly to Hart who responded. Hart didn't stop when he got the ball, and turned around quickly to start a fast break.

At this time, Su Tian had already crossed the midfield line and headed for the front basket, and Hart's pass was also in front of Su Tian in time.

It's just that Hart's passing power was slightly stronger, and Su Tian quickly took two extra steps to catch up with the basketball.

After Su Tian got the basketball, he immediately collected the ball and took three steps.

bang——

Su Tian successfully dunked with both hands.

Su Tian's continuous performance has greatly boosted the morale of the Lakers players, and there is quite a momentum to catch up with the Warriors.

But the momentum didn't last long, as the third quarter was quickly over.

At the end of the third quarter, the score of the two sides came to 78-87, and the Warriors temporarily led by 9 points.

Although the point difference has been chased to single digits, the situation is still extremely dangerous, and at this time Su Tian has played the entire third quarter, exhausting a lot of energy, and it is still unknown if he will not be able to play an explosive performance in the fourth quarter.

"Speaking of which, the Lakers' ability to reach this point has shocked many people's jaws. Last season, they failed to even make the playoffs. This season they were able to play back and forth with the Warriors. It's already an improvement." Barkley felt.

"Yes, even before the start of the season, we felt that the Lakers made the playoffs a victory." Kenny Smith continued.

But O'Neal on the side seemed to disagree with this statement, "I'm not the same! Before the start of the season, I predicted that the Lakers would be a strong contender for the championship, but there are too many stars in the Warriors. If it weren't for the Warriors team, I believe the Lakers can go all the way to the finals."

The intermission passed quickly, and the fourth quarter began.

As expected, Su Tian went straight to the field, and the Warriors also showed enough respect and took all the main players.

The five small lineups on both sides collided again.

The first ball was given to the Lakers in the fourth quarter. Ball advanced to the frontcourt with the ball and passed the ball directly to Su Tian.

Everyone in Su Tian in the fourth quarter knew that the Lakers would not hide anything anymore. After all, the effect of concealment was not as good as that of Su Tian calling directly.

After Su Tian got the ball, he faced Iguodala. Su Tian first tested it with three threats, and then made a cross-step breakthrough to directly break through Iguodala's defense.

After the bonus in the fourth quarter, Su Tian's explosive power has reached a new level, and it is still not easy for Iguodala to keep up.

Relying on his explosive advantage, Su Tian came all the way to the basket, directly collected the ball and took off, regardless of Green running next to him, and directly dunked successfully.

bang——

80-87
Su Tian's slam dunk at the beginning of the fourth quarter was undoubtedly a great encouragement to the Lakers, but the scene in the Oracle Arena was much quieter.

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

Curry advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, directly found Green to cooperate with the pick-and-roll, and used the pick-and-roll to break through into the basket with the ball. Randall wanted to help defend, but Curry dodged with a small lever and hit a layup.

80-89
Su Tian looked at Curry and Cole sharply.

"I have a feeling," Barkley said suddenly.

"What do you feel?"

"Whoever of these two teams can gain an advantage in the first three quarters will win the game in the end, because the strengths of both sides are similar in the fourth quarter, and the point difference will basically be kept until the end."

Kenny Smith froze for a moment when he heard it, then nodded again.

"What you said is not unreasonable. Judging from the performance in the fourth quarter, the two sides are indeed equal in strength. It is difficult to tell the difference. They can only stalemate each other."

The next few rounds seemed to verify the guess of the two, and the point difference has been maintained at around 8 points. Even if Su Tian tried his best to hit consecutive hits, the Warriors still have their own way to deal with it.

But when the Warriors wanted to widen the gap, Su Tian was able to stand up and fight against them in time. The two sides were like wrestlers in a stalemate, and it depended on who couldn't hold the breath first.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, there was still not much change on both sides, and Cole took the lead in calling a timeout.

Cole called a timeout not because there was any problem, but because he wanted to make a substitution adjustment. Cole took Curry off to rest and Livingston played.

The Lakers also made a simple substitution and adjustment, but Su Tian had to be still on the court.

The time-out is over and the game continues.

Su Tian wanted to take advantage of the time when Curry was off the court to recover the score, but Durant started to exert his strength again.

As a result, the Lakers' idea of ​​chasing points was once again extinguished.

Until 3 minutes before the end of the game, Curry played again, and the Warriors began to reap the game.

In the end, the game ended, 105-113, and the Warriors finally won the Lakers by 8 points.

The Warriors won, and the big score came to 2-1, and the scene of Oracle Arena burst into huge cheers.

Su Tian fought the whole game, scoring 38 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds and 1 steal.

"You can't win with 66 points in a single game, let alone 38 points in a single game." James Harden sighed while watching the live broadcast.

The post-match interview with Su Tian was definitely inevitable. Su Tian thought he would be criticized, but he never expected that Wharton would be the one to be targeted.

"Mr. Coach, is there any difference between the arrangement of this game and the last one?"

"May I ask Mr. Luke, have these changes played any substantive role?"

"May I ask if we will continue to use the tactics of this game in the next game? What tactics will we use?"

"Mr. Luke, many fans now question your ability, saying that you will delay the Lakers' championship and Su's career. Do you have anything to say?"

The interview has just begun, and Wharton has already begun to feel confused.

But Wharton had some related experience anyway, so he sorted out the language.

"These changes are necessary and must be attempted. Of course, they were implemented after everyone's consistent consent. As for my ability, the management will naturally judge. When my ability is really insufficient, The management will naturally notify me to leave, and I will not continue to delay everyone, but so far I have not received a similar notice from the management."

"I know what the fans expect of us. I do have the main responsibility as the manager, but the game is not over. I believe in my players. I know better than anyone what they have been through this year. Work hard, every drop of sweat shed is meaningful."

"Maybe the Warriors are really strong, but our Lakers are not so easy to beat. This is my answer."

After Wharton finished speaking, there was scattered applause at the scene.

Su Tian smiled slightly after hearing this. Wharton's ability is indeed not very good, but at least he is a sincere person and a responsible head coach. The most important thing is that Wharton "cooperates" with him very much.

Therefore, Su Tian is still very satisfied with Wharton. As long as Wharton does not have any major problems, Su Tian will not let Wharton leave.

After the post-game interview, the Lakers took the bus back to the hotel.

After Su Tian returned to his room, he tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep.

The advantage of the Warriors is too obvious. With too many stars, the fault tolerance rate is very high, which is unmatched by the Lakers.

If you want to win the game, the Lakers must take a slant!Take a gamble!
However, even if the Lakers want to go "slant front", how should they go?Which "slant front" to take?

The next day, as soon as Su Tian woke up, he was called by Wharton to their temporarily rented arena.

After Su Tian rushed to the arena, he found that Magic Johnson had also arrived at the scene.

"Hey! Erwin, why are you here?" Seeing Johnson in the arena, Su Tian hurriedly stepped forward to say hello.

When Johnson saw Su Tian coming, he also showed his signature smile, and stepped forward to greet Su Tian.

"Hahaha, Su, I'm here to deliver good things to you, let's talk in the room."

"Good stuff?" Su Tian followed Johnson to the temporary office in the arena with a confused look on his face.

"Su, sit down, don't worry."

Su Tian sat on the sofa with a puzzled expression, waiting for Johnson's next performance.

"Su, although we are only 1-2 behind, we are actually in a desperate situation."

Johnson spoke with such a serious tone, Su Tian also became serious, and nodded his head to agree with Johnson's statement.

"So, if you want to win in a desperate situation, you must use some unconventional tricks."

"An unconventional trick?"

(End of this chapter)