NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 325 The end of the winning streak, the true nature of a businessman

Su Tian's timely response gave Su Tian an excellent opportunity, but at the same time, it also made Paul very puzzled.

"How did he know that I was going to steal it? Shouldn't it? I did it very covertly?"

But obviously Paul's question cannot be answered.

In the next few rounds, Paul still habitually held the ball by himself, trying to direct his teammates to move.

But Harden has already started to take the initiative to ask for the ball. Paul can't pretend to be invisible. He can only pass the ball to Harden according to the coach's arrangement and become a dribbling guard.

Harden is naturally capable. The Rockets have certain strength under Harden's leadership, but compared with the fully-formed Lakers, they are still not enough.

Halfway through the third quarter, the point difference had reached double digits. Su Tian rested at ease, leaving Butler and George on the court.

When the Rockets saw Su Tiantian on the field, they quickly asked Paul to play a few games with the ball, so that Harden could take the opportunity to rest and recover his strength.

But Harden had just rested for less than 2 minutes, and the joint bombing of George and Butler came.

Although George and Butler are not as good as Su Tian, ​​they are undisputed All-Star players. If the two cooperate with each other, the Rockets have no chance of winning.

As a result, the double-digit point difference remained until the end of the third quarter.

At this time, Harden was sitting on the bench panting. Although he was very tired, Harden's eyes were focused on the score on the court, and he would glance at Su Tian, ​​who was on the Lakers' bench, from time to time.

At this time, Su Tian's leisurely appearance on the bench formed a sharp contrast with Harden.

In normal times, Harden seems to love to play and carefree, but in fact Harden has a heart that refuses to admit defeat.

Especially after the Lakers formed the Big Three this season, Harden felt that he was no worse than Su Tian, ​​it was just that there was a gap in the lineup and he was just unlucky.

Then Harden turned his head and looked at the teammates around him. Only one Paul could be regarded as an All-Star level, and there was nothing to say about the others.

However, Harden seems to have forgotten that Su Tian led a bunch of bottom Lakers last season, and he could still beat the Rockets now.

Soon, the fourth quarter begins.

Facing the double-digit point difference in the fourth quarter, Harden didn't have much confidence in his heart.

The main reason is that Harden is too familiar with Su Tian. It is because he is too familiar that he knows what it looks like when Su Tian breaks out in the fourth quarter.

The first ball in the fourth quarter was given to the Rockets, and Harden himself advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

Harden's move is naturally to protect the ball, but at this time it is Su Tian who is facing Harden.

So Su Tian directly stepped forward to press the defense, using the skill of death entanglement, Harden was also very uncomfortable, and could only barely protect the basketball from being intercepted.

Seeing that he couldn't deal with Su Tian by himself, Harden could only call his teammates to come over and help.

With the help of his teammates, Harden finally got rid of Su Tian's defense temporarily, and immediately passed the ball to his teammates to make the basketball run.

Although Harden got rid of Su Tian's defense for the time being, in the next few rounds, Harden basically didn't want to play any more.

Under Su Tian's full defense, Harden's performance was completely different from before.

On the offensive end, Su Tian continuously broke through Harden's defense, and the contrast between the two's offense and defense was very obvious.

And because it was already the fourth quarter, Su Tian also increased the proportion of his shots, which made Harden's defense even more useless.

After playing for 5 minutes in the fourth quarter, D'Antoni called a timeout. At this time, the point difference had been controlled by Su Tian to 16 points. The Rockets had little chance, but judging by Harden's expression, it was obviously not so easy to give up.

So D'Antoni thought about it, and finally decided to replace all the main players, preparing to head-to-head with the Lakers for the last time.

As for the Lakers, it's even easier. Take George and Butler up, and the Big Three Lakers can directly overwhelm the Rockets.

After substitutions and adjustments, players from both sides played again.

This time it was Su Tian's turn to whisper to Harden.

"James, who did you say was the loser?"

Seeing Su Tian's smug expression, Harden gritted his teeth in anger.

But Harden is also a player who wants face, and he can only get it back on the court.

So Harden held the ball again, faced Butler, and after continuous dribbles under the crotch, he suddenly took a sideways step and made a three-pointer.

Swah——

Harden, who was still sluggish just now, suddenly became stiff after changing his defender, and looked at Su Tian provocatively.

But Su Tian smiled and didn't respond, but pushed forward with the ball to the frontcourt.

After coming to the frontcourt this time, facing Paul's defense, Su Tian actually made the same choice as Harden.

After continuous crotch dribbles, he suddenly took a sideways step and made a three-pointer.

Swah——

Su Tian also hit a three-pointer.

"James, I know what you know, but you can't learn what I know."

Okay, Harden, who was better just now, once again fell into Su Tian's shadow.

In the next few rounds, under Butler's defense, Harden occasionally played, but he still couldn't catch up with the point difference.

And Su Tian has already started to pass the ball to drive his teammates, otherwise the point difference would have exceeded 20 points.

In the end, the Rockets took the initiative to replace the main players and announced their surrender.

120-101, the Lakers easily defeated the Rockets.

As the Rockets' first scoring point, Harden scored a quasi-triple-double of 32 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds.

Chris Paul, as the team's only second All-Star player, scored 14 points, 9 assists and 1 rebound. The statistics are average, but after all, he is old and everyone can understand.

Except for Paul and Harden, only Gordon scored in double figures, and there are no other players who have scored in double figures.

而湖人这边，苏天全场拿到27分12助攻7篮板3抢断，乔治全场拿到25分6助攻7篮板，巴特勒本场主要负责防守哈登，得分稍微少一些，拿到18分5助攻5篮板。

After the game, Harden and Su Tian returned to the state of good brothers.

Su Tian took the initiative to come to the Rockets' bench and hugged Harden.

"James, you played well. No matter how hard you work, you will soon surpass me."

"go away."

"Ha ha ha ha."

After the game against the Rockets, the Lakers unknowingly created a feat of 28 consecutive victories at the beginning. Naturally, the reporters on the scene would not miss this opportunity.

"Su, first of all, congratulations on bringing your opening winning streak to 28 games. May I ask what you think of Harden's performance in this game?"

The reporter asked Su Tian to comment on his good brother, so Su Tian naturally wouldn't lose face.

"There is no doubt that James is the only core of the Rockets. With James, the Rockets are a real championship team. It's just that Harden still needs to be strengthened. I hope he can become better."

"Then may I ask, will the Lakers continue with the record of winning streak at the beginning?"

"It depends on the specific arrangement of the team. I completely follow the coach's arrangement."

After dealing with the reporters, the Lakers returned to the hotel.

Su Tian sat in his room for a while, and as expected, Wharton knocked on the door.

"Coach, what's the matter, is there anything else?"

"It's nothing, I came to talk to you about the next game."

Wharton looked at Su Tian, ​​and continued: "For the next game, I plan to let everyone take turns to ensure the overall health."

Su Tian nodded and said: "I agree with this. The record has already been broken, so it's meaningless to keep playing. It's more important to ensure the health and integrity of a good lineup."

Su Tian and Wharton reached an agreement in a few words and determined the direction of the next game.

Therefore, on December 12, the Lakers played away against the Hornets, and the Big Three took turns again.

The Hornets currently have a record of 14 wins and 14 losses, which is exactly half of the winning percentage. The head star is Kemba Walker.

According to the current record of the Hornets, it is a team on the edge of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, so naturally every game is a must.

In this game, the three of Su Tian wore casual clothes and sat on the bench beside the court to watch the game.

Without the support of the Big Three, it would be difficult to rely on Brunson and Ingram to support the team.

In the first half, the Lakers and Hornets were able to play back and forth, but in the second half, the integrity of the Lakers began to become loose. After all, the Lakers did not have a definite main offensive point at this time, unlike the It is a whole, but it looks like anyone can play with the ball.

Walker also took the opportunity to seize this opportunity, holding the ball and breaking through to the inside to score consecutively. After attracting the attention of the defense, he began to break through and score the ball to drive his teammates.

In the end, the Lakers lost 100-107, and the Lakers kept their winning streak at 28 games.

Although the winning streak was ended, the entire Lakers team seemed very relaxed, and no one felt sad.

The main reason is that during this period of time, everyone has been under the pressure of a winning streak, their spirits are tense, and they can't sleep well.

But after this loss, the atmosphere of the team returned to normal.

The news that the Lakers' opening winning streak ended also attracted a large wave of reporters to interview, and Walton, as the team's head coach, bore the brunt.

"Mr. Wharton, how do you comment on this coaching career that started with a winning streak?"

"Without a doubt, it's an experience that I'm very proud of and I think when I'm old, it's going to be a very fond memory of me."

"Mr. Coach, do the Lakers have any plans for the next regular season? Or do they have any goals?"

"Su also answered this question before. Our Lakers team has always been chasing the championship this season. We don't put our record in the regular season first, so it is normal to have ups and downs in the subsequent schedule. This Don't worry, everyone."

The next day, the news about the end of the Lakers' winning streak was already flying all over the sky, but although everyone was reporting, the degree of discussion did not seem to be high.

"It's only a matter of time before the Lakers' winning streak ends. It's just a matter of sooner or later. Now it's more appropriate for the Lakers to take the initiative to welcome defeat."

"Everyone knows that the Lakers are saving their strength, so there is nothing surprising."

"It's normal for the Lakers to win consecutive games or lose. What we are concerned about now is who will win this year's championship."

On December 12, the Lakers played back-to-back away games against the Wizards.

Walton made another adjustment to the Lakers' lineup. When the Big Three returned, Kuzma, Brunson, Nance, and the three took turns.

Walton wants to separate the main players and the substitutes for rest, so as to ensure the overall strength of the team while allowing teammates to get as much rest as possible.

The Wizards' record is slightly better than that of the Hornets, but the two players on the team who can play are Wall and Bill.

At the beginning of the game, the Big Three of the Lakers directly exerted their strength and took the lead in taking the lead.

When the Wizards' backcourt combination wanted to exert their strength, they were blocked back by Su Tian and Butler.

Even Wall didn't believe in evil and wanted to make a strong breakthrough, but was intercepted by Su Tian consecutively. After the steals, they all counterattacked, making the point difference even bigger.

In the end, under the control of the Big Three, the game ended, and the Lakers easily won the Wizards 128-101, rejecting the losing streak.

After the game against the Wizards, the Lakers' record came to 29 wins and 1 loss, temporarily ranking first in the Western Conference.

Immediately afterwards, the Lakers only had a day off before heading to Brooklyn again to play against the Nets.

Speaking of which, the Nets and the Lakers still have some connections, because the current star of the Nets is D'Angelo Russell from the Lakers.

But then again, Russell plays point guard and directly confronts Su Tian, ​​so there is no suspense in this game.

And the direction of this game was completely in line with everyone's previous predictions. Russell was so ecstatic by Su Tianfang that he shot less than 5% from the field and only scored 6 points, 4 assists and [-] rebounds.

The Lakers also easily won the game with a score of 115-99.

In fact, in the first half, Su Tian was indeed defending with all his strength. Russell scored 2 points throughout the first half, but from the second half, Su Tian started paddling, but at this time Russell's mentality appeared. The problem is that I failed to adjust my state, which caused the performance of the audience to collapse.

After the game against the Nets, the Lakers also ended this wave of three-game streak and can finally return to the home court.

After returning to Los Angeles, Walton directly announced the holiday. The next game is three days later, so there is plenty of time.

At this time, Su Tian, ​​who was leisurely enjoying his vacation, suddenly received a notification from Bill Duffy that the All-Star voting was about to start.

Su Tian has been immersed in the game this season, and really didn't notice the All-Stars. After Duffy's reminder, he realized that the All-Stars are approaching again.

So taking advantage of the holiday when there was no competition, Su Tian followed Bill Duffy to record related videos, the main purpose of which was to solicit votes for himself.

Three days later, on December 12, the Lakers played against the Pelicans at home.

I don’t know why this game, the Lakers, Johnson, Pelinka, and Jenny Buss all attended.

Of course, not only these three people, but also some Lakers executives.

Most people are still a little confused seeing this scene, such as Paul George.

"Su, what is this for? Is today an important festival?"

"It's nothing Paul, maybe it's just that they suddenly want to watch a game, don't worry about them, just play our ball well."

George nodded, still with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

As for Su Tian, ​​he naturally knew why this group of people came to watch the game. After all, they were businessmen, so they couldn't afford it early.

(End of this chapter)