NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 355: After Wood, Vincent became famous

The Raptors chose to open up the situation from the inside in the first two rounds, which gave Su Tian a sense that something was wrong.

"Isn't this Raptor holding back any big moves?"

Although Su Tian was a little worried, Marc Gasol's performance did not look like he could defeat the Lakers.

In the next few rounds, the Raptors returned to their previous offensive state, with Leonard as the center point.

For the Lakers, Su Tian also stepped up his offensive efforts. The game seemed to have returned to its previous state, and the point difference slowly appeared.

At the end of the first quarter, the score difference reached 6 points, and the Raptors did not make any mistakes.

At this time, Su Tian was sitting on the bench, thinking about the Raptors' intentions while recovering his strength.

At this time, Barkley in the commentary box also asked similar questions.

"In the first two rounds, the Raptors opened up the situation from the inside. Everything was fine. Why didn't they play again in the next quarter?"

Kenny Smith shook his head and said: "I don't know, but I have some guesses."

"What guess?"

"Mark's physical strength is not enough to support such a style of play until the end of the game. To put it bluntly, he is old and injured, and his physical strength cannot keep up."

After hearing this, Barkley nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. If Mark was young, he should still be able to influence the game. As for now, we can only do our best."

The intermission ended quickly, and the second quarter began.

For the Lakers, Brunson was injured, so Walton brought in Caruso, Caruso, Nunn, Butler, George, and Wood.

The Raptors replaced VanVleet and Ibaka.

Caruso's role on the court is very simple, that is, dribbling the ball across half court, and then giving the ball to Butler or George. On the offensive end, he squats outside the three-point line, and on the defensive end, he follows his own people.

In fact, according to the original history, this season should be Caruso's famous season, but now there are too many talented people in the Lakers team, and there is no chance for Caruso to stand out.

But in contrast, this has also allowed Caruso to continue to train and improve on the defensive end and three-pointers. The current Caruso is better than himself at the same time in the previous life.

But Van Fleet felt that his opportunity had come!
In the second quarter, the Lakers attacked first. George took the ball and singled out Siakam. After breaking through, he made a steady jump shot.

The ball was transferred, VanVleet came to the frontcourt with the ball, and Caruso followed VanVleet closely.

Seeing Caruso's bright head, Van Fleet smiled disdainfully and launched a breakthrough directly.

But after launching the breakthrough, Van Fleet realized that he had underestimated the "little old man" opposite him.

Caruso's strength is not bad. He pressed his teeth to withstand VanVleet's impact, and at the same time reached out to try to interfere with the opponent's dribbling.

Van Fleet quickly protected the ball and returned to the three-point line again.

"Huh? Is this a failed breakthrough and being pushed back?"

"Normally, both of them are undrafted, with similar levels, and both are poor."

"You're still not passing the ball after all this? VanVleet is really confident. He's not afraid that the boss of the team will put him in the wrong position?"

"It's really noobs pecking each other, hurry up and pass the ball, noobs."

At this time, Van Fleet was very embarrassed, but he didn't want to give up such a good opportunity, so after getting a little space to shoot, he shot directly from a three-pointer.

boom--

But it's a pity that basketball is a direct hit.

Caruso has been with Su Tian for so many years, and he has learned something more or less.

George turned around to collect the rebound, started the fast break directly, and after being blocked in the frontcourt, he cooperated with Wood in the pick-and-roll.

George used the pick-and-roll to break through, attract the defense, and throw the ball beyond the three-point line.

Wood received George's pass from outside the three-point line and made a very confident three-pointer.

Swah——

Three point hit.

"Wood's performance is getting more and more calm. This player still looks very good. If he is trained well, there should be no problem in reaching the team's starting level." Kenny Smith said.

Barkley was noncommittal, saying: "Although his shooting is very good, I admit that, but his defense is indeed a bit broken and may become a drag on the team."

"Well, his defense does need to improve, but defense is easy to improve, and offense requires talent." Kenny Smith said again.

Barkley stopped talking after hearing this, because it is indeed the case, especially Wood's static and dynamic talents are not bad. As long as he is willing to defend and train well, it is not a big problem to be a starter.

But, who would have known that this guy is completely repelled by defense.

At this time, a few more rounds were played on the court, and VanVleet also hit a few shots. Caruso's performance was mediocre, which in Walton's opinion was a passing level.

Halfway through the second quarter, Walton made substitution adjustments. Butler and George took a break, and Su Tian came on, replacing Caruso with Vincent.

When Su Tian came up, he did not directly attack with the ball. Instead, he held the ball and used his defensive attraction to assist his teammates.

Among them, the main beneficiaries are Ingram and Wood.

Su Tian chose to benefit from Wood, mainly because this guy's defense is too weak and he cannot play for too long, otherwise problems will easily occur.

So, after playing for 3 minutes, Wood was replaced. At this time, with the help of Su Tian, ​​Wood had scored in double figures and continued to maintain his role as a surprise player.

After Wood came off the field, Ingram's side also consumed a lot of energy, so Su Tian started to play for Vincent.

Su Tian helps his teammates with the ball, not because he can't attack, but because the Raptors' double-teaming rate for him with the ball is too high, assisting his teammates more efficiently, and saving his own energy.

So in the next few rounds, Su Tian first passed the ball to Vincent who was left open outside the three-point line, assisting Vincent to hit a three-pointer.

Then with the help of tactical cooperation, a ground-breaking pass was passed to Vincent who was cutting through the air, and he hit another layup.

For several consecutive rounds, Vincent performed well with Su Tian's assists, and the attention of the crowd began to be attracted to Vincent.

"Who is this little man? How can he play so well? The Lakers' Brunson just got injured and found a replacement?"

"What should I say, the Lakers are so lucky? Why did the Lakers pick up all the treasures!"

"What do the front offices of other teams do? Young players with such potential have not yet been discovered."

"Okay, after Wood, another player has raised his value. The Lakers are very busy in the offseason."

With the help of Su Tian, ​​Vincent performed very well, and Wharton nodded repeatedly off the court.

The players on the bench also applauded in celebration, but only Caruso on the side had a bitter smile.At the end of the second quarter, the point difference at this time has reached 11 points, and the Lakers have a double-digit score advantage.

At this time, in the Lakers locker room, Walton looked at Vincent.

"Gabe, you performed well. Take the time to recover your strength. Your playing time will increase in the second half."

Vincent nodded repeatedly after hearing this, looking as excited as a child who was not yet an adult.

"Okay guys, as long as we can win this game, the big score will be 3-0. This series is only half successful. Now is not the time to relax."

Immediately afterwards, Walton took the opportunity to emphasize the issue of defense and tactical coordination.

On the Raptors side, the atmosphere was not so good.

"I think I don't need to say more, guys, we have to win this game so that we can retain our hope of winning the championship. Otherwise, 3-0, we can go home directly."

Nas's words were obviously serious, and the atmosphere at the scene was also very gloomy. Seeing that no one spoke, Nas shook his head and turned away.

Lowry glanced at Leonard and thought it would be better to say a few words himself. It is better to expect Leonard to make a speech than to expect to defeat Su Tian.

"Okay guys, everyone has heard what the coach just said, so now we have to cheer up and start the counterattack in the second half! Win this game!"

Lowry said a few words, which boosted the team's morale, but Leonard on the side was still like an outsider, indifferent.

The intermission ended quickly, and the third quarter began.

In the third quarter, both sides once again used their entire starting lineup, and Su Tian was also ready for a big battle.

The first possession of the third quarter was given to the Lakers. Su Tian advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing Lowry's defense, Su Tian broke through without saying a word.

Leonard reacted very quickly. As soon as Su Tian made a move, Leonard tried to double-team him, but Su Tian immediately stopped and made a jump shot.

Swah——

Leonard was still a step slower and did not cause any effective interference or influence on Su Tian.

The ball was transferred, Lowry came to the frontcourt with the ball and passed the ball directly to Leonard.

Leonard didn't attack directly when he got the ball. Instead, he chose to call Marc Gasol to step forward to cooperate with the pick-and-roll, and Leonard used the pick-and-roll to initiate a breakthrough.

Butler, who was in charge of defense, and Nance on the side, directly double-teamed Leonard.

Leonard passed the ball directly behind him as if he had observed it in advance.

Gasol behind him received the ball and shot a three-pointer directly.

Gasol's three-point shot was very slow, but Nance's speed was not much faster, and he did not provide effective interference in time.

Swah——

Gasol made a direct three-pointer.

Su Tian looked back at Leonard and thought to himself: "Are we going to repeat the tactical coordination of the first quarter? Starting with Gasol?"

In the next two rounds, the Raptors did as Su Tian expected, allowing Gasol to take consecutive shots. Although not all of them hit, they were indeed much better than simple outside shots.

So, just when Leonard wanted to pass another pass to Gasol inside, Su Tian stepped forward and intercepted the pass.

Because Su Tian knew that it would definitely be passed to Gasol, Su Tian's judgment was very easy and he didn't even need to use the "God's Hand" skill.

After successfully intercepting the ball, Su Tian launched a fast break with the ball and quickly came to the frontcourt, successfully attracting double-teams from Leonard and Green.

So Su Tian took the opportunity to pass the ball to George who was following behind. George caught the ball and dunked with both hands.

After George landed, he high-fived Su Tian to celebrate. The two of them were becoming more and more skillful in their cooperation.

Upon seeing this, Nas immediately made a gesture toward the court.

Su Tian didn't know what this meant, but found that the Raptors had returned to their previous normal play style, and Gasol had also returned to the role of the team's interior defender.

Seeing the Raptors returning to their normal style of play, Su Tian also began to increase the proportion of his offense with the ball to increase his offensive threat.

Halfway through the third quarter, Su Tian came off the court to rest again, with Butler and George leading the team on the court.

At this time, Vincent also came on the court, playing next to the boss. Vincent was very good at using his own characteristics, like an assassin, to score a goal from time to time.

Thanks to the efforts of Butler and George, the Lakers' offense has maintained a relatively stable level.

The Raptors' offense, especially Leonard's offense, suddenly became stronger.

At the end of the third quarter, the point difference was chased by the Raptors to 6 points.

Su Tian clearly saw from the field that the Raptors had broken out in advance.

Before, Su Tian had always been curious as to why the tricks used against knights were not used on him.

Now Su Tian knows that the Raptors are not useless, but that they have no effect even if they are used.

Su Tian was so incomprehensible in the fourth quarter. At that time, Su Tian couldn't feel any difference between the Raptors and before, because they were both weak to Su Tian.

Now the Raptors have changed and broke out early in the third quarter when Su Tian was not on the court, but even so, they only recovered a 5-point difference.

"The difference is 6 points and there is still a whole quarter of the game. Now I can say that the fourth quarter will be the most exciting time of this game." Barkley said.

Kenny Smith also nodded and said: "It wasn't until this game that I saw the Raptors' determination to win the championship. The previous Raptors always gave me the feeling of an ordinary playoff-level team."

"Yes, I hope the Raptors can bring us some surprises in the fourth quarter, and I hope both sides will not disappoint their fans."

At this time, the benches on both sides are also making different arrangements.

On the Lakers side, Walton looked at Su Tian while holding a tactical board.

"Su, the team depends on you in the fourth quarter. You know, if we can win this game, we will have an easy time in the following games. But if we can't win this game, then we will be We will encounter the strongest counterattack from the Raptors!"

Su Tian nodded to express his understanding.

For the Raptors, Nurse also hoped that Leonard would listen to what he said more, but no matter what Nurse said, Leonard looked indifferent, which made Nurse very speechless.

"Kyle, please say a few words." Nas had no choice but to turn to look at Lowry.

Lowry was also helpless and had to stand up and said: "Okay guys, no matter what happened before, don't think about what will happen next. What we need to grasp is now and win this game. This is our mission now." ! Come on, Raptors! Go!"

Encouraged by Lowry, the Raptors' morale improved again, and everyone believed that the 6-point difference could be chased!
Soon, the intermission ended and the fourth quarter began.

(End of this chapter)