NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 381 Stevens’ whetstone, five consecutive away games with high intensity
Although Harden and Su Tian faced each other in this game, part of the time was still staggered, and they still got good data.

24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds
But at the same time, because of Su Tian's defense, he also made 6 turnovers.

Gordon's performance on the bench was good, but it is still unreliable to rely on Gordon to overturn the Lakers.

After the game, Harden and Su Tian walked to the midfield position and hugged each other.

"Su, wait for me this time. I will definitely defeat you in the Western Conference Finals."

"Hahaha James, you should first find a way to reach the Western Conference Finals."

In the past two years, due to the sudden rise of the Lakers, the Rockets have not even touched the floor of the Western Conference Finals.

After the game against the Rockets, the Lakers continued their road trip. The game against the Rockets was just the first stop of five consecutive away games.

On January 1, the Lakers played against the Celtics away from home.

The Celtics' lineup has also changed this season.

Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Hayward, Tatum, Theis.

The core lineup of the two top players is beginning to be established. At the same time, there is Smart on the bench who is eyeing him.

However, such a young lineup obviously cannot have any impact on the Lakers, and it is not even considered difficult.

With Su Tian to contain Brown, George to contain Hayward, and thick eyebrows to contain Tatum, there is only one Kemba Walker left. It is not a problem to rely on the team's overall defense to win.

But after the game started, Su Tian discovered what was different about the Celtics.

The real focus of the Green Army, Stevens.

Under Stevens' hands, these young men cooperated with each other and displayed extraordinary combat effectiveness.

In the first quarter, the Celtics and Lakers played directly at a 33-30 score, 3-[-], with the Lakers only leading by [-] points.

In the second quarter, Stevens even wanted to take advantage of Su Tian's rest time to widen the gap.

But fortunately, the Lakers had George to stabilize the situation and didn't really let the Celtics open up, but they still gave the Greens a 5-point lead.

It wasn't until Su Tian came on the court that the situation on the court changed.

At the end of the first half, the Lakers successfully overtook the Celtics and ended the battle with a 6-point lead.

In the third quarter, the starting lineups of both sides battled again, and Tatum began to show his strength, scoring a lot of points with sudden shots.

But after McGee joined the defense, the situation returned to the Lakers' hands again.

Halfway through the third quarter, Su Tian came off the court to rest. As usual, the opponent would also withdraw some of its main players at this time to deal with Su Tian in the fourth quarter.

But at this time, Stevens did the opposite and asked the main force to increase their offensive output.

Su Tian frowned as he watched, "What does Stevens want to do?"

At the end of the third quarter, facing the crazy output of the Celtics' main lineup, the Lakers were still caught up in the score, and the two teams were actually tied.

"The Celtics are really good. They were able to tie the game in three quarters."

"Indeed, these young people, I have to say, have unlimited future prospects."

"Hey, so we can see full strength Su again in the fourth quarter?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe Su Tian quickly opened up the point difference in just a few rounds, so we can only watch for a few minutes."

"Look at how hard the Celtics' main force worked in the third quarter. They definitely couldn't keep up in the fourth quarter. Facing Su in the fourth quarter, the Celtics had no resistance at all. I really don't know what Stevens was thinking. of."

But at this time, Su Tian, ​​who was sitting in the audience, had already figured it out.

"Stevens never wanted to win from the beginning!"

"He's using the Lakers as a whetstone!!"

"Chasing the Lakers in the first three quarters has already accomplished Stevens' goal. He is using this to build the confidence of these young people."

"Stevens' idea is really good, but I don't know if these young people can withstand it in the fourth quarter."

Soon, the intermission ended and the fourth quarter began.

Su Tian came on the court with thick eyebrows, while Tatum led the Celtics.

It seems like the Celtics are still fighting for victory, but in fact they are ready to give up.

Su Tian came to the frontcourt with the ball, and Smart was naturally responsible for defending Su Tian.

Smart's defense was very aggressive. Su Tian looked at Smart's defensive posture, as if he was ready to step forward to steal at any time.

So Su Tian deliberately used a flaw, and Smart caught wind of it and immediately stepped forward to steal it.

Su Tianjiao smiled slightly, suddenly pulled the ball back, followed by a behind-the-back dribble, and broke out again to easily complete the breakthrough.

After taking two steps forward, he immediately stopped for a jump shot.

Swah——

"Okay, Su really did not disappoint us. He easily hit the shot from the beginning. Smart is still too young." Barkley said.

"Yes, if Smart has carefully read Su Tian's information, he should know that in the past two seasons, Su Tian has never been intercepted while dribbling. He is the best player in the league in protecting the ball." Kenny - Smith said.

At this time, the ball possession on the court changed, and Smart came to the frontcourt with the ball, wanting to pass the ball directly to Tatum.

But Smart's intention of passing the ball was too obvious, and Su Tian successfully caught the passing trajectory, so he quickly attacked and directly completed the steal.

Su Tian didn't stop when he got the ball, and rushed directly to the front basket. Smart wanted to turn around and chase, but he couldn't catch up at all.

So Su Tian, ​​with Smart watching, collected the ball, took off, and dunked with both hands.

"Beautiful! Even though Su is late, he's here!!!"

"I knew how we could miss Su Tian's dunk in the fourth quarter!"

Su Tian's attack and defense perfectly explained the meaning of "Full Su".

At this time, Stevens on the sidelines couldn't help but admire secretly.

"He is worthy of being a Grand Slam player last season. His overall strength is more comprehensive than Jordan's!"

"If you are lucky enough to coach such a star, that would be such a blessing!"

Stevens thought as he looked at Luke Walton on the Lakers bench.

"What a lucky guy."

In the next few rounds, Tatum has been trying to use his personal abilities to drive the team, but it turns out that Tatum's personal abilities are not enough.

In a few rounds in the middle, Su Tian even switched defenses in front of Tatum, which naturally required some education.

Taking advantage of the dead ball opportunity, Stevens made the entire starting lineup, and the same was true for the Lakers.

However, the point difference at this time was already double digits, and the Celtics' substitution was more like a symbolic protest.

Just shouting slogans without any substantive actions.

After substitutions and adjustments, the Lakers' overall strength increased again. After a wave of scoring climax, the Celtics were completely defeated.

In the end, the Lakers won the game 121-105.

Su Tian scored 38 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals, and was once again awarded the best of the game.In the post-game interviews, local reporters in Boston naturally asked questions about their views on the Celtics.

"The Celtics are still very good, with excellent players and excellent coaches. The Celtics have an extremely bright future and will be championship contenders in the next few years."

Su Tian's evaluation is undoubtedly very high. After all, the current Celtics can only be regarded as improving. When it comes to competing for the championship, everyone always feels that it is not enough.

As the current number one active player, Su Tian's words are still very credible.

"Then I would like to ask Su, what do you think of these young people in the Celtics team? Or do you have any suggestions?"

Su Tian thought for a moment and said: "There is no doubt that these players have good potential and will definitely become All-Star players in the future, or even they will not be All-Stars in the future."

"As a suggestion, I hope they can stay healthy and be careful not to be troubled by injuries."

Su Tian's few words, although not many, were very sincere, and the local reporter in Boston also expressed his goodwill.

The media in Boston the next day.

"The undisputed No. 1 in active service—Su Tian!" ! 》

"On No. 1's mind, Su Zhizhi said that he hopes young players can stay healthy. 》

"Su: The Celtics have a bright future, Tatum and others are more than just All-Stars!" 》

"The current No. 1 endorses the Green Army, and the Celtics will become a championship contender!" 》

Because Su Tian has a high opinion of the Celtics, these reporters are also willing to praise Su Tian higher, so that Su Tian's words about the Celtics can be taken more seriously.

After the game against the Celtics, the Lakers continued their road trip.

On January 1, the Lakers went to New York to play against the Knicks.

Because the Lakers previously sent Randall to the Timberwolves through a trade, Randall naturally couldn't come to the Knicks.

So the current Lakers and Knicks have no connection.

The Knicks' current record is also very eye-catching, with 10 wins and 34 losses.

Because after beating the Knicks, the Lakers would play the Nets back-to-back, so Walton chose to rest some of his main players in this game.

After communication, the three giants, George, Nongmei, and Su Tian, ​​all took turns.

Originally, Su Tian didn't want to take a break. After all, this was Madison Garden, but then he thought about it. He couldn't play in garbage time anyway, and it would probably be useless to score high.

So this time the Lakers' starting lineup became Brunson, Nunn, Dunro, Kuzma, and McGee.

The starting lineup is [-]%, and Brunson, Nunn and Kuzma are naturally happy.

These three people were originally the strengths of the Lakers' bench. Now that the Big Three are no longer there, the three automatically form the new "Big Three."

And this game was as expected. The Knicks had no effective resistance, and Brunson almost destroyed the Knicks' inside line.

During the bench time, Curry Jr. and Dun Luo began to work hard on the outside.

Because the defensive strength of the Knicks' bench lineup is indeed worrying, this gives an opportunity to two masters without the ball.

Continuous hits from the outside, directly widening the point difference.

In the end, the Lakers won the game 119-92.

Brunson was the backbone of this game, scoring 33 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

In addition, Nunn and Kuzma both scored 20+, and Curry Jr. and Dun Luo also scored in double figures.

The Lakers' bench made the Knicks unable to hold their heads high.

After this battle, the Knicks fans' rhetoric became more intense, especially when they greeted the Knicks management.

But these have nothing to do with the Lakers.

The next day, the Lakers faced the Nets back-to-back.

Considering that Brunson was very exhausted in yesterday's game, Walton chose to let Brunson rest.

So the Lakers' starting lineup became Nunn, Su Tian, ​​George, Big Eyebrow, and McGee.

The Nets are led by Irving, as well as Dinwiddie, Allen, Joe Harris and others.

After the game started, Su Tian found that it was still difficult for Nunn to defend Irving, so he chose to switch defenses with Nunn.

After the defense change, Irving was successfully restricted, but Dinwiddie began to make moves again.

But this time Nunn successfully defended and blocked several Dinwiddie's shots in a row.

On the forward and inside lines, the Lakers had an undisputed advantage, so the whole game was also going at the Lakers' pace.

In the end, the Lakers successfully won the game.

After the game, Irving and Su Tian hugged each other to greet each other, while reporters nearby were frantically taking photos.

Su Tian and Irving are old acquaintances. They secretly competed for each other during their time with the Cavaliers, but in the end the Cavaliers fell apart and they went to different teams.

After the two went to different teams, there was no real competition, and the relationship naturally eased.

Moreover, because Owen recognized Su Tian's strength very much, the relationship between the two continued to heat up.

Irving has always been a player who values ​​the strong. If you are better than me, I will respect you and listen to you.

But when one day he is stronger than you, he will not hesitate at all and will immediately challenge you.

After the game, the Lakers continued their road trip.

On January 1, the last stop of the Lakers' road trip was against Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is still "focusing on the future," and Joel Embiid, the protagonist who focuses on the future, failed to play in this game.

Embiid missed a lot of the next game due to an injury to his left hand, and will not be able to return until at least the All-Star Game.

In this game, the only players Philadelphia can rely on are Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford.

As for Simmons and Harris, with George and Nongmei suppressing them, there won't be any big surprises.

As a result, Philadelphia's back line was under great pressure and faced a series of attacks from Su Tian and Brunson.

In the end, there was no suspense in this game, and the Lakers easily won 122-91.

At this point, the Lakers' five consecutive away games came to a successful end, and the Lakers also successfully won this wave of winning streak.

After five consecutive away games, the Lakers have a five-day break.

Therefore, after the entire Lakers team returned to Los Angeles, Walton directly announced a two-day rest period.

Although they had a rest during this period, Su Tian and other main players still felt tired. Even Su Tian's "Iron Man" badge reminded Su Tian of muscle tension.

Therefore, Su Tian also took advantage of this time to find a professional masseur to relax and adjust his body, trying his best to recover quickly.

While the Lakers were enjoying their vacation, the league announced the final starting list for this year's All-Stars.

Su Tian basically didn't worry about the All-Star voting this time. It was all handled by the team behind it.

And the final result was as expected, Su Tian won this year's All-Star vote!
(End of this chapter)