NBA Old Age Star System

During the break, D'Antoni had no intention of arranging tactics, but was paying attention to Harden's situation.

Harden is the foundation of the Rockets. If Harden decides to call a truce, the Rockets can surrender directly.

"How's it going? Can you play?" D'Antoni asked eagerly.

Of course, D'Antoni was not asking Harden himself, but the team doctor who was examining him.

The team doctor shook his head and said: "Although no bones were injured, I will definitely not be able to play in this game. As for whether I can play in the next game, it still depends on the specific examination and recovery status."

After hearing this, D'Antoni finally understood that this game was settled here.

The break ended quickly and players from both sides took the field again.

The Lakers were naturally led by Su Tian in the fourth quarter, while Harden did not appear on the Rockets' side, only Westbrook, Gordon and others were present.

"It seems that Harden's injury is not serious, otherwise he would not miss the opportunity in the fourth quarter." Su Tian thought to himself.

The first possession of the fourth quarter was given to the Lakers, and Su Tian advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

It was Gordon who was responsible for defending Su Tian, ​​but Su Tian easily broke through with an explosion.

Then came a pull-up jump shot.

The point difference came to 15 points.

The ball rights transitioned and the Rockets attacked.

Westbrook came to the frontcourt with the ball and faced Caruso's defense.

Westbrook stretched out his hand to call for a pick-and-roll, and directly initiated a breakthrough with the help of the pick-and-roll.

But at this time, the Lakers had thick eyebrows inside. After Westbrook attracted the thick eyebrows to help defend, he could only pass the ball to House in the bottom corner.

House received the ball and shot a three-pointer directly.

But unfortunately, the three-pointer failed to hit.

Boucher turned around to collect the rebound and passed the ball directly to Su Tian.

Su Tian turned around with the ball and started a fast break. Gordon quickly chased after him, but he watched helplessly as the distance between him and Su Tian became wider and wider.

In the end, I could only watch as Su Tian succeeded in dunking with both hands.

At this time, Buckley also sighed in the studio.

"I feel that Su's inexplicable explosion in the fourth quarter will become an unsolved mystery in NBA history!"

"I can understand other players' explosions in the fourth quarter, but Su's improvement is simply outrageous! He can run faster with the ball than others without the ball."

Kenny Smith also added at this time: "And SU can break out in the fourth quarter of every game, unless it has entered garbage time."

At this time, the game on the field is also going on.

Under Su Tian's outburst, the Lakers completely suppressed the Rockets. Harden was furious when he saw it off the court, but it didn't help.

In the end, the Lakers won the game 117-93.

When the game ended, Su Tian could no longer see Harden. It turned out that Harden had been helped away by the staff 3 minutes before the end of the game.

"Hopefully the Harden guys are okay."

本场比赛苏天全场拿到35分11助攻8篮板2抢断1盖帽，依然是全场最佳。

As for the Rockets, except for the burst of three-pointers in the third quarter, which was remarkable, the rest was not very good.

The big score between the Rockets and the Lakers has also reached 2-0, and the Lakers have the advantage.

After the game, the media and reporters no longer focused on the game, but on Harden's injury.

"Mr. Coach, how is Harden's injury? Can he still play in the next game?"

"Coach D'Antoni, how do you use the Rockets without Harden?"

"Russell, when Harden is gone, what can you do to fill the void?"

"Eric, what does it mean for the Rockets without Harden?"

Because Harden had already taken a car to the hospital, these reporters found the Rockets coaches and players and conducted interviews frantically.

Even Su Tian asked about topics related to Harden.

Although the Rockets are not an opponent of the Lakers originally, the outside world still has expectations for the Rockets.

But now that Harden is injured, the Rockets have completely lost their ability to defeat the Lakers.

Not to mention that there are still Westbrook and Gordon in the lineup. These people do have a certain level of strength, but they want to make up for last season's regular season scoring champion.

That is simply impossible.

The next day, the entire Rockets team returned to Houston, including Harden.

"Mr. D'Antoni, I have some bad news here. Although James is not seriously injured at the moment, his right hamstring is currently at great risk of injury. We still recommend not to play in the next games."

D'Antoni looked at the team doctor in front of him and fell into deep thought.

"But if James doesn't play, we really have no hope."

On the day the Rockets returned to Houston, the second game between the Nuggets and Clippers also started.

In this game, the Nuggets' Jokic was very strong. He started to work hard at the beginning of the game and hit consecutive shots.

In order to limit Jokic's performance, Rivers could only assign Leonard to help defend and double-team Jokic.

After Leonard joined, Jokic's performance was indeed limited, but in contrast, the rest of the Nuggets began to exert their strength.

Moreover, when Leonard was distracted on the defensive end, he could provide less help on the offensive end, and James' offensive pressure suddenly increased.

At the end of the first half, the Nuggets led by 12 points.

In the second half, the Clippers began to exert their strength. James and Leonard made consecutive breakthroughs and caused damage. The two forwards began to show their strength.

At the end of the third quarter, the two teams returned to the same level again, with the Clippers trailing by only 1 point.

In the fourth quarter, just when everyone thought the Clippers were going to win the game, the Nuggets' Murray suddenly broke out and hit three consecutive three-pointers, directly widening the point difference with the Clippers again.

"Beautiful! The Nuggets just lack a player who can help Jokic at critical moments!" Barkley said.

"I just don't know how long Murray's performance can last. If he can perform like this in the next game, the Clippers will be in danger." Kenny Smith said.

In the next few rounds, the Clippers frantically chased points, but Jokic's slow and powerful inside attack was accurate.

So, at this pace, the Nuggets finally won.

117-111, the Nuggets didn't win much, only winning by 6 points.

So the two teams moved to Denver with a big score of 1-1.

In the two games between the Clippers and the Nuggets, fans can basically see the level of the two teams.

"There is no doubt that the strength of the Nuggets and Clippers is about the same. The gap is not big. It just depends on who is better on the spot."

"I think this game was the Nuggets' extraordinary performance. The Clippers' hard power is still stronger than the Nuggets', but their strength is limited, so it's not surprising that the Nuggets can win."

"The Clippers are stronger, but the Nuggets play better!"

"This is the charm of competitive sports! It is not impossible for the weak to defeat the strong!"

"James is still old, otherwise playing against the Nuggets would be the same." "Even if James is young, he has to lose even if he should lose!"

The game between the Nuggets and Clippers was not discussed for long, because the Rockets released Harden's truce announcement.

"James Harden has tight muscles in his right leg and is confirmed to miss the next game!" 》

As soon as this news came out, the Rockets once again attracted everyone's attention.

Before the third game of the Lakers and Rockets game, D'Antoni was surrounded by a large number of media reporters.

In the end, the on-site security guards intervened, and D'Antoni successfully entered the field.

In this game without Harden, the Lakers' winning percentage has skyrocketed.

Five minutes into the game, the Lakers already led by 5 points.

"Well, I have to say that Harden is indeed the star of the Rockets. Without Harden, the Rockets' strength has declined too seriously." Barkley said regretfully.

"I hope Russell can perform differently in this game, at least with some Rockets momentum." Kenny Smith said.

But unfortunately, because Harden did not play, Su Tian could focus more on the offensive end and assisting defense.

Especially on Westbrook's side, because Brunson did not have a defensive advantage against him, he became Su Tian's first choice for assisting in defense.

At the end of the first half, the Lakers led by 20 points.

In the third quarter, Su Tian was replaced after playing 5 minutes to prepare for the fourth quarter.

At this time, the point difference is already 25 points. If the Rockets still cannot come up with effective counterattacks, the point difference will reach 30 points before the end of the third quarter.

But as soon as Su Tian came off the court, Westbrook immediately hit two layups.

But such a goal can only be regarded as a drop in the bucket.

But then, Gordon also started to exert his strength, hitting consecutive shots from beyond the three-point line.

Seeing the performance of the two people, Barkley also said immediately.

"That's enough! That's enough! With the performance of two of them, the Rockets can be considered proud of their defeat!!"

As soon as Barkley finished speaking, Westbrook drove to the basket with the ball and made a one-handed dunk!
Westbrook's dunk was so powerful that it instantly detonated the entire arena.

"Great shot! As expected of Russell! As expected of the regular season MVP!!" Barkley clapped his hands excitedly.

"I just said that MVP cannot have parallel imports!!"

But the performances of Westbrook and Gordon ended there. At the end of the third quarter, the point difference was chased to 18 points.

An 18-point difference and a 25-point difference make no difference in terms of winning or losing.

For Su Tian himself, it is nothing more than longer or shorter playing time.

In the fourth quarter, Su Tian and Nongmei led the substitute lineup.

With Su Tian here, the team's offense is guaranteed, and with Thick Eyebrow here, the team's defense is guaranteed.

Under double insurance, it took Su Tian half a quarter to replace the Rockets with all water dispenser managers.

In the end, the game ended and the Lakers won the game 118-83.

Su Tian didn't play for a long time in this game, but still scored 31 points. George and Nongmei also achieved their small goals.

After the game, questions about Harden naturally became the main question reporters wanted to ask.

"Coach D'Antoni, will Harden play in the next game?" a reporter asked directly.

"This still depends on the doctor's examination results and Harden's own recovery. I'm not sure whether it's possible."

D'Antoni is also an old coach in the league, so he is naturally comfortable dealing with these reporters.

"Then have the Rockets given up the game? After all, without Harden tonight, the Rockets basically have no chance of winning."

"What are you talking about! What are you talking about!"

"Ahem, why would we give up the game? We will strive to win every game through tactical coordination and the performance of our players. They are all professional professional players."

D'Antoni put on a serious expression as he spoke, as if he really meant it.

After the game, the score between the Lakers and Rockets reached 3-0. Even if Harden returned at this time, it would only prevent the Rockets from being swept.

It is no longer possible to turn a 0-3 defeat into a victory.

After the Lakers returned to the hotel, it didn't take long for Walton to find Su Tian.

"Su, tell me the truth, will Harden play in the next game?"

Seeing Wharton's serious eyes, Su Tian couldn't laugh or cry either.

"Coach, how could I know such a thing?"

"Don't you have a good relationship with Harden, so I just asked."

"Coach, this is during the playoffs. Even if we have a good relationship, you won't tell me."

In fact, Su Tian sent a message on the day Harden was injured, but Harden did not mention the injury, just said one sentence.

"I will definitely defeat you, Su!"

At this time, Wharton also knew that nothing could be asked, so he asked Su Tian to rest early and left.

At the same time, Harden also found D'Antoni.

"Coach, I must play in the next game. At least we cannot be swept. We must at least win one game!" Harden's expression was very serious.

"Oh, James, I want you to play too, but your injury is indeed more serious than you thought!" D'Antoni said.

"Then let's wait until he gets injured! I can't just watch myself being eliminated by Su on the court! And I can't do anything!"

At this time, the two fell into silence for a few seconds.

In the end, after D'Antoni thought for a while, he agreed to Harden's request.

"James, you can play in the next game, but you have to promise to protect yourself on the court! And I won't give you too long playing time!"

When Harden heard that the coach was willing to let him play, he immediately nodded in agreement without even hearing what the coach said clearly.

"Okay coach! No matter what you say, I will guarantee it! As long as I can play!"

So, the next day, Harden's status became doubtful.

This change naturally attracted everyone's attention, but currently everyone's focus is on Denver.

The third game between the Clippers and the Nuggets started on time.

The game between the two teams was more exciting and exciting than the Lakers' game, and the attention was also high.

Of course, this game is important to both parties, even to the Lakers.

Because the Lakers' promotion is basically certain at this time, Su Tian is already thinking about his opponents in the next round.

And this game did live up to everyone's expectations. The two teams were inseparable.

Throughout the first half, the two teams led many times, and before halftime, the Nuggets led by 2 points. (End of chapter)