NBA Old Age Star System

Su Tian naturally also observed the changes in the Rockets' lineup, so he came to Brunson and had a discussion with Brunson.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the first ball was given to the Rockets, and Westbrook advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

After arriving in the frontcourt, Westbrook looked at the defender in front of him, and sure enough, it was Su Tian.

Westbrook had already expected something like this. He took a deep breath and reached out to call his teammates to step forward to pick and roll.

In fact, for the Rockets at this time, although Harden was not in the starting lineup, their strength should not be underestimated. Su Tian followed Westbrook's steps and quickly turned around to avoid the pick-and-roll.

Although there was only a slight gap when Su Tian went around the pick-and-roll, he was still caught by Westbrook, and he directly broke out and rushed to the basket with the ball.

The thick eyebrows under the basket were already prepared. When they saw Westbrook walking towards the basket with the ball, he immediately took action to help prevent interference.

At this time, Westbrook was faced with a situation of attack from both front and back, with Thick Eyebrow blocking him in front and Su Tian pursuing him in the back.

The two giants of the three giants work together to double-team, which can be said to be full of defensive treatment.

Although Westbrook was reckless, he was not stubborn at this time. He looked like he was going to take a European step when collecting the ball, but in fact he hit the ground and passed the ball to Covington in the bottom corner.

Covington caught the ball and shot a three-pointer directly, but at the same time as he shot, George's defense also came as promised.

boom--

Basketball struck, McGee turned around to collect the rebound and passed the ball directly to Su Tian.

Su Tian turned around with the ball and launched a fast break. He took the lead and dunked with both hands to end the attack.

"Okay, the Lakers played a beautiful defensive counterattack at the beginning of the third quarter. So far, the Rockets still have not come up with an effective counterattack." Barkley said.

"Maybe we were too anxious. After all, the Rockets' star player is on the bench right now." Kenny Smith said.

But in the next few rounds, the Rockets not only failed to get Harden, but also did not have any effective counterattacks.

By the middle of the third quarter, the point difference had reached 22 points. Su Tian looked at Harden on the sidelines, shook his head and was replaced by Walton to rest.

And just as Su Tiangang came off the court, the Rockets immediately called a timeout and brought Harden up.

"Well, although avoiding Su is a good idea, the point difference is already 22 points at this time. This is not something we can catch up with!" Barkley couldn't help but express his doubts.

"Indeed, I really don't understand what D'Antoni is thinking, or is Harden's physical strength also affected now?" Kenny Smith also said.

At this time, Su Tian was sitting off the court with his arms folded. Su Tian wanted to see what Harden was doing.

At this time, the Rockets had the ball, and Harden came to the frontcourt with the ball.

At this time, it was Nunn who was responsible for defending Harden. Of course, it was not only Nunn, but also George as a help defense.

After Harden faced Nunn's defense, he first started dribbling continuously from the hip, and then made a breakthrough fake move to reach Nunn. He quickly retreated back to the three-point line and shot directly from the three-point line.

Swah——

Hit a three-pointer steadily.

Harden has been resting off the court for a long time and is recovering very well now.

"It seems that Harden is in pretty good shape, but when chasing points we have to see if he can defend himself."

The ball was transferred and Brunson advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

Brunson did not rush to hold the ball and hit hard, but called his teammates to run tactics.

With the connection between George and Brunson, Kuzma got a three-point opportunity, and George quickly passed the ball to it.

Kuzma caught the ball and made a three-pointer directly.

boom--

But unfortunately, Kuzma, who just came on the field, has not yet become hot.

Tucker collected the rebound and passed the ball directly to Harden.

Harden received the ball and directly launched a fast break.

Logically speaking, Harden is injured in his leg at this time and cannot play fast breaks, but Harden cannot restrain his desire to play fast breaks.

Fortunately, Gordon ran faster and quickly ran in front of Harden, so Harden passed the ball directly to Gordon.

Gordon caught the ball and scored a fast break layup.

"Beautiful! I didn't expect that Harden coming off the bench would still be effective."

The Lakers were hit with a defensive counterattack and had to organize their offense again.

This time George came to the frontcourt with the ball, called for a pick-and-roll, used the pick-and-roll to hold the ball toward the basket, and succeeded in a layup.

The Lakers have George, so it's not a big problem to stabilize the situation.

The Rockets once again gave the ball to Harden. After holding the ball to attract the defense, Harden assisted Gordon and scored a three-pointer.

As the two sides went back and forth, the Rockets' situation gradually improved.

The points difference is also being slowly closed.

Before the end of the third quarter, the Rockets also had a small burst of three-pointers, chasing the point difference to 16 points.

Although the Rockets exploded with a three-pointer, they still could not completely prevent Brunson and George's successive attacks.

At the end of the third quarter, the point difference remained at 16 points.

Although Harden came on as a substitute at this time, he was already in full form.

"It seems that it makes sense for the Rockets to use Harden as a substitute, but Harden is still affected by injuries and cannot catch up with many points. The Rockets enter the fourth quarter with the current point difference, which is still extremely dangerous." Buck Lee said.

"Yes, Su is too threatening in the fourth quarter. Now unless the Rockets can perform exceptionally well in the fourth quarter and make all those three-pointers," Kenny Smith said.

At this time, the Rockets bench.

"James, how are you feeling? Do you want to take a break in the fourth quarter?" D'Antoni asked with concern.

Harden shook his head and said: "No need, coach, the fourth quarter can't afford to waste any time, I have to appear!"

Seeing that Harden was so determined, D'Antoni did not force himself and arranged the tactics according to the usual tactical arrangements.

Before finally going on the court, D'Antoni still gave instructions.

"Our winning rate against the Lakers is not high. If we want to win this game, we must have an advantage in three-pointers! Next, your three-point shots must be made resolutely!"

The Rockets' entire team is now facing a formidable enemy. On the Lakers' side, Walton only arranged routine personnel adjustments and then allowed the players to rest on their own.

Soon, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Su Tian and Nongmei came on the bench with their substitute lineup.

The Rockets directly took the entire starting lineup.

The main players of the Rockets all played for a long time in this game, and their physical exertion was not small.

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

In fact, in order to ensure the quality of defense, Walton did not do nothing. For example, Dunro was originally on the field during this period, but Walton used Nunn to take down Dunro to ensure the team's defense.

After Su Tian came to the frontcourt with the ball, he directly stretched out his hand to signal his teammates to pull away.

After his teammates were all separated, Su Tian faced Gordon and pretended to break through, then made a sharp change of direction and turned directly to the basket.Su Tian's movements were not only very confusing, but also very fast. Gordon was immediately confused.

Upon seeing this, other members of the Rockets rushed forward to help defend against double-teaming.

Su Tian just collected the ball and took off without hesitation. After using the lever to dodge Covington, who was assisting in defense, he easily hit a layup.

In fact, Su Tian could pass this ball, but Su Tian still chose to hit hard just to ensure the hit rate of this ball.

"At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Su made a strong hit. It seems that the Lakers are still in good condition. It will be difficult for the Rockets to chase points."

Some Rockets fans at the scene had even begun to pray for the Rockets.

The ball was transferred and Westbrook came to the frontcourt with the ball.

At this time, Westbrook and Harden were on the court at the same time. Su Tian naturally came to Harden, and Westbrook left it to Caruso to defend.

Although Harden was in poor condition in the first half of this game, this is Harden after all, and he is the league's scoring leader after all. Su Tian dare not be careless and not give him a chance to explode.

Facing Caruso's defense, Westbrook didn't care at all. After all, he was just a backup point guard.

But when I really played against him, I discovered that this little-known bald guy was actually very good at defense.

At this time, Westbrook was secretly frightened. He didn't expect that an ordinary Lakers backup point guard could have starting-level defensive capabilities.

So Westbrook reached out and called his teammates to come forward and cooperate with the pick-and-roll. With the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll, Westbrook finally got rid of Caruso's defense and rushed to the basket with the ball.

The thick eyebrows on the inside were very fast. When they saw Westbrook coming in with the ball, he immediately moved to the basket to help defend.

Westbrook saw thick eyebrows assisting in defense and passed the ball directly to Tucker who was ambushing in the bottom corner.

Tucker opened his hand and was about to take a three-pointer, and Nunn, who had been prepared for it, immediately pounced on him.

It's just that Tucker didn't really take a three-point shot, but once again passed the ball to Gordon at a 45-degree angle.

Gordon got the ball and shot a three-pointer directly.

Swah——

Hit a three-pointer steadily.

"Good shot! I really didn't expect that the Rockets did not mess up their position in such a situation, but organized the offense so patiently." Barkley couldn't help but admire the Rockets.

"Indeed, there is a reason why the Rockets have reached this stage. The overall tactical quality is very high." Kenny Smith said.

In the first two rounds of the fourth quarter, both the Lakers and Rockets showed their toughness.

But in the next few rounds, the Rockets still could not stop the Lakers' offense.

To be precise, it was Su Tian's attack.

It's just that in these rounds, the Rockets' offense happened to be very strong, and the point difference remained deadlocked here.

After a few more possessions, D'Antoni called a timeout.

"Guys, we can't continue like this! The point difference is not moving at all. If we want to chase points, we still have to speed up the offensive rhythm and take more three-pointers!"

After D'Antoni finished speaking, he looked at Harden: "James, how do you feel? If you speed up the offensive rhythm, can your body withstand it?"

"I can coach, don't worry." Harden gritted his teeth and said.

Soon, the timeout ended and the two sides returned to the court again.

But when the Lakers' lineup debuted, the Rockets suddenly discovered that the Lakers had directly taken the entire starting lineup.

Not all the starters, Brunson, Nunn, Su Tian, ​​George, thick eyebrows.

Not the starting lineup, but more offensively capable than the starting lineup.

"Oh? The Lakers have made substitution adjustments. It seems that the Lakers want to win the game directly and don't want to waste time."

"Yes, it is true that the Lakers have so many leads. It is more important to get the main force first and secure the victory directly."

"Isn't the regular season break just for the critical moments in the playoffs? This is exactly the purpose of the rest."

There was endless discussion on the sidelines, and it was obvious that everyone was well aware of the Lakers' adjustments.

Harden naturally knows it, but the Rockets are already the strongest lineup at this time, and there is no room for adjustment if they want to adjust.

"It seems like we really need to find strong teammates." Harden said silently in his heart.

After the Lakers put on this lineup, the balance of victory completely tilted towards the Lakers.

The Rockets wanted to rely on three-pointers to chase points, but the effect was not good.

Finally, 1 minute before the end of the game, D'Antoni replaced the entire starting lineup, took the bench, and announced that the game was over early.

When the referee's whistle blew, Harden looked up at the scoreboard.

122-105, the Lakers beat the Rockets by 17 points.

At this time, Su Tian also walked towards Harden.

"Hey James, don't be discouraged, come back next year!"

As they spoke, the two hugged each other.

"Su, I'm serious, I will definitely beat you next year."

"Hahaha okay James, I believe you."

Su Tian scored 35 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in this game, playing normally.

Harden was miserable. Affected by injuries and Su Tian, ​​he only scored 9 points in the first half. In the second half, he scored more points due to the staggered substitutes and Su Tian.

In the end, Harden's statistics were 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, which is not too ugly overall.

Westbrook is considered the Rockets' real powerhouse in this game, scoring 31 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds. The statistics are at the same level as Su Tian's, but the efficiency value is not high.

At the end of the game, the score between the Lakers and Rockets reached 4-0. The Lakers successfully swept the Rockets and advanced to the Western Conference Finals!
After the game, Su Tian, ​​as the most outstanding player in this series, naturally attracted most of the reporters to interview him.

"Su, what do you think of the current rockets?"

"The current Rockets have a very high level of tactical literacy and have no complaints at all about completing the coach's arrangements. This is a professional team that is capable of competing for the championship."

"Su, do you think it's possible for James Harden to win the regular season MVP this season?"

Su Tian adjusted it and said: "There is no doubt that James is a regular season MVP-level star. I am not surprised at all that he can win this award, but if you want to win it this season, you need to consider the monster in the East. That’s fine, so I think the chance is 50%.”

At this time, another reporter stood up and asked.

"Su, what do you think of the series between the Nuggets and Clippers? Who do you think is better able to advance?"

Su Tian thought about this question for a moment, raised his head and said, "I watched the series between the Nuggets and Clippers. To be honest, I don't know who will advance. I even think they will play all 7 games!"

"Their games were exciting and they were all very strong, so I don't know who will advance to the Western Conference Finals."

Su Tian's answer was to praise both teams while avoiding the fight.

After all, these two teams are indeed very strong, and the Clippers also have many fans. (End of chapter)