NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 458 The Western Conference Finals is over, and there are signs of the Eastern Conference Finals!

After Booker fell into despair, the game was actually over. After all, the leading stars had surrendered and it was of no use no matter how hard the others tried.

In the next few rounds of the third quarter, Booker's consecutive shots basically ended in strikes, and Booker even gradually lost the courage to take shots.

Halfway through the third quarter, the point difference inevitably widened again, reaching 28 points.

At this time, Walton took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to replace Su Tian and others, allowing George to lead a group of substitutes.

Just when Suns fans thought that the Suns could catch up with the score again, Booker unexpectedly sat on the bench and chose not to play again.

At this time, Monty looked at Booker in front of him and was very helpless.

"Devin, you are the team's number one scoring point. If you lose the courage to play against the Lakers, then we really have no chance of winning."

Unexpectedly, Booker just laughed softly and said: "We are actually destined to lose a long time ago, aren't we? These struggles are actually meaningless, they are just for the management and fans to see."

Booker's words immediately silenced Monty.

So the Suns' lineup at this time was very strange. There was no Paul or Booker, but there was Bridges and Ayton.

Facing this group of young players without Paul's leadership, George said there was no pressure.

Immediately afterwards, George led the team to score consecutively, and the young people of the Suns had no resistance at all.

At the end of the third quarter, the score difference reached more than 30 points as expected.

"I think this point difference, for the Suns, there should be no need to resist." Barkley said.

"Although I don't want to admit it, I have to say that with this point difference, if they face the Lakers in the fourth quarter, the Suns will only get one result, and that is a disastrous defeat." Kenny Smith echoed.

At this time, there was silence on the Suns' bench.

Monty looked at Booker, then turned to look at Paul. Both of them lowered their heads and wiped sweat without speaking.

After much thought, Monty finally decided to take down the entire main lineup and all substitute players in the fourth quarter, and the Suns raised their flag and admitted defeat.

Walton initially arranged a regular lineup, but after the fourth quarter started and saw the Suns' lineup, he immediately made substitutions and adjusted all the starting lineups, and the game completely entered garbage time.

"Charles, the Western Conference Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals entered garbage time at the same time. This should be rare in the history of the NBA, right?" Kenny Smith said.

"How should I put it, there are still many such situations, but they are not that common. I can only say that the gap between strength and weakness this year is too obvious." Barkley said.

"Not only that, so far, the Lakers still maintain an undefeated record in the playoffs. This is the third season that the Lakers have been undefeated in the playoffs. It depends on whether the Lakers can still maintain 4-0 in the finals. A sweeping gesture."

As Barkley and Kenny Smith talked, the game gradually came to an end.

At the end of the game, the Lakers won the game 121-90. The score difference of more than 30 points also showed that between the Suns and the Lakers, not only was there a gap in the starting lineup, but there was still a big gap in the bench lineup.

After the game, Su Tian came to the technical stage and hugged Booker, Paul and others goodbye.

"Dewen, actually you have performed very well. Don't doubt yourself. In fact, you are already very good." Su Tian patted Booker on the back and said.

Booker did not speak, but smiled bitterly.

"Su, you are really good. I hope you can continue to win the championship this year and win the three consecutive championships." Paul was obviously quicker to adjust than Booker and stepped forward to talk to Su Tian.

"Chris, don't worry, I will bring your strength and work hard together." Su Tian said with a smile.

In competitive sports, the right to speak belongs to the winner. As long as you can win the final victory, no matter what you say, it is right.

Weakness is the original sin.

After hugging the Suns goodbye, Su Tian followed the players back to the locker room. After quickly finishing, Su Tian followed Walton to the post-game interview.

"Su, the Lakers have completed a 4-0 sweep. What do you think of your next opponent?"

"Su, what do you think of Booker's performance in this series? Did it meet your expectations?"

"Sue, what do you think of the Eastern Conference finals? Who do you think is more likely to advance?"

"Coach Walton, how do you handle the relationship with the team's star? Do you have any better experience?"

As soon as Wharton and Su Tian arrived at the interview site, they immediately aroused questions from reporters.

After maintaining order, the two began to answer these questions one by one.

"There is no doubt that Booker himself is still very good, but he did not perform well in this round. I believe he will definitely grow and improve next season."

"It's hard to tell for the Eastern Conference finals yet. I can only say that both teams have a 50% chance of advancing."

Walton on the side also began to answer reporters' questions.

"How to handle the relationship with players is a required course for a head coach, especially the head star, because this is the cornerstone of the team, and you must ensure that the team is moving forward on the right path. This is very challenging. The coach’s communication skills, I think this should also be a lesson that head coaches who want to win championships must learn.”

Although the reporter's question was relatively obscure, Walton also accurately captured that it was an eye-opener for Suns head coach Monty.

Naturally, Wharton also heard the rumors about the discord between the generals within the Suns. Although he didn't know whether it was true or not, it would work if there was a date or no date.

After dealing with these reporters, Su Tian could finally go home and rest for two days.

There have only been two games in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the score is still tied at 1-1, so it will take a lot of time for the Eastern Conference to get a result.

Naturally, the Lakers will not arrange all training during this period, but will give everyone two days off to rest and recuperate.

On June 6, the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals began.

This game was played at the home court of the Eagles.

Because the two teams had a 1-1 draw in the previous two games, this game is very important to both sides and can be regarded as a turning point in the game.

In this game, the two sides still chose the previous starting lineup.

Jrue Holiday, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Tucker, Lopez.

Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Collins, Capela.

And Su Tian also stayed in front of the TV on time to watch this game.

Soon the game started, Capela took the lead to seize the right to attack, and Trae Young took the ball and advanced to the frontcourt.

The Hawks seemed to be well prepared. As soon as Trae Young advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, the rest of the Hawks immediately started tactical movement.

The Hawks' tactical movement came quickly, and Trae Young quickly passed the ball to Bogdanovic who ran out of the open space.

Bogdanovic took the ball and shot a three-pointer directly.

Middleton wanted to step forward to help prevent interference, but his reaction was still a beat slow.

Swah——

The three-pointer was hit steadily.

3-0

The Eagles struck preemptively as soon as they came up and seemed to be fully prepared. But then the Bucks' ferocious attack and impact came, and after a few rounds the two teams came to the confrontation stage.

The confrontation between the two teams continued until the end of the first quarter. However, before the end of the first quarter, Trae Young hit two consecutive three-pointers, which still caused a considerable point difference between the two teams.

32-27, the Eagles ended the first quarter with a 5-point lead.

After watching the first quarter of the game, Su Tian already knew the tone of this game, which was basically the same as before.

The final result depends on the on-the-spot performance of the two teams, especially the Eagles.

Because if the Hawks' three-point shooting tends to explode, it is still possible to win this game, but if both teams perform at a normal level, the Bucks have a better chance of winning.

Soon the inter-section break ended and the second quarter began.

As expected, the Eagles' three-pointers returned to normal in the second quarter, and Antetokounmpo began to work hard to chase points.

Antetokounmpo continued to hold the ball and hit the basket. Although the Hawks had Capela guarding the basket, compared with Antetokounmpo, it was still a bit underwhelming.

It only took half a quarter for Antetokounmpo to lead the Bucks to a lead.

In the second half of the quarter, Antetokounmpo took a break and Middleton was on hand to lead the team.

During this period, the two teams returned to the confrontation stage again.

At the end of the second quarter, the score of the two teams was tied at 56-56, and the two teams returned to the same level.

"Speaking of which, the Eastern Conference finals are interesting to watch, but the Western Conference finals don't seem to have any suspense at all. The gap is too big."

"The Eastern Conference Finals is indeed more interesting than the Western Conference Finals, but the gap in the Eastern Conference Finals is actually quite obvious. The Eagles won't be able to hold on for long."

"The Eagles are indeed no match for the Bucks in terms of physical strength, but their on-the-spot performance is also very important. As long as the Eagles feel good about three-pointers, it will be difficult for the Bucks to catch up."

"So, if the Eagles want to win, they must be in good shape and make sure to reduce their mistakes."

"Generally speaking, the Bucks still have a greater chance of winning. There is still a gap, but it's just not as obvious as in the West."

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Hawks and Bucks inevitably reminds fans of the Western Conference Finals that has ended.

But no matter how the fans discuss it, the Western Conference Finals has become a foregone conclusion and will not change.

Soon the intermission ended and the third quarter began.

In the third quarter, both sides once again chose their starting lineup.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Trae Young took the lead, holding the ball and making strong shots.

Although the hit rate was not high, it did take the lead.

Immediately afterwards, the Bucks began to counterattack. The leader of the attack was Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo used the ball to break through and score. Both Middleton and Holiday got some good opportunities.

However, the Eagles' three-point play in the third quarter was good and they still maintained the balance of the score.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bucks temporarily led by 2 points.

At this time, the situation on the field between the two teams is still deadlocked, and it is unclear who has the advantage.

However, Su Tian in front of the TV could feel that the eagle might not be able to hold on anymore.

Trae Young himself is not the type with particularly strong physical strength. Now that he has been playing for too long continuously, there is not much left in his physical strength.

And not only that, including other Eagles players, they also used up too much physical energy.

For players like Antetokounmpo who break through with the ball, physical exertion has little impact, but for shooting players like Trae Young, physical exertion has a huge impact.

Soon the fourth quarter began.

Trae Young was naturally aware of his situation, so he suppressed the pace of the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Prepare to start the fourth quarter steadily.

But as the saying goes, it’s not your friends who know you best, but your enemies.

The Bucks are also very aware of the status of Trae Young and the Hawks, so Antetokounmpo and Holiday began to increase the rhythm, wanting to consume more of each other's physical strength.

Just when everyone thought the fourth quarter would be a rhythm battle, they didn't expect that the Eagles would soon be unable to hold on.

Of course, the main problem still lies in the defense against letters. The Eagles' defense against letters was easily defeated.

In less than half a quarter, the Bucks had already occupied a double-digit point difference.

No one expected that after the game entered the fourth quarter, things would change so quickly, with no time to react.

As a result, in the next few rounds, the Bucks were like mercury pouring out, and they quickly took advantage of the game.

Although Trae Young still led the Eagles to resist stubbornly, as long as there is no miracle, the final result is basically doomed.

At the end of the game, the Bucks won the game 113-102. The big score came to 2-1, and the Bucks temporarily took the lead.

After the game, Antetokounmpo still seemed very excited, while Trae Young on the Hawks side looked exhausted.

Meanwhile, Walton was watching the game.

Whether it is the Bucks or the Hawks, they are both subjects that Walton needs to study, because at present, both are likely to become the Lakers' opponents in the finals.

Walton needs to lead the coaching staff to constantly analyze the tactical arrangements of the two and the corresponding tactics. This workload is not small at all.

After watching the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Su Tian immediately contacted Walton.

"Coach, you should have watched this game."

"of course."

"I think we can make some targeted arrangements."

"Now? Isn't it a bit early? After all, it's only 2-1, and the result hasn't happened yet."

"Although the results haven't appeared yet, I think it's almost there and we can make arrangements in advance."

"Okay, then come to my office to see me tomorrow."

"Good coach."

The next day, after Su Tian finished cleaning up, he rushed directly to Wharton's office.

"Su, tell me what you think." Wharton asked Su Tian to sit down and said with a smile.

"Coach, you can actually tell from yesterday's game that it seems that the two teams are evenly matched, but in fact the Bucks have already taken an absolute advantage. If nothing else, the Bucks' promotion is certain."

(End of this chapter)