NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 512 Los Angeles Derby, Clippers lineup

After the game against the Warriors, the Lakers played against the Clippers again at home on October 10.

The first two games were both tough battles and very topical games.

The Clippers have not changed much in their personnel this season. They still have James and Leonard as the main framework, as well as Westbrook, the former regular season MVP. However, the current starting position of Westbrook is not stable, and Tyronn Lue prefers to put Westbrook on the bench to lead the bench.

Originally, the Clippers wanted to make a difference during the offseason, but the salaries of the two superstars were too high, and the Clippers' management said there was really nothing they could do.

In fact, the reason why the Lakers can retain the Big Three in the current lineup is because Su Tian and Nongmei have not played for a long time, and their maximum salaries are not that exaggerated. George also expressed his willingness to take the initiative to reduce his salary when renewing his contract in the offseason. This makes the Lakers The Big Three can be properly retained.

In fact, George's initiative to reduce his salary is not considered a disadvantage. After all, George's ability has indeed declined a lot in his current state, and it can be regarded as matching his salary.

However, although the Clippers did not make any big moves during the offseason, they still formed a good lineup and paid a lot of luxury tax. The Clippers' starting lineup this time is:
Reggie, Powell, James, Leonard, Zubac.

There are also Westbrook, Kennard, Marcus Morris, Batum and Covington on the bench.

This lineup is not guaranteed to win the championship, but it is at least a strong contender for the championship. The only shortcoming is the inside line.

It is said that the Clippers are currently in contact with a former No. 1 center. If the No. 1 center can come to the Clippers and ensure the stability of the locker room, he will definitely provide good combat power.

Although the center is older and will move much slower, he is after all the best defensive player ever.

The Lakers' lineup still maintains the previous lineup.

Su Tian, ​​Dort, Johnson, George, thick eyebrows.

Soon the game started, and Nongmei took the lead to grab the ball. Su Tian received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt.

Reggie is naturally no match for Su Tian, ​​and Tyronn Lue has already prepared a whole defensive strategy for Su Tian.

After Su Tian came to the frontcourt and faced Reggie's defense, he directly stretched out his hand to signal the thick eyebrows to step forward to cooperate with the pick-and-roll.

The Clippers were very resolute in the pick-and-roll and switched defenses directly. So Su Tian faced off against Zubac, and Nongmei faced off against Reggie. Upon seeing this, Nongmei immediately turned around and followed suit. Su Tian was a The lob pass went directly to the thick eyebrows.

And just when Nongmei wanted to attack the frame directly, Leonard suddenly appeared under the basket and blocked Nongmei's path, but Nongmei gritted his teeth and still headed towards the basket.

Against Leonard's defense, Thick Eyebrow forced a layup. The basketball circled around the rim twice but still fell into the net.

Taking advantage of his height advantage, Thick Eyebrow hit the ball high and finally scored the ball.

The ball was transferred, and Reggie advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing Su Tian's defense, Reggie passed the ball directly to James without hesitation.

When James got the ball, he faced Johnson's defense. He first tested the triple threat, and then used Zubac's pick-and-roll to directly explode with all his strength and rush to the basket.

After reaching the basket, he encountered thick eyebrows' defensive interference, so James made a layup, and thick eyebrows turned around to collect the rebound.

Thick Eyebrow quickly passed the ball to Su Tian. Su Tian wanted to launch a fast break directly, but the Clippers' defense was indeed very fast, and the offense had to fall into position.

In the next few rounds, the two teams went back and forth, but the Lakers always had the lead in the score.

Halfway through the first quarter, the two teams began to make substitution adjustments. George took the lead to leave the field to gather energy, while Su Tian and Nongmei were still on the court to lead the team.

With Su Tian and Nong Mei in charge, the game on the court was relatively stable.

Two minutes before the end of the first quarter, Su Tian took the lead to take a break, and Nongmei led the team to play the last two minutes.

In the second quarter, Su Tian just took a few minutes' rest before he and George took the field again.

There is no other way. The Lakers have been slightly short of manpower recently, and the cooperation between the players is not tacit enough. If they want to achieve better results, it will take a period of practice.

So in the second quarter, under the leadership of Su Tian and George, they still held a steady lead.

Su Tian saw that the score difference had stabilized at around 14 points, and finally went to rest with peace of mind.

After Su Tian left the field, the Clippers quickly formed a counterattack climax. This climax was led by James, and the effect was very good. George's current performance is not even as good as an old James, but as long as George recovers Once you reach a normal state, your abilities will naturally return.

The Clippers relied on the few minutes Su Tian took off the court to rest, and it only took half a quarter to catch up to 5 points.

"Although the Lakers are still in the lead, it only took the Clippers half a quarter to catch up with the 10-point difference. The strength of the Clippers must not be underestimated."

"That's for sure, you know, this is LeBron James!"

"Paul George has really lost his temper. Now he can't even beat an old James."

"The reason why James is James is definitely different. In fact, George is already a very good player, but it is a pity that James is even better."

"James' durability is really incredible. At this age, he can still perform powerful dunks from time to time."

"But it can also be seen that the Lakers' strength has indeed dropped a lot this season. They led by double digits and were caught up in half a quarter. To be honest, I can no longer see the invincible attitude of the Lakers. "

As the fans discussed, the half-time break passed and the third quarter began.

In fact, there was nothing special about the midfield discussion in the locker room. After all, the Clippers are also old rivals, and they are very familiar with each other's routines.

The first possession of the third quarter was given to the Clippers. James advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing Johnson's defense, he did not rush to attack, but passed the ball to Leonard to signal his teammates to cooperate tactically.

After Leonard got the ball, he didn't rush to take action. Instead, after continuous tactical moves, he passed a pass to Powell outside the three-point line.

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

Just as the three-point shot was taken, Dort's defense arrived in time.

But unfortunately, the three-pointer was still hit.

The point difference came to 2 points, the ball was transferred, Su Tian advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, a large change of direction directly shook Reggie's defense, and then he burst out and rushed directly to the basket, encountering Zuba With Ci's double-team, a throw shot made a solid hit.

The point difference returned to 4 points.

The Clippers attacked again. This time, the Clippers still used tactical coordination, but the final result failed. Su Tianchong grabbed the rebound, turned around and started a fast break. He quickly came to the basket and scored directly for a layup.

The score difference reached 6 points, and the situation finally became relatively stable.

In the next few rounds, Su Tian deliberately increased his shots. The Lakers finally suppressed the Clippers on the scene, and the lead difference has been hovering around 10 points. Su Tian took a break three minutes before the end of the third quarter to prepare for the fourth quarter.

In these three minutes, the Clippers did not catch up by much, and the counterattack they tried to organize had little effect.

Soon after the third quarter ended, the point difference remained at 8 points, and the Clippers still retained the possibility of winning.

Taking advantage of the break between sections, the two teams began to deploy tactics respectively, both wanting to defeat each other in the remaining quarter of the game.

"Su, there shouldn't be any problem with your physical strength, right? You have to be ready to play the whole game in the fourth quarter," Walton said.

"Don't worry, coach, I'm already prepared."

Seeing that there was no problem with Su Tian, ​​Wharton felt relieved.

Soon the intersection ended and the fourth quarter began.

As soon as the fourth quarter started, Su Tian felt a burst of strength emerging from deep within his body. The previous fatigue was instantly eliminated, and his whole body was filled with strength.

The first possession of the fourth quarter was given to the Lakers. Su Tian came to the frontcourt with the ball and directly stretched out his hand to signal his teammates to pull away. At this time, it was James who was responsible for defending Su Tian.

After all his teammates were in position, Su Tian first stepped down and dribbled to shake James' defensive focus, and then broke out to break through inside. However, when James followed suit, Su Tian took another step back and returned to the three-pointer. Online, direct three-point shot.

Swah——

The three-pointer was hit steadily.

Seeing Su Tian's smooth movements, Barkley in the commentary box couldn't help but sigh.

"Ever since James Harden was injured, it's rare to see such a smooth step-back three-pointer. Now there are not many in the league who can do it smoothly. Su is one of them, and he is the best one."

Su Tian directly hit a three-pointer at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which directly stabilized the situation on the court, and the point difference returned to double digits again.

The ball changed and it was the Clippers' turn to attack. James advanced to the frontcourt with the ball and faced Su Tian's defense.

But James did not hold the ball and hit hard. Instead, he reached out and called his teammates to come forward and cooperate with the pick-and-roll.

Seeing James' actions, Su Tian couldn't help but want to say a few trash words.

"What's wrong, LeBron, is he old? Do you only dare to call for help?"

"How about we have a one-on-one match and see who scores more goals."

James is an experienced player and has never seen anything before. Naturally, he will not be disturbed by Su Tian's few words. He patiently waits for his teammates to come forward and directly breaks through with the help of pick and roll. Halfway through the breakthrough, James feels that he is unable to do what he wants, so he passes the ball to To Kennard who just ran out of opportunity.

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

Kennard's three-pointers are still very accurate, and his shooting percentage after catching the ball is also very high, and he hits the three-pointers directly.

Rivers, who was responsible for following the defense, had just arrived.

Walton on the sidelines couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this scene, but he was also very helpless.

There is no reason why Rivers was not selected. His body is not strong enough, and his defense is too stretched. He looks thin and weak and is easy to bully at first glance.

But Rivers' shooting and offense are indeed what the Lakers need. Moreover, he is just an undrafted player. Do you still expect him to perform like a lottery pick?
The two teams then played a few more rounds, but the point difference never changed much, so Tyronn Lue reached out and called a timeout.

"Su's offensive level is still so sharp. Next, LeBron and Kawhi will take turns to defend Su. If the opportunity is right, they can directly double-team, but we can't let Su continue to fight like this."

"If you want to win this game, you must limit Su's performance."

Soon the timeout ended, and the Clippers made substitution adjustments and put Leonard on the court.

As for the Lakers, Su Tian still led a group of substitutes, and Walton did not make early substitutions.

After returning to the court, James and Leonard cooperated tactically. James passed the ball and assisted Leonard for a layup.

On the Lakers side, Su Tian still insisted on his strategy of taking more shots, but after two rounds, he found that the Clippers' defense was too tight. As he started to feint, he secretly passed the ball to assist his teammates.

After Su Tian started passing the ball to assist his teammates, the most outstanding and obvious performance was the undrafted Rivers.

Rivers first received a pass from Su Tian and hit a three-pointer. Then he cut to the basket, received the pass and scored a layup.

On the defensive end, Rivers also contributed a steal and turned around to assist Su Tian for a shot.

In the fourth quarter, Rivers made 3 of 2 shots from beyond the three-point line, making the Clippers afraid to let go of this unknown undrafted player at will.

Thanks to Rivers' performance, the Clippers were not caught up in the fourth quarter, and even tended to continue to widen the score.

Soon after halfway through the fourth quarter, Walton made substitution adjustments. Rivers and other substitutes were replaced. George and Big Eyebrow came on, and the main lineups of the two teams faced off again.

Su Tian had a reliable helper on his side, so he played more relaxedly and steadily controlled the point difference between the two teams.

Until the end of the game, the Lakers still maintained their lead.

118-110, the Lakers ended the game with an 8-point advantage.

After the end, the two teams bid farewell normally. The Lakers' record reached 2-0. The starting state is still very good so far.

However, the sample number of games is too small, and a large number of games are still needed to better reflect the overall state of the Lakers.

On October 10, the Lakers continued to face the Trail Blazers at home.

The Trail Blazers didn't do much this offseason, but they did have a former teammate on the team, Payton Jr.

So before the game started, Su Tian, ​​as the award guest, specially presented the championship ring to Payton Jr.

It's just that Payton is still a substitute in the Trail Blazers team and has not got a starting role.

Since the Trail Blazers traded McCollum last season, the Trail Blazers' double-gun backcourt combination has officially been broken up. McCollum also played very well with the Pelicans. During the offseason, he also reached a two-year, 2 million contract with the Pelicans. USD early contract renewal.

(End of this chapter)