NBA Old Age Star System

A game against the Heat allowed George to completely recover.

However, it has been more than two months since the start of this season, and it is normal for George to recover.

On December 12, the Lakers continued to face the Atlanta Hawks away from home.

It is impossible for the current Hawks to have any impact on the Lakers. The Lakers also defeated the Hawks 130-111. The entire Lakers team performed very well, especially George. After the training in the last game, this game still maintained a high level. He performed at a high level and scored 33 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds.

Seeing that George's condition had completely recovered, Su Tian was relieved. After all, Su Tian was exhausted during this period. Now that George can take over, Su Tian can take a breather from time to time.

After the game against the Hawks, the Lakers' 2022 games are over and the new year's journey begins.

On January 2023, 1, the Lakers ushered in the first game of the new year and the last game of this wave of five consecutive away games, playing away against the Charlotte Hornets.

The current Hornets team looks quite promising at first glance. They have LaMelo Ball on the back and Gordon Hayward on the forward line. They are slightly weaker inside and have only Plumlee.

But such a lineup may have great potential in the eyes of others, but in Su Tian's view, the strength of this lineup is very limited and will not have any impact on the Lakers at all.

However, Sangou, a young player, still has great potential.

As the first game of the new year, the entire Lakers team is full of motivation and wants to try their best to win this game.

So on the defensive end, Su Tian and George worked very hard. Su Tian locked up Ball, and George interfered and blocked Hayward.

With the interference of these two players, the Hornets were quickly defeated.

In the end, the Lakers easily won the game 118-102.

After the game against the Hornets, the Lakers' five consecutive away games ended completely, so they turned around and returned directly to Los Angeles. However, back in Los Angeles, the Lakers still had no time to rest.

Because the day after everyone returns to Los Angeles, the Lakers will face the Miami Heat at home. Moreover, the Lakers just defeated the Lakers before, and now they are about to take revenge.

On January 1, the Lakers faced the Heat at home.

This time the Heat have obviously made more elaborate arrangements. Spoelstra is not a head coach who doesn't know how to adapt. On the contrary, Spoelstra's flexibility and on-the-spot adaptability are extremely excellent.

But today's Lakers are no longer the Lakers before. George's recovery has helped Su Tian a lot.

In the first half alone, thanks to the performance of Su Tian and George, the Lakers were already 10 points ahead.

In the second half, Spoelstra stepped up his double-teaming and assisting defense strategies against the two.

But just when everyone thought the Lakers were going to be in trouble, someone on the bench stood up.

This person is not veteran Rose, Griffin, Brando, or Aldridge.

But the white defender, Rivers.

No one thought that this seemingly thin and frail little guy could be so tough when playing. Not only did he hold the ball and rush to the basket and get killed, but he was also very accurate in three-pointers from the outside.

Although there are two big guys here who attract the defensive attention and give Rivers room to play, even so, Rivers' performance is very exciting for Lakers fans.

As a result, the score difference between the two teams not only did not narrow in the second half, but actually grew wider.

"The Lakers are so lucky! Now they have another Rivers coming off the bench!"

"The Lakers' luck is really hard to say, and I don't know what good things they did in their previous lives."

"How can I say this? I can only say that the Lakers' scouting department is amazing."

"Today's rookies all want to go to the Lakers. After all, none of the rookies coming out of the Lakers are parallel imports."

Thanks to the performance of the Lakers bench and the cooperation of the Lakers team, this game was easily won.

At the end of the game, the Lakers easily won the game 112-100.

It seemed that the score difference was not big, but in fact, the Heat had already replaced the main players and surrendered two minutes before the end of the game. On the contrary, after replacing the bench, the score difference between the two teams was even closer.

After the game against the Heat, the Lakers also completed a double play against the Heat this season.

After the game, the three of them got together again, and Su Tian also found a restaurant, where the three of them had a good time catching up.

"Jimmy, you guys are doing pretty well this season. The team's combat effectiveness is steadily increasing. I guess there is still a lot of hope of reaching the finals." George patted Butler on the shoulder and said.

Butler shook his head with a wry smile.

"Steady rise? That's bullshit. That guy Riley is not willing to pay the luxury tax, and he can't trade any strong teammates. He keeps improving every year, and it's impossible to win the championship."

In fact, Su Tian is also very aware of the current situation of the Heat. It is not a problem to reach the playoffs every year, and even reaching the finals is common. However, if he wants to make a difference in the finals, he is powerless.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the Heat are only a strong team in the playoffs. If they want to reach the championship level, they still need to make some changes.

On January 1, the Lakers faced the Atlanta Hawks at home. All the Lakers' main players played and won the game in three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Su Tian stepped forward to stabilize the situation and then went off to rest.

苏天全场拿到了23分21助攻7篮板3抢断，双20+的数据帮助球队稳稳战胜老鹰。

Of course, this is also related to the good condition of the Lakers team.

But after this game, the Lakers will face the Kings back-to-back, and it will be on the road.

Walton originally wanted to go all out to win this game, but Marc Gasol suddenly developed muscle soreness, and the team doctor recommended a truce.

The Lakers lacked an inside barrier and were under great pressure to defeat the Kings head-on, so Walton thought over and over again and decided to give up the game and rest.

So the Lakers lost to the Kings once again.

These are all minor problems for Su Tian, ​​but the fans have great ideas.

"It seems that the Lakers' victim is the king!"

"Now in the entire league, only the King can control the Lakers!"

"As long as the Kings can ensure the integrity of the team's lineup this year, they will win the championship this year!"

"The King's champion! The King's ten-year-old fan, here uninvited!"

"The teams in the Western Conference must think of a way to let the Lakers face the Kings in the playoffs, so that the Lakers can be stopped and other teams can have a chance!"

But even though there are many comments from the outside world, the Lakers are still very stable internally.

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

The battle to prove that Gasol came to the Lakers was against the Nuggets, but it also had some advantages. After all, the Nuggets did not know the true strength of the Lakers at that time and misjudged Gasol's strength.

Now wary, Jokic wanted to make a big splash, but when he came on the court, he realized that Gasol didn't play.

So in this game, Jokic showed his rare aggressiveness. He had a strong desire to attack on the offensive end and continued to succeed in the inside. Several inside players on the Lakers side were miserable. Aldridge, Griffin, and Cousins ​​were all complaining.

In this game, although Su Tian, ​​George and others on the outside have tried their best, the huge disadvantage on the inside is too obvious.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were already trailing by double digits.

In the fourth quarter, Su Tian went all out and used all three assist opportunities. The point difference between the two teams was still more than 5 points, which meant that even if Su Tian used a "super jump shot", it would still be of no avail.

So in the end, the Lakers lost to the Nuggets. Su Tian scored 42 points, 15 assists and 6 rebounds, and was still the best player in the game.

The Lakers suffered two consecutive losses, but the team's morale did not drop, because one game was a rest and the other was a narrow defeat, which did not dampen the Lakers' morale.

After the game against the Nuggets, the Lakers ushered in a wave of five consecutive home games, and the entire Lakers team could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Running back and forth during this period has caused the entire Lakers team to be very mentally exhausted. This kind of fatigue is not physical, and it cannot be relieved by resting for half a day.

So Wharton also directly announced a day off.

Taking advantage of this time, Su Tian found Walton and asked about Gasol's injury.

"Mark's condition is very simple. It's not an injury. It can only be said that he was a little tired during this period. He is tired. In the future, he just needs to pay attention to controlling his playing time." Walton said.

According to the current situation of Gasol, playing more than 20 minutes in each game is considered normal, which can basically guarantee half of the playing time, which is enough.

After all, Gasol is only serving as a role player, and the team's main focus is on Su Tian and George.

On January 1, Marc Gasol made a smooth return in the first game of five consecutive home games.

And Gasol performed very relaxedly and was not greatly affected.

The Lakers also won this game easily. Although the current Mavericks are full of offensive capabilities, they are still one level behind the league's championship-level teams.

On January 1, the Lakers faced the Philadelphia 16ers at home.

This game is a huge challenge for the Lakers' insiders. After all, Embiid, the insider, has been included in the regular season MVP discussion list.

Not only that, James Harden also came to Philadelphia during the offseason and teamed up with Embiid. The combination of the two inside and outside was very impressive.

Before the game started, Su Tian also found James Harden, and the two hugged each other.

"James, since you went to the East, the opportunities for the two of us to meet have become less and less." Su Tian felt it.

"Yes, Su, I really miss that time, but everything is different now, man, and I will definitely reach the finals this season! And beat you in the finals with my own hands!" Harden's expression was very serious. It looks like he is really destined to win the championship.

"Then let's meet on the field, buddy. I hope you won't disappoint me." Su Tian said with a smile.

The game started soon after the two separated, and the two teams began to take the field.

The Lakers' side is naturally the previous starting lineup.

Su Tian, ​​Dort, Johnson, George, Marc Gasol.

And the lineup here in Philadelphia is.

Melton, James Harden, PJ Tucker, Tobias Harris, Embiid.

At the beginning of the game, Embiid took the lead to seize the right to attack. Harden got the ball and advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Harden was naturally facing Su Tian's defense.

Su Tian clearly knows that although Harden's explosive power has declined due to his leg injury, he still cannot be underestimated.

Harden didn't dare to be careless when he saw Su Tian's defense. Now Su Tian is at the top of his game, firmly occupying the top spot in the league, and can defend one at a time all year round.

Harden first dribbled under his crotch to protect the ball as a habit, and then reached out to call Embiid to step forward to cooperate with the pick-and-roll.

Embiid immediately stepped forward for a pick-and-roll, and Harden took the opportunity to break through, but Su Tian quickly bypassed the pick-and-roll and immediately faced Harden again.

But at this time, Embiid had been left open, so Harden immediately passed the ball to him.

Although Harden passed the ball to Embiid, Harden's thought was to let Embiid hit the basket. After all, Embiid was outside the three-point line at this time.

But Embiid, like a perimeter player, catches the ball and shoots three-pointers directly.

Embiid's three-pointers are still good, but they don't yield results every time.

boom--

Basketball strikes, Gasol turned around and directly collected the rebound, quickly passing the ball to George. George held the ball and directly went down the fast break to attract Philadelphia's defensive attention, so he passed the ball to Johnson again.

Johnson didn't even dribble when he received the ball. He took two steps forward and passed the ball to Dort at the front.

Dort received the ball and hit a layup directly.

2-0
"Embid's handling of this ball was too simple. He should have taken advantage of the inside and played it under the basket." Kenny Smith said.

"I agree, with such a big inside advantage, you don't go to the basket, but show off your power outside the three-point line. This is not what an inside player should do." Barkley said.

Obviously Barkley looks down on a floating center like Embiid.

At this time, the ball was once again given to Philadelphia. Harden came to the frontcourt with the ball and signaled Embiid to get under the basket, but Embiid stood outside the three-point line and directly reached for the ball.

Harden was very speechless when he saw this scene, but for the sake of harmony within the team, Harden had no choice but to pass the ball.

Embiid got the ball and looked at Gasol who was three steps away from him. He first tried a triple threat test, but found that Gasol did not step forward, so he shot a three-pointer.

Swah——

This time the three-pointer finally hit.

But after hitting the three-pointer, Embiid was very proud, patting his chest and looking up to defend.

The ball possession changed, the Lakers attacked, and Su Tian got the ball and came to the frontcourt.

The person responsible for defending Su Tian is neither Harden nor Melton, but Tucker.

Su Tian and Tucker are also old acquaintances. The two often face off, but this time Su Tian didn't want to target Tucker. Su Tian wanted to see the quality of the center in the new era.

So Su Tian stretched out his hand to call Gasol to step forward to pick and roll. With the help of the pick and roll, Embiid came in front of Su Tian. Su Tian stretched out his hand to signal his teammates to pull away.

But before Su Tian could talk trash, Embiid opened fire first.

"Come on Su, let me see how powerful you, the so-called number one active player in the league, really are." (End of Chapter)