NBA’s aging star system

The Lakers' bench was relaxed and happy, but the Thunder's fortunes were not so good.

"Guys, our current situation is not very good. In the fourth quarter, Su will definitely strengthen his personal offense with the ball and be pushed to the third position. So Paul, the task of defending Su in the fourth quarter will be left to you, Russell. Well, Cameron, you two have to shoulder the offensive responsibility of the team in the fourth quarter, and you must ensure the team's offensive efficiency."

After speaking, Donovan turned and looked at Westbrook aside, "Russell, the rhythm of the team's offense is very important. You are responsible for controlling this aspect. Be careful not to let the Lakers take away the rhythm of the game."

Donovan kept mumbling for a while, and soon the inter-quarter break ended and the fourth quarter began.

The Lakers sent in a substitute lineup and Su Tian, ​​and Su Tian was pushed to the third position. Everything was consistent with Donovan's prediction.

The Thunder, on the other hand, deployed the entire Big Three lineup in an attempt to regain the lead before the Lakers' starting lineup fully came up.

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

In the fourth quarter, Su Tian was in full form and his physical strength had recovered a lot. He naturally chose to score the first goal by himself.

The Thunder were also prepared. After arriving in the frontcourt, Paul George faced off against Su Tian. Su Tian signaled to his teammates to pull away. After pulling away, Su Tian lowered his center of gravity while crossing the ball and dribbling.

George's defensive strength is not bad, but he is actually not the best candidate to defend Su Tian.

Su Tian's cross dribble connected with a crotch dribble, and then he broke through directly and broke into the basket from the right side.

George quickly turned around to catch up. At the same time, Adams on the inside also turned back to defend the basket. For a while, the Thunder once again formed a double-team on Su Tian.

But this time, Su Tian didn't rush to play the ball. Instead, he accelerated the dribble to open the distance between him and George, and then threw up before Adams pounced on him.

Bang——shua——

The basketball hits the backboard and the board goes into the net.

90-80

Su Tian successfully scored the ball in a one-on-one, and Donovan's brows on the sideline were so frowned that he could pinch a fly.

The ball was transferred, and Westbrook advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing the defense of Hart and Pope, Westbrook directly shifted gears and sprinted to break through.

Nance inside helped defend and returned to the basket, and Westbrook passed the ball to Anthony.

Anthony received the ball and shot directly.

Swah——

Kuzma's defense is still a step slower, and Anthony is more experienced in seizing the opportunity.

90-82

Although Anthony scored, Su Tian did not panic because the Lakers' offense was also on track.

Turning around, Su Tian continued to play singles with the ball. This time, the Thunder's defensive double-team came earlier, so Su Tian directly passed the ball to Kuzma, who was cutting through the air.

Kuzma caught the ball and scored directly for a layup.

92-82

Because the Thunder wanted to restrict Su Tian too much, the defense at the basket was empty, giving Kuzma an opportunity.

In the next few rounds, the two sides played one ball and one ball. The situation on the court was heated, but the score difference did not change much at all.

After playing like this for 5 minutes, Donovan couldn't help but call a timeout. The point difference seemed small, but it was like a chasm blocking the Thunder, which was impossible to climb. Donovan could only find another way out.

On the Lakers side, seeing that the Thunder took the initiative to call a timeout, they were not polite and directly sent in the starting lineup.

After returning to the court, the Lakers who had finished their rest were obviously more passionate and energetic. With continuous running, they could easily find open opportunities. Coupled with Su Tian's ability to attract defense, the combination of the two, Su Tian's assist The number has actually increased a lot.

And this 10-point difference was maintained until the end of the game. Even until the last minute, Donovan did not replace the main player, but the moment the game ended, the Thunder's defeat was still inevitable.

In the end, the game ended. The Lakers won the game 115-104, with the big score reaching 2-0. The next two games will be played against Oklahoma.

Su Tian scored 28 points, 18 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. The number of assists broke his personal playoff record and he won the best of the game.

In addition, Ingram scored a playoff-high 27 points and Randall scored a rebound-high 12 rebounds.

The overall performance of the Lakers is indeed better than that of the Thunder, or the Lakers are more like a team than the Thunder.

On the other hand, the Thunder's Big Three did score 20+ points, but the total number of assists for the entire team was only 16, which was not even as high as Su Tian's alone.

From this perspective, the Thunder's defeat is not surprising.

As soon as Su Tian's game ended, he returned to the locker room and got his cell phone to send a message to Harden.

"James, I've said it, so don't let me down."

As a time traveler, Su Tian naturally knew that the Rockets had lost to the Warriors in history, but it didn't mean that the Rockets had no possibility of winning, so Su Tian wanted to stimulate Harden and let Harden burst out and win the Warriors.

If the Lakers play against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers' winning rate is indeed not high, but if it is against the Rockets, the Lakers still have a chance to win.

Playing against the Rockets is at least a little more certain than playing against the Warriors.

On May 5, the entire Lakers team went to Oklahoma. By arriving one day in advance, they could prepare one day in advance.

After arriving at the hotel, Su Tian was ready to lie down on the court and rest for a while.

There are two games today, both in the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow the Rockets and Lakers games will be played at the same time.

While Su Tian was resting, Randall knocked on Su Tian's door.

"Julius, what's wrong?" Su Tian opened the door and invited Randall into the room.

"It's okay, Su, I'll come and chat with you." Randall said.

"Chat? Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, let's talk about this season's regular season MVP." Randall obviously had other things on his mind, but he didn't say it out loud.

"What's there to talk about? The regular season MVP is mine and no one can take it away. If this season hadn't been restructured and there had been some kind of awards ceremony, maybe the news that I won the MVP would have spread."

Randall nodded and said: "Indeed, the alliance is a redundant move. Obviously, the original one is very good. You can also receive the award before the game and damage the opponent's morale by the way. In the end, it is useless."

Su Tian looked at Randall and continued: "You have performed very well this season. Although you can't see the regular season awards, you are sure to get a big contract next season."

Randall smiled and said, "Actually, Su, I came here just to tell you this."

"Although the Lakers' forward line is not strong, there are many players who can play. My starting position is not that stable, and the number of shots I can play is limited."

Randall paused and then said: "So, I was thinking about whether I should go to a place that is more suitable for me. Of course, if Su, you told me to stay, I would also choose to stay, so I was thinking I came to discuss this with you.”

After saying so much, Randall finally got to the point. From the moment Randall came to look for him, Su Tian knew that Randall had something to say.