NBA’s aging 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 such a thing. 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 it is a good idea to avoid Su, 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——

The three-pointer was hit steadily.

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

"It seems that Harden is in good condition, but when chasing points, we still have to see if he can defend it."

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 shot 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 entering the fourth quarter with the current point difference are 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 entire Rockets 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.