NBA’s aging star system

Ayton faced the problem of choosing between Su Tian and Nongmei, but with the head coach's pre-game instructions, Ayton naturally focused on helping to defend Su Tian.

In the next few rounds of the first quarter, the development was not much different from everyone's predictions. Booker was always affected by Su Tian's defense, so that he could not display his usual strength at all.

The score difference in the first quarter also showed this well. The Lakers held the lead throughout the game and did not give the Suns a chance to overtake.

However, the Suns saw that Booker really couldn't break through Su Tian's defense, so they changed their strategy and let Booker end the game early.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Suns by 34 points 25-9. This point difference was not easy for the Suns to chase.

In the second quarter, Su Tian left the game to rest as usual. At the same time, the Suns also made substitution adjustments, and Booker, who left the game early to rest, returned to the court again.

Booker's appearance in the game was expected by Su Tian. Su Tian also knew very well what the Suns were planning. It was just to travel at the wrong time with him, hoping to catch up with the score during the rotation period, or even widen the point difference. .

But playing in such a way that avoids the opponent's main force is inherently a passive disadvantage.

After Booker came on the court, he became the dominant player on the Suns' side, holding the ball continuously to launch attacks. However, Dort, who was responsible for defense on the Lakers' side, really couldn't restrain Booker and could only barely provide some interference.

Fortunately, the Lakers still have Brunson, George and others to ensure the team's offensive efficiency, so although the point difference is constantly shrinking, the shrinkage is not large.

Until about halfway through the second quarter, Suns coach Monty Williams, who was off the court, kept making gestures towards Booker on the court.

Monty Williams has been paying attention to the time off the court, just to let Booker catch up with the score difference before Su Tian comes back, so at this time he is constantly reminding Booker to pay attention to the time.

At this time, the score difference between the two teams was still 4 points. Booker saw the coach's signal, so he nodded and gritted his teeth at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, Booker came to the frontcourt with the ball, and with the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll, he directly shot a three-pointer.

Swah——

Booker made a three-point shot under tremendous pressure, and the point difference came to 1 point.

The ball was transferred, and Brunson came to the frontcourt with the ball. After a period of tactical cooperation to pass the ball, the ball was given to George.

George got the ball and started a breakthrough. After successfully attracting help from defense, he passed a pass to Dort who was cutting through the air.

Dort received the ball and hit a layup directly, and the point difference returned to 3 points again.

But when the ball was given to Booker again, Booker made another strong three-pointer.

Swah——

The three-pointer hit again.

At this time, Booker was like Phoenix's lone hero, and Su Tian seemed to really see the shadow of Kobe in Booker.

The two teams were tied, and Walton called a timeout.

"Su, Booker is in a bit of a hot state right now. Suppress him."

"Okay coach, leave it to me."

The timeout soon ended and Su Tian came on the field again.

After playing again, Su Tian first hit a mid-range pull-up jumper, taking the lead in scoring 2 points, and then followed Booker on the defensive end.

Booker saw Su Tian guarding him, so he changed from holding the ball to not holding the ball, hoping to get rid of Su Tian's defense with the help of his teammates.

However, Su Tian could not get rid of Su Tian in several consecutive pick-and-roll cooperations, so he could only let his teammates finish, and the teammate's finish was naturally not as successful as Booker's finish.

Basketball is playing iron, thick eyebrows collected the rebound and passed the ball directly to Su Tian.

Su Tian got the ball and turned around to start a fast break.

He took the lead and came to the basket in the frontcourt and hit the layup directly.

The Lakers took the lead again.

At this time, Monty also saw that Booker was still no match for Su Tian. In this case, it was better to take a rest to save energy, so he immediately reached out to signal for substitutions.

After the substitution adjustment, Booker came off the court to rest, and the court became Paul, Bridges and others, and the ball was given to Paul.

Although the Suns can still perform well without Booker, their offensive capabilities have inevitably declined.

So in the second half of the second quarter, the Lakers, led by Su Tian and Nong Mei, once again took the lead. At the end of the second quarter, the point difference reached 7 points again.

During the halftime break, in the Suns' locker room, Monty was explaining tactics with a tactical board while observing the players on the team.

After careful observation by Monty, he found that the atmosphere and morale in the team were not bad, which made Monty breathe a sigh of relief.

Monty knew that when the Lakers played against the Jazz in the first round, the atmosphere in the Jazz team was already very deserted and morale was completely gone.

However, in order to boost morale, Monty still encouraged the morale of the players before going on the field.

The Lakers' side is much simpler. Su Tian only needs to continue to pay attention to Booker's status.

Soon the intermission ended and the third quarter began.

In the third quarter, both teams once again brought out their entire starting lineups.

The Suns still brought Booker up. Although Su Tian's defensive efficiency was very low, it was the team's first scoring point and the core of the team.

The first possession of the third quarter was given to the Lakers. Brunson came to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing Paul's defense, he did not pass the ball directly but called for a pick-and-roll.

After the pick-and-roll, Brunson burst out and rushed to the basket, but Brunson's impact was just a cover and immediately attracted Ayton's defensive double-team. At this time, Brunson passed the ball to the thick eyebrow again.

Thick Eyebrow received the ball near the free throw line and shot directly from mid-range.

Swah——

The thick eyebrow hit steadily from mid-range.

When the ball was transferred, Paul came to the frontcourt with the ball, went to the top of the arc to direct traffic, and used Ayton's pick-and-roll to break through with the ball.

However, Paul's breakthrough speed was very slow, and Brunson quickly caught up. However, Paul's breakthrough with the ball is no longer for scoring.

I saw Paul passing the ball to Ayton who was following the pass. Ayton received the ball and directly attacked the basket. However, at this time, he encountered thick eyebrows' help and interference, and Ayton's layup hit the iron.

The thick eyebrow turned around to collect the rebound and passed the ball directly to Su Tian. Su Tian held the ball and launched a fast break, and passed the ball again to Johnson who was fast breaking in the frontcourt.

Johnson received the ball and made a layup directly.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Lakers scored 4 points in a row, and the point difference reached double digits.

Although the Suns are also trying hard to chase points, the effect is very average, and the point difference has been hovering around 10 points.

A few minutes later, Monty once again took Booker off the court early and let Paul lead the team.

On the Lakers side, Su Tian also began to lead the Lakers forward as a whole, reducing the proportion of his own shots and instead passing the ball to assist his teammates, which can save more energy.

If you ask Su Tian why he wants to save energy, it is naturally because Su Tian wants to play the second half of the third quarter.

Soon after halfway through the third quarter, the Lakers began to make substitution adjustments, and the Suns also began to make substitution adjustments.

Monty also breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: "The Lakers have finally made substitutions and adjustments. There is still half a quarter left, so we can still catch up."