NBA’s aging star system

"The difference of 31 points, the Suns are really too bad."

"A 31-point difference is actually not that bad, it's not 58 points."

"It's normal to play like this, after all, this is a full-strength Lakers team."

"You have to know that the Lakers won the championship in the past three years without any defeats. It's normal for them to have a 31-point difference now. Old fans know it."

After the Lakers won by a large margin, the entire public opinion was saying that the Suns' loss was natural.

This is understandable, after all, the Suns fans don't see any possibility of the team winning.

I can only say such words to comfort myself and to elevate the opponent's level to show that my loss is reasonable.

But no matter what the fans say, the score of 3-0 cannot be changed, and the Suns have entered the countdown to death.

It is also said that the current Suns management is not satisfied with the team's lineup, which means that the current lineup will definitely disintegrate next season.

And all the outside public opinion did not affect Su Tian and the Lakers.

Time quickly came to May 5th, and the two teams faced off in their fourth game.

Paul is still unable to attend this game, and the team is led by Booker and Durant.

At the beginning of the game, the tone of this game was set. The Lakers were leading by a large margin throughout the whole game, and the Suns could not find any possibility of turning the tables and winning.

It can’t be said that the Suns have no fighting spirit, but at least the whole team is listless.

The game didn't even last until the fourth quarter. In the second half of the third quarter, the difference between the two teams had reached 30 points. Monty had to make personnel adjustments and announced that the game entered garbage time.

At the end of the game, the Lakers won 131-99, eliminated the Suns 4-0, and successfully entered the Western Conference Finals!

After the game, Su Tian went to the Suns' bench as usual and shook hands with Booker and others.

"You did a good job, man. Keep up the hard work next year." Su Tian said, patting Booker on the back.

Booker just smiled bitterly and shook his head without saying anything else.

It is obvious that Booker has also lost confidence in the team.

The matchup between the Lakers and the Suns was the first to come to a conclusion. The other matchup in the Western Conference, between the Nuggets and the Clippers, was not so quick, which also gave the Lakers enough time to rest and adjust.

At this time in the Eastern Conference, two sets of matchups have not yet ended, namely the Bucks vs. Knicks and the Celtics vs. Heat.

But looking at the situation, Su Tian believes that the more likely matchup is that the Bucks defeat the Knicks and face the tenacious Heat.

Although the Celtics have a better record in the regular season, Su Tian is more optimistic that the Heat can make a comeback.

However, the current Lakers coaching staff has no intention of paying attention to the situation in the Eastern Conference, because the Nuggets and Clippers are fighting for their lives, and the current score is tied at 2-2, and both teams have the possibility of advancing.

On May 5, the two teams faced off in the decisive battle at the Nuggets' home court. This game not only affected the direction of the two teams, but also the situation in the entire Western Conference, so the Lakers coaching staff watched the entire game.

The game started soon, with both sides fielding their main lineups. The Nuggets, who were at home, took the lead first. Jokic's performance in the interior was impeccable, and the Clippers could not find any possibility of limiting them.

But as time went on and the game progressed, the Clippers began to play to their strengths, and the forward combination of Leonard and James is still the league's best.

On the Nuggets side, only Gordon can be called a defensive pioneer, but he can only barely match up against one of these two.

At the end of the first half, the Clippers came from behind and caught up with the score, and the two teams returned to the same starting line.

Just when everyone thought the Clippers would continue this trend in the second half and win the game in one fell swoop, the Nuggets suddenly made adjustments and Murray began to perform.

The Clippers' backcourt is actually not weak. You know, there is a former MVP Westbrook on the Clippers' bench.

But even so, it still couldn't stop Murray's superb performance, and Murray even became more and more courageous.

The entire third quarter became Murray's show time, which widened the score between the two teams again.

By the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets had extended their lead to 11 points.

"The Clippers are in danger. The Nuggets' momentum has risen. It will be difficult for the Clippers to overtake them." Walton couldn't help but say.

"I didn't expect that the Nuggets would have the last laugh in this game. I thought our opponent in the Western Conference Finals would be the Clippers."

Although the fourth quarter had not started yet, everyone on the Lakers side had basically determined the Clippers' defeat.

The fourth quarter that followed was exactly as everyone expected. Although James and Leonard both tried their best, unfortunately they were unable to motivate their teammates and had to give up the victory.

At the end of the game, the Nuggets won 119-110, the score between the two teams was 3-2, and the Nuggets took the match point.

Two days later, the sixth game between the two teams began.

The Clippers fans are full of confidence. After all, this is the Clippers' home court, and the Clippers still have certain advantages.

But after the game started, the Nuggets still took the lead.

Su Tian is very clear about the Clippers' situation.

"The Clippers are too dependent on the performance of James and Leonard. The role players have not been well integrated into the team's system. Especially now that the schedule is deepening, the two main players have consumed a lot of physical strength and can no longer carry the team forward."

As a result, the Clippers, who were originally highly expected by everyone, actually fell to the Nuggets this time and stopped in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers' opponent in the Western Conference Finals has been determined: the Denver Nuggets.

At the same time, the situation in the east gradually became clear.

The Bucks easily defeated the Knicks, while the Heat fought the Celtics for 6 games, winning the sixth game with difficulty and successfully advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

To be honest, it was not easy for the Heat to rank sixth in the Eastern Conference regular season and make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. No one thought that the Heat could beat the Bucks and reach the finals.

Except Su Tian.

Su Tian has always attached great importance to the Heat and does not dare to underestimate them at all, not to mention that the Heat itself is a team that is good at creating miracles.

However, Su Tian currently does not have the energy to pay attention to the situation in the East, as the threat from the Nuggets is already in front of him.

According to original history, the Nuggets are this year's championship team, and the Lakers are still under considerable pressure.

Time soon came to the Western Conference Finals.

"Su, there is no doubt that the key to this series lies in Su." Kenny Smith said with certainty.

"Kenny, you seem to be saying nonsense. Everyone knows that Su is the key to the game." Barkley immediately retorted.

The bickering between the two has become everyone's appetizer before the game, and soon the main course is here.

The starting players of the duo began to enter the court and the game was about to begin.

The Lakers' starting lineup is still the same as before.

The starting lineup for the Nuggets is Murray, Pope, Porter Jr., Gordon, and Jokic.

Su Tian is not worried about his performance in the game. He is absolutely confident about this, but he has to worry about the inside situation.

Davis has just returned from injury not long ago, and his condition has not yet returned to its peak. Facing Jokic, who is in his peak condition, Su Tian is really afraid that Davis will not be able to withstand it.

The game started soon, Davis took the lead in grabbing the first attack, and Su Tian got the ball and advanced to the frontcourt.

Although Jokic's movement speed was indeed not fast, Su Tian still did not choose to attack quickly, but prepared to play steadily.

After coming to the frontcourt, Su Tian faced not the Nuggets' number one player Murray, but his old friend Pope.

Pope's restrictions on Su Tian are naturally very limited, but the game has just begun. Su Tian does not intend to play alone, but wants to mobilize his teammates to participate in the team's offense.

So Su Tian first stretched out his hand to call on Davis to come forward for a pick-and-roll, and at the same time, teammates on both sides were also busy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when Jokic was moved, George made a direct cut to the basket, and Su Tian made a high pass to the basket.

George looked at the position of the ball, gritted his teeth, flew up, grabbed the basketball and slammed it into the basket.

After scoring the goal, George had a fierce look on his face and looked very difficult to deal with.

But just when George came to Su Tian and high-fived him, he whispered something to Su Tian.

"Dude, don't dunk next time. Your arms and legs are old and you can't jump high anymore."

Su Tian looked at George now, who was rounder than in history, and couldn't help but smile.

After all, he won the championship, and General Qiao also neglected his body management.

The ball possession changed, Murray brought the ball to the frontcourt, Jokic went to the free throw line, and Murray passed the ball directly to him.

After receiving the ball, Jokic did not rush to shoot, but began to observe the running positions of the players on the court. After all, he is the big man who is best at passing the ball. He made a very concealed ground pass directly to Porter Jr. who was cutting to the basket. Porter Jr. received the ball and made a layup directly.

Walton on the sidelines saw it clearly. It wasn't that Porter's movement was so fast or strange, it was simply that Johnson didn't keep up.

"Kelden! Watch your men!"

Johnson also knew that it was his own problem and nodded quickly.

The ball was given to the Lakers again. Su Tian came to the frontcourt with the ball. Facing the Nuggets' defense, he made a gesture of playing one-on-one, successfully attracting the attention of the Nuggets. Then, as if he really wanted to play one-on-one, he broke through Pope's defense with a cross step.

Seeing this, Gordon on the side immediately stepped forward to assist in double-teaming, but Su Tian passed the ball to George who was released in the corner.

George caught the ball and made a three-pointer directly.

Swah——

The three-pointer was hit steadily.

But before George could celebrate, the Nuggets used a quick serve tactic.

Jokic was at the baseline, took the ball and threw it directly to the frontcourt, accurately passing it to Gordon who was rushing forward.

Gordon got the ball, ran straight to the basket, and dunked with both hands.

In the opening few rounds, both teams played to their strengths and achieved good shooting percentages.

Halfway through the first quarter, the two teams still had not widened the gap, and both sides began to make substitutions.

The most important thing for the Lakers is naturally the substitution adjustments in the interior.

Davis went off the court first to rest, and Gasol Jr. came on to take over the responsibility of defending Jokic from Davis.

But in this way, the team's offensive ability will undoubtedly decline, so Su Tian must take on most of the team's offensive responsibilities.

After returning to the court, the Nuggets also made adjustments to Su Tian's defense. Both teams coincidentally launched a rotation battle against their core players.

The person responsible for defending Su Tian at this time was Bruce Brown. Although Brown had very good defensive abilities, he was still not good enough when facing Su Tian. Su Tian continued to hold the ball and make strong shots.

On the other hand, the same is true for Jokic. Gasol's defense also seems stretched when facing Jokic.

Gasol was not at a disadvantage in terms of tonnage, but his movement speed and lateral movement were too slow compared to Jokic, allowing Jokic to score several goals in a row.

Just when everyone thought that the two teams would maintain the score until the end of the first half, Su Tian suddenly made several consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter, and the gap between the two teams quickly widened.

At the end of the first half, the Lakers led the Nuggets by 58 points, 50-8.

"I have to say that the Nuggets' performance in the first half was still very good. At least they didn't fall behind by double digits. They even remained in a stalemate until the last stage of the second quarter, when Sue's consecutive three-pointers widened the gap," said Kenny Smith.

“And the score difference wasn’t that big, so we had a chance to catch up in the second half.”

Barkley shook his head and said, "I don't think so. Although the score difference between the two teams did not widen in the first half and Jokic's data was better, Jokic's consumption was far more than usual, while Su's physical strength was well preserved. The situation will change drastically in the second half."

At this time, Jokic, who had returned to the locker room, was sweating profusely and gasping for breath, looking exhausted.

"Neither Mark nor Anthony are that simple. Anthony is strong and healthy, and he is in his prime. Although Mark is a lot older, he was the best defensive player before, which is enough for Jokic to suffer a heavy loss," said Barkley.

Jokic's physical consumption was also calculated by Walton, which is also one of the Lakers' tactics. After all, everyone knows that Jokic is the cornerstone and pillar of the Nuggets.

If Jokic failed to hold on at the critical moment, Murray would not have a chance to perform at all, and Su Tian would have been able to kill the game directly.

"We continued with our tactics in the second half, and kept wearing down the inside line. We couldn't let Jokic have an easy time, not even for a moment!" Walton emphasized the team's defense.

After Davis returned, the Lakers' inside line became very sufficient, enough to play a rotation battle with Jokic.

After Davis plays with Gasol, Cousins ​​will play, and after Cousins, Aldridge will play. If that doesn't work, Griffin can also play the five position.

It can be said that the Lakers' inside reserves are very abundant.