Beijing time on November 26, Thanksgiving Day, local time in the United States, there is no game today, and the players can also take a day out of the intensive schedule to spend time with their families. Yesterday's Lakers and Pacers game, the post-game referee report showed that Duarte's last-minute three-pointer in regular time, the Lakers players were fouled, in other words, yesterday's game, the Pacers had a chance to win the Lakers. Up to now, the Lakers are 10 wins and 10 losses ranked ninth in the West, from the record to the state shown on the court, can not be satisfied, this Lakers is difficult to associate with the championship favorite. Jason Reed, a columnist for The Lakeshowlife of Los Angeles, wrote an analysis that Vogel has now reached the point where he has to change sides, otherwise he may face the crisis of graduation.
According to the scoring simulation of the US media "Basketball-Reference", as of now, the lakers' comprehensive performance is only ranked 25th in the league, and the net efficiency value ranks 24th in the league, and in the previous month, the Lakers' schedule difficulty is ranked sixth in the league. In other words, the Lakers played this record in such a simple schedule, and in Reid's words, the Lakers, who have countless big stars, look mediocre. Now that a quarter of the regular season schedule has been played, the Lakers have not completed the chemical run-in, have not formed an effective rotation system, and have not even maintained enough health, and the injured soldiers are full of troops. So how should the Lakers adjust? Reid gives three pieces of advice.
First, reduce Jordan Jr.'s playing time.
Jordan Jr. averaged less than 14 minutes per game this season, but when he was on the floor, both offensive and defensive became a burden on the team. Two reasons, the first point, Jordan Jr. does not have enough explosive power, scrambling for rebounds more rely on crouch-pit defense, and the Lakers, whether staring at people or joint defense, have high requirements for the center's movement ability and foot flexibility. Jordan Jr. now has a net efficiency of -8.4 on the floor and spends most of his time with Davis, and he can't effectively help Davis share the defensive pressure. Second, Jordan Jr. encroached on Westbrook's offensive space, and he wasn't even a good endpoint on the offensive end. In Reed's words, if Anthony's Davis really doesn't want to occupy the No. 5 position for too long, why doesn't Vogel give Howard more time? The reason for this is only known to the Lakers.
Second, reduce Bradley's playing time.
Bradley got a non-guarantee contract from the Lakers after the preseason, and now Bradley's three-point shooting rate is 38%, which is very good, but compared with the Lakers' championship season, his defense has regressed significantly, and when he is on the court, the Lakers' defensive efficiency is 110.1, the net efficiency value is -11.5, and the victory contribution value is -4.6, which is ranked in the lower level of the league, that is, the bottom 50. It's hard to imagine a player in the Lakers' starting lineup that is seriously dragging down the defense. Previously, it was thought that Tucker's return would reduce Bradley's playing time, but now the Lakers have fewer people on the flank, and before Ariza's return, Vogel can only hope to increase Reeves' playing time and ease the pressure on the defensive end.
Third, control Wei Shao's playing time.
Similar to Little Jordan Wei Shao, Wei Shao's playing time also needs to be reduced, but in reality, the Lakers need Wei Shao in the regular season, so they can't be reduced too much. As of now, Wei Shao's playing time is 711 minutes, the rest time is 264 minutes, and in the 264 minutes of Wei Shao's absence, the Lakers' net efficiency value is +1.6, which ranks 12th in the league, while in the 711 minutes of Wei Shao's presence, the Lakers' net efficiency value is -5.2, a difference of 6.8 points per 100 rounds. Reid gave an intuitive example: Westbrook is not on the floor, the Lakers are the 12th team in the league, Westbrook is present, and the Lakers are the 26th team in the league. Of course, the Lakers now need him to share the pressure of James and Davis, so they can only control Westbrook's playing time, from the current average of 35.6 minutes per game to 30-32 minutes, to ensure that Westbrook reduces mistakes and improves efficiency in less time.
Reid believes that the Lakers have a lot of injuries at this stage, but the good news is that Reeves is likely to return as soon as possible, and Davis' last Game pacers were absent due to fever, and now it is not a big problem. The Lakers interior line needs more rim-guarding players to ease the pressure on Davis, Howard is a good choice, he is much more efficient than Jordan Jr., now it depends on whether Vogel is willing to use him.