Since James' return, the Lakers' record is 4 wins and 4 losses, including the number of games that have been expelled, banned and violated safety agreements, 2 wins and 1 loss, and during James' appearance, the Lakers' winning percentage is even less than 50%. Compared with James' absence, the Lakers' record has not become better because of James's return, but has become worse. At the same time, 2 of the 3 games lost were lost by the Lakers with a point difference of less than 5 points, in other words, James did not give the Lakers a stronger ability to end the game. In these games, James's performance is not satisfactory, and James has become a barometer for the Lakers.
In the last game, the Lakers and kings fought three overtime games, and finally the Lakers lost by 4 points. Because of Westbrook's disastrous performance at the beginning of the game, fans habitually put the responsibility for the loss on him, but in fact, Westbrook was not the one who dragged the Lakers' hind legs in that game, James was. In that game, although James scored the highest score of 30 points in the game, his scoring efficiency was not high, and the Lakers gave the right to decide the game to him, but he let the Lakers down. Westbrook, on the other hand, played his best performance of the season in that game, with a triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, shooting as high as 55% of the way and only 3 turnovers.
And yesterday, in the same-city derby in Los Angeles, the Lakers once again lost to the Clippers by 4 points, James still inefficiently got 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Westbrook 10 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists, shooting 50% from the field. Although the Clippers finally killed the game with two three-pointers, the Lakers' own offense was obviously a problem, and the final stage was still the way James decided to attack, but he chose to shoot an unreasonable three-pointer when he was 2 points behind, and chose to go to the basket when he was 3 points behind, and his final offensive choice was really difficult to say. In this game, James's three shooting percentages are lower than the Lakers' average, which is really not right for a home star.
"You can always believe in James at the last moment", the Lakers' choice was not wrong, but now James really did not come up with a strength that people believed. James' performances in key moments this season have only been proven against the Pacers, and other games have not been impressive. Perhaps, James should think about releasing the ball, and the highly concentrated ball may really hurt the Lakers. Now James, the way to decide the game, is no longer a bulldozer-like breakthrough, but to choose a three-point long-range shot, although the late james of the long-range shooting threat has improved, but this is not his goalkeeping ability after all. James's retreat step three points is a hammer deal, if you enter, it really hits the morale of the opponent, and if you don't enter, it hurts the morale of your teammates.
The Lakers abandoned DeRozan to introduce Westbrook in the offseason, seeing that he could dominate the team's offense and help James share the pressure of the ball. Although the state of Westbrook was not convincing some time ago, it is indeed getting better and better now, and James should also release the ball. In the game against the Clippers, Westbrook only shot 8 times in the whole game, but got 9 assists, which shows that Westbrook's contribution to the game is getting bigger and bigger, and the Lakers should also consider how to balance the ball distribution between James and Westbrook.
The second game against the Kings is the best example, in the absence of James, the Lakers beat the Kings by 25 points to win the most enjoyable game of the season. In this game, the Lakers' offense was all dominated by Westbrook, although the efficiency was not high, but he did win the game with the Lakers, and also played the basketball of the Lakers that fans expected. After this game, the Lakers coaching staff may begin to think about how the Lakers should win correctly, rather than blindly relying on James.
James should probably admit the effect of age on him, his breakthroughs are no longer so arbitrary, and the way he decides to play is constrained. Even so, James is also the most reliable game reaper in the Lakers, but James may be able to think in a different direction, no longer obsessed with killing the game with three points, but can let Westbrook direct the ball, take the ball in the most comfortable low position, and decide the game in a more secure way.