So far this season, the Lakers have a record of 15 wins and 13 losses, and are now ranked 6th in the West. Truth be told, the Lakers' performance this season has really not met the expectations of fans. You know, at the beginning of the season, almost all fans predicted that the Lakers would be the best team in the West, and they all predicted that the Lakers were one of the most powerful contenders for the championship. However, the Lakers' new season with practical actions, let us understand what is "the ideal is full, the reality is bone".
Of course, there are many reasons for the Lakers' poor record this season. For example: Vogel has never been able to find a suitable system, Wei Shao has never been able to integrate into the team, the problem of the team's rotation lineup, Davis's strength decline and so on. But then again, although the Lakers have problems of one kind or another, James' performance is still as stable as ever. In particular, the performance of James in the last 8 games can be described as incomprehensible, and in the last 8 games, James has scored 39 points, 30 points, 33 points, 23 points, 30 points, 20 points, 33 points, and 30 points. In 8 games, James has scored 30+ points in 6 games, including two triple-doubles.
It is worth mentioning that James averaged 28.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game last week, shooting 60.8%, leading the Lakers to a record of three wins and one loss, becoming the player of the week in the eighth week of the NBA. With this week's best on the horizon, James has set a new NBA record. According to statistics, James is the first player in NBA history to still win the best player of the week in the 19th season of his career. I don't know, what do you think of James now? Anyway, my evaluation of James is to borrow a phrase from Lakers owner Jenny Bass is "James can play until he is 46 years old." Yes, this sentence may be a bit exaggerated, but this sentence reflects how strong James is.
Okay, back to the point, let's talk about how dominant James has been in the last 8 games. In the last 8 games, James has shown us that his impact is still very strong, as long as he rushes up, he is still like a "light tank". While maintaining the impact, James's three-point ball stability is gradually improving, and the stability of mid-range shooting is becoming more and more stable. All in all, James' offensive means are very rich now, and he doesn't have any scoring blind spots on the court. In addition to the stability of the offensive end, James is also the lakers' tactical engine, he will be very smooth on the field Of lakers' offense, and when he is not on the court, the Lakers' offense is mostly a singles-player. To borrow a phrase we often say, the Lakers with James and the Lakers without James are two completely different teams.
I believe that the fans who see here will say, since James is so strong, why is the Lakers' record so poor? In fact, the problem is very simple, that is, Davis is too incompetent. You can think back to the year when the Lakers won the championship, the year of victory Davis's dominance at both ends of the attack and defense is very incomprehensible, the offensive end Davis has the ability to make no difference in singles, as long as you want to score, no one can defend Davis. On the defensive end, Davis' defensive coverage is very large, whether it is the inside or outside line is the Lakers' most trusted player. On the contrary, looking at this season, Davis' outside three-point shooting rate on the offensive end is less than 20%, and mid-range shooting and back-up play under the basket have become very difficult. Defensively, Davis's lateral movement slowed down and his explosiveness slipped very noticeably. To put it bluntly, since Davis won the championship last year, the whole mood has changed. If Davis had been in the league's top five before, davis probably wouldn't even find him in the top ten now.
More ironically, Davis missed two games while James led the team to a wave of 2 consecutive wins. However, the difficulty for the Lakers is also very obvious now, that is, once Davis returns, then Davis will undoubtedly return to the starting position. When the time comes, will the Lakers let Davis play 5 or let Davis play 4? If Davis is allowed to play 4, then the Lakers' offensive space will be very small. Conversely, if Davis is allowed to play 5 and Davis does not have a shooting ability, the playing style will be very difficult. All in all, the Lakers still have a long way to go ahead, and their lineup has not really run into success. Now, James has turned on peak mode ahead of schedule. So, Davis really couldn't be more indifferent. Because, how far the Lakers can go, Davis's role is too critical.