After betting on WeiWei to build a big lineup in the offseason, the Lakers introduced double-digit new signings in the free market in one breath, creating a lineup with extremely strong paper strength.
But since the beginning of the season, the performance of this new Lakers has been disappointing, the team has been struggling with injuries for a long time, James has constantly been in and out of the list, Wei Shao has been swimming outside the system, and the performance of the thick eyebrow brother at both ends of the attack and defense seems to be much worse than before.
Therefore, the Lakers are deeply involved in the rumors of trading, but the US media "Fadeawayworld" does not think so, they list 5 reasons to support the Purple and Gold Army, bluntly saying that the Lakers are better than the outside world imagines.
Reason one: Wei Shao
Since the beginning of the season, Westbrook has undoubtedly been one of the most disappointing Lakers players, but over time, everything has gotten better.
When he first played for the Lakers in October, Wei Shao struggled extremely, shooting only 25% from the outside and averaging 5.1 turnovers per game.
But if you understand Wei Shao and understand the logic of a team's operation, then it is not difficult to understand that the fusion of three top players is destined to bring certain fluctuations, just like when Wei Shao joined the Rockets and Wizards before, there were also certain fluctuations in the early stage.
But everything will get better and better with the run-in, and the same is true of Westbrook joining the Lakers, especially in the last 10 games.
In his last 10 games for the Lakers, Westbrook has averaged 19.8 points, 8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game, averaged 3.1 three-pointers per game, and has a 41.9 percent shooting percentage, and if narrowed down to the last five games, his three-point shooting rate is close to 50%.
In addition, Westbrook's assist-to-turnover ratio has always been controlled around 1.16, which is even better than Doncic and Curry, ranking in the middle of the league, while Westbrook's defensive efficiency (106.7) ranks fourth in the Lakers, if he has been in this state, there is no reason for the outside world to criticize him.
Reason two: Thick eyebrow brother
In addition to Wei Shao, Thick Brow Brother is currently another player who has been criticized by the Lakers, and the criticism mainly revolves around the three-point projection of Less than 20% of Thick Brow Brother.
But the problem is that The thick eyebrow brother only averaged 2 three-point shots per game, while his overall shooting rate reached 52.4%, and the near basket shooting rate was 78.3%, which is the best low-post scorer in the league, and every time he uses a back-to-back single, he can score 1.01 points.
In addition, he averages 2.2 blocks per game and is an indispensable figure on the Lakers' defensive end, and he has been criticized because he can reach a higher level, not because he is not good enough at the moment.
Reason three: serious injuries
If Curry only plays in 16 of the 28 games, what kind of results will the Warriors deliver, or if Paul misses half of the games, will the Suns still be able to reach the top of the West?
Serious injuries are an objective fact of what happened to the Lakers, especially the core James, who has missed a lot of games and has been in and out of the roster.
When James came out, the Lakers played a record of 9 wins and 6 losses, such a win rate will rank fourth in the league, and as James recovers, the outside world should maintain greater patience with this Lakers.
Reason four: Vogel is trying to adjust the lineup
As a championship head coach, when the Lakers were in trouble, Vogel's employment was also criticized by the outside world.
But the problem is that the Lakers except for James, Thick Brow and Horton Tucker, the rest of the players are new signings, Vogel is not a god, but also need a lot of games to adjust the lineup.
Jordan Jr. at the beginning of the season has found a suitable position on the bench, Bazemore has also been beaten into the cold palace, while digging out Rivers, and reusing Bradley and Munch, Vogel as the championship coach, the intelligence and coaching ability is far higher than the outside world.
Reason Five: The Lakers have the best group of substitute shooters in the league
Anthony, Munch and Ellington are stepping up from the Lakers bench to solve the problem for the entire team.
Anthony shot 5.9 three-pointers per game and shot 41.2 percent, Ellington made five three-pointers per game and 40 percent, and Munch shot 4.8 three-pointers per game, with a 36.1 percent shooting percentage.
Vogel is also constantly building a lineup around the three shooters, and some of them have formed a stable chemistry, and jordan Jr., who was previously abandoned, was activated in the second team.
Therefore, for Lakers fans, instead of expecting the Lakers to complete some unreliable transactions, it is better to wait patiently for the Lakers to get better step by step.
After all, there are many Lakers veterans, destined to be a little slow, coupled with a new team, the pain brought by the run-in is inevitable.
The championship is always a long journey, and when you laugh to the end, the ups and downs and tribulations of the past will become the jokes of that time.