In the 21-year offseason, when the Lakers management gave up DeRozan, Hield and other defenders who were more suitable for their own system, but instead introduced Wei Shao, who was incompatible with the current Lakers system, many people held a pessimistic attitude towards this - thinking that the arrival of Westbrook could not bring substantial help to the Lakers at all, but would only drag the Lakers back and become a stumbling block on their way to the championship.
Of course, some fans and media believe that the reason why the Lakers management introduced Wei Shao must have their own considerations, and the problems that can be seen by clear-eyed people can be seen by the Lakers management cannot be ignored - they must have seen the shining point of Wei Shao, and they will insist on introducing him. So before the start of the season, both sides insisted on their own opinions, and no one could convince anyone...
21-22 season: After the introduction of Westbrook, the Lakers' record is far from meeting expectations
After the start of the new season, most fans and the media originally hoped that the Lakers, the "only two" super big three teams in the league, could play a dominant role and occupy the first throne of the league. Who ever wanted to start the season The Lakers have lost to the Warriors and the Suns, but they have not been able to find the right way to win, and they have never been able to play dominance.
Originally thought that the Lakers could not play a dominant force, but as the season deepened + the big three advantages, they will certainly be able to force themselves into the top four in the West in the middle of the season, after all, they are the team that aims to compete for the championship. However, so far this season, under the leadership of the Big Three, the Lakers only have a record of 16 wins and 17 losses in the Sixth Place in the West.
That is to say, after a third of the schedule, it is actually possible to determine that the arrival of Westbrook has not brought too much substantive breakthrough to the Lakers...
Just as the so-called "house leak is partial to the overnight rain, the ship is late and meets the leading wind": Originally, the Lakers' big three were worried that the team could not find the chemical reaction and could not play dominant, resulting in the team's record always hovering in the 6-8 place in the West. Some time ago, when Wei Shao was getting better and better, it seemed that the big three were about to find the chemistry and find the right way to win, but the thick eyebrows were injured without warning.
And according to the lakers' official news - thick eyebrows due to the side of the left knee medial collateral ligament strain, the future will have to be absent for at least 4 weeks.
This news is nothing less than a thunderbolt on a sunny day for the Lakers who are determined to win the championship. After the thick eyebrow injury retreated, the Lakers, under the leadership of Wei Shao + James, lost to the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Suns, ushering in a wave of three consecutive defeats, resulting in the team's hard-won winning streak trend to come to an abrupt end...
Spurs vs Lakers: The Lakers who won three consecutive defeats are also considered upset?
After the Lakers' three-game losing streak, they thought that the recent home game against the Spurs would help them stop the decline. After all, since the end of the "GDP + Leonard" era, the Spurs have not been a strong team in the West in recent years. Especially the departure of Aldridge and DeRozan has directly deprived the Spurs of the hope of advancing to the playoffs.
After all, the Lakers with James + Westbrook, whether in terms of team rankings, superstar ability, and overall lineup, they have a great chance of beating the Spurs, thus getting rid of the decline of three consecutive losses.
It's just that people didn't expect that in the recent Lakers vs Spurs game, the Lakers, who are considered to be likely to win, have been at a disadvantage, and have been pressed by the Spurs for four consecutive quarters...
The scores in these four quarters were: 33-24, 33-31, 39-37, 33-18. In the end, the Lakers, who were pressed by the Spurs, lost to the Spurs 110-138, and ushered in a 28-point fiasco at the same time, but also ushered in a 4-game losing streak...
When the Lakers lost miserably to the Spurs by 28 points and ushered in 4 consecutive defeats, many media or fans subconsciously believed that although the Spurs won the Lakers in this game, it did not mean that they had beaten the Lakers, and they could only be regarded as "upset to win". Because if it weren't for Diop's outbreak, 11 of 11 shooting, and 30 points, the Spurs would not have been able to beat this Lakers team.
So, is the Spurs' defeat of this Lakers really a "cold win"?
1, The play of Westbrook and James is already excellent enough. In the game against the Spurs, Westbrook shot 12 of 20 in a single game, with a shooting percentage of 60%, scoring 30 points, 7 boards and 4 assists; james also had a huge star performance of 15 of 26 shots, 36 points, 9 boards and 6 assists.
That is to say, when the thick eyebrows are absent, James and Wei Shao have fully exerted their offensive ability in this game, and even played to the extreme. But even so, the Lakers still failed to win the game...
It is also because of the excellent performance of James + Westbrook on the offensive end, so the Spurs won the Lakers, in fact, can not be regarded as an "upset win", after all, they are a head-on defeat of the Lakers. If the Spurs win the lakers who are in an abnormal state of dual-core offense - James's offensive shooting rate is less than 50%, less than 25 points; Westbrook's offensive shooting rate is less than 40%, less than 20 points; this is considered to be a "cold win".
And in the current personal state of James and Westbrook, even if the Lakers play another game with the Spurs, their offensive status may not be able to reach the level of 30 points + 60% shooting rate, 36 points + 57.6% shooting percentage.
2. After the absence of thick eyebrows, "defensive collapse" has become a fatal weakness. In the new season, the Lakers in order to introduce Westbrook, strong group of super big three, which also greatly affected the other aspects of the team to bring in reinforcements. After all, James's salary of 41.18 million + Wei Shao 44.21 million + thick eyebrows 35.36 million has reached $120 million...
The high salaries of the big three have led to the Lakers' reinforcement targets this year, which can only be locked on those players who are "old and have a certain amount of combat strength". Eventually, the Lakers brought in Howard, Anthony, Bradley, Ellington, Rondo, Ariza, Jordan Jr., Thomas Jr. and others.
Judging from these reinforcement targets alone, although they themselves have certain offensive capabilities, in fact, they are either weak in defense or have already passed the peak of their physical strength. It is simply not like the 20 years of Green, Pope, McGee and other players to provide quality defense for the team.
The Lakers, who originally lacked overall defensive ability, had thick eyebrows at the bottom of the inner line, and they could barely maintain a certain defensive intensity. However, when the thick eyebrow was injured and absent, Jordan Jr. could not support the defense of the inside line at all, but caused the Lakers' defensive system to collapse. Otherwise, how could spurs without the blessing of superstars suddenly erupt into multiple people?
In summary, although the Lakers lost to the Spurs in this game, there are reasons for the poor performance of role players, but from the perspective of "James + Westbrook offensive state is good, the Lakers' defensive system collapses", the Spurs can win the Lakers is indeed not a fluke, nor is it a cold win; after all, if the two teams have another showdown, in the lakers' current state, they still lose more and win less...