On December 26, Beijing time, the NBA will usher in the much-anticipated Christmas war, and the Lakers will sit at home to meet the Nets. The two teams were considered the hottest teams to win the championship in the offseason, and they had the most luxurious paper lineups, but this time they met on Christmas, and the circumstances of the two teams were very different.
The Nets were questioned at the beginning of the season, because Irving has been absent, coupled with Harden's decline in state, the record is not very satisfactory, and it has been labeled as a bully, but as the schedule deepens, the Nets gradually come out of the problem of Irving's absence, Durant played MVP-level performance, averaging first in the league, and the Nets' record has climbed all the way to the first place in the East.
And the good news is that The Nets management has agreed to Irving playing part-time, and Irving will play with the team in away games. As a joke, the Nets now have an away advantage!
Therefore, the expectations of the outside world for the Nets have not decreased, that is, to compete for the championship!
On the other hand, the Lakers, as the biggest winner in the offseason, encountered major problems before the start of the season, and a number of core rotating players were injured before a game was played, which seriously hindered the team's chemistry. After 33 games of the season, the Lakers changed 18 sets of starting lineups, the league has the most and no set of more than four games, which can be described as a fancy beating, players and managers take turns to back the pot, and self-confidence has been lost.
After a wave of 4 consecutive losses, the Lakers' winning rate has fallen below 50%, and the morale of the entire team is now very low, the offensive end is disorderly, lifeless, the defensive end lacks energy, and there are many loopholes! This is the winter of this desperate survival also!
The discussion about the Lakers now is no longer a matter of competing for the championship, because according to this momentum, they may not even make the playoffs. The Lakers need a big win, get out of the haze and regain confidence! Victory is the best healing medicine, and if the Lakers can beat the Nets in the East in the Christmas game, then the team may be out of the decline.
The bad news is that the Lakers will be out of the game tomorrow with at least 7 players, and Ariza, Bazemore, Bradley, Munch, and Reeves will not be able to play because they are in the restrictions of the health and safety agreement! Thick eyebrows are absent due to a sprain of the medial collateral ligament of the left knee, Nunn will continue to be absent due to a contusion of the right knee bone, and James has a strain on the rectus abdominis muscle, and there is a small probability that he will be absent. Basically, the defenders can't play, and the Lakers will once again face the dilemma of overstretched personnel rotation.
However, the Nets are not much better, With Durant, Irving, Ard, Duke, Edwards, Sharp, Thomas, seven players in a health and safety agreement limit unable to play, and Joe Harris will miss the game with an ankle injury.
The Christmas War has become a "leftover egg" war, and the original Star Wars are now only three people left, James, Westbrook, and Harden! Hope no more accidents happen tomorrow!