On December 26, the Nets still beat the Lakers 122-115 despite the absence of many home players. Lakers core James scored 39 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, still without winning. Wei Shao dragged his legs in this battle, 4 of 20 shooting, although he played 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists triple-double, but the plus-minus was the worst -23 in the game. ESPN baube Max points out the key differences between the two teams.
This offseason, the Nets signed Mills with a mid-class exception of $12 million for two years. In terms of salary structure, the Lakers, which are also the big three, chose to sign Nunn with a middle-class exception, 2 years and 10 million US dollars. At present, Nunn is still recuperating from injuries and has not played in the regular season for the Lakers this season.
Mills shot 11-of-17 in the game, 8-of-13 from three-point range, 4-of-4 from the free throw line, and blasted down 34 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal, plus-minus +19.
Mills didn't just make a big splash in this game, he averaged 14.3 points and 2.6 assists this season, shooting 44.0 percent from three-point range and averaging 3.3 three-pointers per game. The Nets have been missing major generals in recent times, and Mills has become an important point of firepower, scoring in double figures in 11 consecutive games. In the last 4 games, Mills has scored 20+ 3 times and 30+ twice.
The Nets made a lot of money signing Mills on a mid-class contract. In contrast, the Lakers' middle-class contract was screwed up, and the Lakers signed Nunn, but the latter has not been able to play for the Lakers due to injury, which is equivalent to wasting the middle-class contract in vain.
Lakers general manager Pelinka's offseason operation looks like a failure, the introduction of Westbrook is still not integrated into the team, Nunn is not useful, and the Lakers are short of inside personnel. The Lakers' current record of 16 wins and 18 losses has slipped to eighth in the West.