"The Nets won the Lakers because they had Mills, and the Lakers had Westbrook." Prominent commentator Skip wrote on social media after the game. Today's Lakers and Nets Christmas battle is staged on time, and James is still the protagonist. Harden had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, LeBron James had 39 points, 9 rebounds and seven assists, and mills and Westbrook were vastly different in performance, the two men who were the team's No. 2 offensive point today. Mills was hot in the hand, scoring 34 points and hitting eight three-pointers. Westbrook made 20 shots, conceded as many as 16 goals, and had only 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and getting a triple-double could not hide the fact that the offense was inefficient.
Harden and James, as core players of the Nets and Lakers, are absolutely qualified. But Mills and Westbrook, as the team's No. 2 stars, the gap between their performances was a key factor in winning or losing the game.
Looking at career stats, honors and strength alone, Westbrook and Mills are not players on the same level. But in today's small-ball league, the two play completely different ways and advantages. Westbrook can still break through, still can hold the ball, but his speed has dropped a lot, and his shooting ability is mediocre. Mills is an excellent defender who has proven himself many times in the international arena, and he is born in the Spurs, and his basic skills are solid and his projection is accurate. This season, his three-point shooting percentage is a staggering 43 percent, averaging in the league's top 10 three-point shots per game, making him one of the NBA's top three-point shooters. Paired with a master of transmission like Harden, Mills' efficiency can naturally be maximized.
Today Mills hit three-pointers again and again, what was Westbrook doing? Westbrook played hard today and missed a very crucial layup opportunity. With 40 seconds left in the game, James broke inside to provide containment for his teammates. At this time he found Westbrook in Neche, james believed that his teammates sent a pass, did not expect Westbrook to score the ball. If the up-and-coming Lakers can narrow the point difference to one point, there is hope of chasing or reversing the score. Unfortunately, Wesbrough and this ball failed to advance, which basically ruined the possibility of the Lakers winning.
It's just the offensive end, and the two are very different in other ways. Although Mills is not as physically as good as Westbrook, he is very active in the defensive end and is good at fighting. Today he completed a lot of defense, with a plus-minus of 19 Nets team highs. Westbrook made a lot of missing mistakes today, and not many reached three times, resulting in Westbrook having a plus-minus of minus 23 today, the lowest for the Lakers. The two have the highest plus-minus value of the whole team, and the lowest value of the whole team, and the gap is reflected in this way.
So Mills gave Harden enough help today. Westbrook didn't give James enough help. The Lakers eventually lost at home, and seeing Westbrook's performance, we don't know how the Lakers management feels. The Lakers spent a lot of effort to invite Westbrook to Los Angeles to form a big three lineup in the offseason, and as a result, they couldn't even beat a double-star Net.
Westbrook's decline in form in recent years has clearly been clear, and he is no longer the superstar of the year. We don't know if the Lakers gave up on Westbrook's idea, and if the Lakers want to give up Westbrook in exchange for other players, they must be early. Because Westbrook's current deal value is not high, the later the deal, the more detrimental it is to the Lakers.
Of course, the Lakers can also choose to continue to believe in Westbrook and hope that he will get back to form as soon as possible. But how long does this take? Facing Durant's absence of the Nets Lakers, the Lakers lost, if the future against the Western Conference strong team, the Lakers can win a few games? Dear officials, how do you evaluate the performance of Westbrook and Mills? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section of the article.