Playing the No. 5 spot in the first minute was the first time in Jan's career that the Lakers finally won in Houston. Behind the five consecutive defeats, Wei Shao and Lao Zhan won three doubles at the same time, and this Lakers have made positive changes, but they are still exposed to hidden dangers.
Hi: Old Zhan was used as Durant, and the Lakers found a way for Zhan Wei to coexist
In the last game to play the Nets, when Westbrook was 4 of 20 in the whole game, and finally the dunk flew out of the war criminals, he was also sprayed on the hot search. Even though Downes criticized Westbrook and dreamed that Green and Embiid openly came out for Westbrook, the United States has been talking about the possibility of the Lakers trading Westbrook in recent times.
But will the Lakers really trade Wei Shao? Maybe the Lakers' uniform group already had such an idea, but it was difficult to operate, which was determined by three reasons:
1, Pelinka did not dare to trade Wei Shao. Westbrook is James and Thick Brow involved in recruiting Jenny. Buzz made a plan. And since the beginning of the season, the Lakers' lineup has never been neat, and at this time, if Pelinka wants to send Westbrook away, he is equivalent to putting James, Thick Brow, Jenny at the same time. Buzz punched in the face.
2, there will not be any two fools willing to be robbed by the Lakers. Because Wei Shao's contract is too big, so even in the final stage of last season, when he carried the Wizards into the playoffs in three consecutive doubles, his trading market was not high; at this stage, his performance was not as good as in the Wizards period, and the Lakers did not have the draft picks on hand, so the chips that Wei Shao could get (such as changing Wall) the Lakers could not see; what the Lakers wanted, they could not exchange for Wei Shao.
3, the Lakers decided to speed up the attack. In the championship season, the Lakers are a slow-paced, ground-sharpening team; Vogel builds a defensive system, and the offense ends with Zhan Mei's personal ability. After winning the championship, the Lakers did not keep Tielin, Rondo, Howard, McGee, but got Schroeder, Harrell, obviously to speed up the preparations for the offensive. However, last season, Schroeder and Harrell performed badly in the Lakers, but the Lakers did not change their minds, and only then did they get Westbrook. Since the beginning of this season, the Lakers have averaged the most rounds per game in the league.
There are a bunch of old arms and legs in the team, but they want to fight fast, they want to fight offense, which looks ridiculous. But Guago, Munch, Ellington, the next fast attack fell to 45 degrees or throw three points at the bottom corner without problems, and the defense basically can't be counted on. Defensive Bazemore, Horton. Tucker can only run fast attack, the peripheral projection is worse than Westbrook, Howard can protect the frame can not block the demolition, jordan jr. attack and defense are white; in fact, among the Lakers, Bradley and Ariza still have some 3D attributes... It is also because the Lakers' lineup looks very uncomfortable no matter how it is built, their only way is to rush up and use the athletic ability of James and Westbrook as much as possible to end it when switching.
Before Old Zhan took the ball, Wei Shao played very uncomfortable; Wei Shao took the ball, and Old Zhan played uncomfortable. But in the last two games, Wei Shao has become the main controller of the team, and old Zhan has played like Durant in the Thunder period of that year, the no-ball endpoint + second dominant ball point, not only the old Zhan is more secure in the offensive end of the end, but at the end of the game, when the two people continue to block and dismantle, James down to the end, it can be said that the Lakers finally found a way for Wei Shao and Old Zhan to coexist.
Worry: Playing 5 small irreversible, Pelinka in the name of "reducing the burden" to the old Zhan caused greater consumption
In previous games, the old Zhan playing center often means that the Lakers' inner line lacks height, poor protective frame, and poor rebounding, but when it comes to a bamboo pole inside and 4 rockets under two meters outside, the Lakers won 18 rebounds. However, even if old Zhan has an advantage on the inside, the outside world will still have some criticism of Jordan Jr., Howard at the same time DNP.
Why does Old Jan often play the No. 5 position this season? There is an element of necessity. For example, in November, the last game of the East 5 consecutive games to play the Pacers, due to the absence of thick eyebrows, the old Zhan has played the No. 5 position in the decisive moment of that game; for example, some time ago, Howard was infected with the new crown, the thick eyebrows were briefly absent due to injury in various games before, the injury of playing the Timberwolves was a 4 to 6 weeks off, Jordan Jr. went up to attack and defend Dula crotch, and old Zhan and Guago must stand in the No. 5 position for a long time... But at this stage, the time for old Zhan to play 5 is getting longer and longer, playing the Nets only uses Howard to play 6 minutes, and this game Howard and Jordan Jr. are DNP at the same time, or from the side, it shows that the trend of the Lakers to put a small lineup for a long time this season has been irreversible.
Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the Lakers playing a small lineup, the outside world has been discussed a lot before. And after getting Westbrook, he got The Ball Carriers such as Munch, Nunn, and Rondo to force Horton. Tucker's reason, perrinka previously gave the statement that the increase in the number of points is to reduce the burden on James. However, fans who have been paying attention to the Lakers for a long time and paying attention to Old Zhan may be so familiar with this sentence.
In the summer of 2018, when James brought his talent to Los Angeles, the team itself had a ball brother and Ingram who needed to hold the ball, and the Lakers' then-operator magicians got Rondo and Stephenson; when the magician explained his reinforcement strategy, he publicly said that it was to reduce the burden on old Zhan. And last year, Xiao Hei and Harrell came to speed up, and second, in name, to reduce the burden on Old Zhan...
However, from the 18-19 season and the experience of last season, it is not difficult to see that if the outside line does not have a stable projection ability, this will only cause greater attrition to Lao Zhan, and the two injuries with the longest suspension time in Lao Zhan's career appeared in the first two so-called "burden reduction" seasons. And the reason why the thick eyebrows fell this season, the Lakers forced to play mini five, in fact, in order to make the outside line have enough projection threat. However, the Lakers' outside line has always been a six-veined Excalibur state that is not in good spirits, but old Zhan playing 5 not only means that he has to fight more with the other side on the defensive end, but also considering the lack of good defenders on the lakers' outside line and flanks, the lack of height and confrontation ability, it also means that old Zhan needs to bear more on the defensive end, which also makes his consumption on the court at this stage greater than ever.
The upper limit of the Lakers is still determined by the health of thick eyebrows
The Lakers' current roster, the three big brothers combined to pay 120 million, Horton Tucker more than 9 million, Nunn 5.9 million, the rest are all basic salaries; in the case of not dismantling the big three, their only remaining room for adjustment is actually to see if they can use Horton Tucker and Nunn to exchange for a fight force back. Compared to Simmons's extremely unreliable rumors, in fact, for the Lakers, the real possibility of fighting is Grant or Turner. But just take Horton. Tucker's recent performance, when Fitzdale can't bear to put him back on the bench, want to use him as the main body in exchange for Grant or Turner, it is also very difficult to operate, in fact, the Lakers are likely to use the existing framework to finish this season.
When the big three of the Westbrook group were first brought in, the Lakers' goal was to win the championship, which required someone to make sacrifices; because Westbrook was recruited by James and Thick Eyebrows, he promised to play more No. 5 before the start of the season; Old Zhan is now playing No. 5, playing more no-ball this season, and he is also making sacrifices for the team.
Since the Lakers decided to build a team with the big three as the core, and Wei Shao's long-distance shooting is unreliable, and the projection of thick eyebrows this season is even lower and outrageous, which determines that the Lakers really have to fight hard, or have to match the big three with two pitchers. Ariza will be a very key role player, after all, he is the only role player in the Lakers lineup with three points and enough size for defense. Bradley, who can defend and shoot 40% of his three-point shooting at this stage, will also be entrusted with a heavy responsibility. But what really determines the upper limit of the Lakers is actually the thick eyebrows!
In the Lakers' championship season, although the Finals MVP was given to Old Zhan, in fact, the thick eyebrows were the most important one in the playoffs. And last season's series of games against the Suns, before the thick eyebrows were injured, the Suns had no way to take the thick eyebrows. And this season, even if the performance of thick eyebrows is constantly complained about by the outside world, thick eyebrows are still the biggest advantage point of the Lakers over most teams. If James and Westbrook can continue today's chemistry, the Lakers' core team can remain healthy into the playoffs, and no one will erase this team from the championship group. But it is also because the Lakers have decided to bet on the small lineup this season, they completely bet on the heavy responsibility of the inside line on the thick eyebrows, and the health of the thick eyebrows will determine the upper limit of the Lakers!