I believe most people have watched the Lakers and Grizzlies game, in this game, the Lakers at most led the Grizzlies by double digits, at the end of the first three quarters of the game, the Lakers still hold a certain lead. When the outside world thought that the Lakers had any hope of winning this game, the Lakers attacked the dumb in the final quarter, and at the same time, the performance on the defensive end was not ideal, and the Lakers were played by the Grizzlies in a wave of 26-16 offense, and the single quarter net loss to the Grizzlies by 10 points. Because of the sluggish performance in the final quarter, the Lakers, who played well in the first three quarters, were eventually reversed by the Grizzlies and did not win consecutively.
In this game, the Lakers made a change in the starting lineup, and after the previous game let James start the fifth position, the team reused Howard in this game, making him the team's starting center. And Howard's performance in the game is very good, when he is on the field, the team is in a state of winning points. Howard started 16 minutes and scored six points on 2-of-3 shooting, with a personal plus-minus of +17, the highest in the team. The Lakers were able to take the lead in the first three quarters, and Howard's performance was crucial.
However, when the Lakers entered the final quarter, they abandoned Howard and used the five small lineups again. The Lakers' fourth-quarter lineups were James, Westbrook, Anthony, Bradley and Munch, and Tucker Jr. played for Bradley for three minutes. From the perspective of lineup configuration, the Lakers gave up the big lineup and still insisted on the previous small lineup play. On the other hand, compared to the Grizzlies, compared to the Lakers who gave up the center in the final quarter and insisted on playing five small lineups, the Grizzlies did not change with the changes, but used their own lineup very routinely, continuing their own way of playing, and big center Adams played 5 minutes in the final quarter.
With a five-small lineup, the Lakers' performance in the final quarter was very sluggish, the team could not shoot goals on the offensive end, and the Grizzlies could not be restrained on the defensive end. The team itself wants to use five small lineups to speed up, increase the team's offensive ability and the rhythm of the game, and then seize the opportunity to switch offenses. But we didn't see that in the last quarter of the game. The Lakers' effect was very poor after abandoning Howard and sticking to the five small lineups.
In the first three quarters to take the lead, the Lakers in the final quarter completely can not match the strength of the Grizzlies, when they broke through the inside line, the Lakers are powerless, James played the fifth position although the effect is good, but he is not a traditional center, in the frame protection did not play well. Throughout the final quarter, when the Grizzlies players broke through to the basket, the Lakers basically could not limit, and many times they could only watch the Grizzlies players complete the score.
While the Lakers insisted on a five-small lineup, their offense stagnated, and many times they could only rely on James's personal ability to complete the score. When there is a chance to switch offense, the Lakers' small lineup can not grasp it. The biggest shortcoming of the Lakers' five small lineups is that their fighting ability is not as good as the Grizzlies, especially in terms of fighting for offensive rebounds. The Lakers had only 7 offensive rebounds, while the Grizzlies had 13, and in the final quarter, the Grizzlies also scored with offensive rebounds many times.
After insisting on using a small lineup in the final quarter, the Lakers only scored 16 points in a single quarter and lost 26 points on the defensive end, which also led to the team's eventual reversal to some extent. In the author's opinion, the Lakers' small lineup lacks projection ability, and there is no defense, although the speed has improved, but it can not complete the score when there is a chance, in addition to James' offensive strength, other players have not played well. Personally, I feel that in the absence of projection and defense, if the Lakers still insist on using a small lineup, it is difficult for the team to win. In the past period of time, the Lakers have lost one after another, insisting on using a small lineup and abandoning the big center is the main reason.