As the biggest winner of the offseason, the Lakers' journey this season is unusually bumpy, the record is far lower than people expected, and they are currently 17 wins and 19 losses, ranking 8th in the West. The Lakers have won 7-6-1 in the past, and now the fans are worried not about whether the Lakers can win the championship, but whether they can still get a playoff spot.
Although the Lakers have suffered a double blow of injury and epidemic this season, after all, they have the big three, and the original intention of the offseason management to build the big three is not to deal with these emergencies?
Many media have blamed the Lakers' struggle performance on Wei Shao, believing that the Lakers should explore all options for trading Wei Shao. Because before Wei Shao came, the Lakers had already won the championship, so the problem would not be on James and Thick Brow, and Wei Shao naturally became the back of the pot.
So far this season, Westbrook has averaged 36.1 minutes per game for the Lakers, contributing 19.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.2 steals. The numbers look good, but if you combine Thatched Westbrook's three-point shooting percentage, which is well below the league average, and the number of turnovers per game of 4.7 (the second-highest in the league), you won't think so.
Today's NBA celebrity Zach Lowe commented on The Podcast show, "I think it's time to tell the truth, no matter how you define superstar, Westbrook is no longer a superstar." When I hear the word supergiant, my first thought is whether he can make it to the best team, and it is clear that Westbrook is no longer a player of this level. ”
Zach Lowe also spoke specifically about Westbrook's performance, arguing that he averaged too many turnovers per game and often failed to score outrageous layups because of the lack of projection threats that would put the team in a 4-5 situation!
Zach Lowe hit the nail on the head, and the only thing That Wei Shao can now associate with Supergiant may be his annual salary of 44 million! Halfway through the season, the Lakers still do not have a clear idea of winning, the team is on the way to explore the five small lineups farther and farther, in the absence of thick eyebrows, had to put the 37-year-old James on the center position, in recent games James has played longer than any player in the team to play center.
The coaching staff took such an extreme approach, in large part to take care of Wei Shao, James played the fifth position, can maximize the space to open up, and Wei Shao can also hold more balls.
In recent games, James has worked hard, constantly using blocks and cuts to attack opponents' baskets, and the effect is very good, but this is not enough to win. Maybe the Lakers can use the five to beat the rockets who are young, undisciplined and defensively efficient, and maybe it is not a problem to beat the third-to-last Blazers in the defensive efficiency league today, but when facing a really strong team, James will be isolated.