139-106！ The Lakers greeted the arrival of 2022 with a 33-point victory, James played center again, played less than 30 minutes, and frantically bombarded the dominant statistics of 43 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, as if O'Neal was possessed. Wei Shao cut down 15 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists of the 3-double data, contributed 3-doubles for 4 consecutive times, reproducing the style of the 3-double king, the Lakers scored in double-figures for 7 people on the whole team, and 11 people appeared on the scoring score, showing a completely different mental outlook from before on the offensive end, and there were signs of rebirth.
For the Lakers, it is indeed a joy to be able to greet the new year with a big win after the bad performance of 1 win and 6 losses in the past 7 games. The effect of James playing center, as well as the offensive performance brought by the team's five small lineups, seems to have also given the Lakers hope, after all, the last 2 wins have been obtained because they changed to the five small lineups. If Vogel decisively uses the five squads next, can they get back on track? The answer is unknown, but the well-known commentator Su Qun said after the game that the Lakers were able to use the five small lineups to win two games, mainly for 2 reasons:
First, the Rockets and Trail Blazers are weaker. At present, the Rockets are ranked first in the West with 10 wins and 26 losses, while the Blazers are 13 wins and 22 losses, ranking second from the bottom in the West, and winning the two teams with the worst records in the West seems to be expected, looking at the Lakers' current lineup, even if the thick eyebrows are injured, they are much stronger than the Blazers and Rockets.
Second, the Rockets and trailblazers are full of injuries. In this game, the Blazers have a total of 8 truces, including McCollum, Nurkic, Covington, Anfenni Simmons and other main players, while the Lakers only have Thick Brow and Nunn who are absent due to injury, and also have two giants, James and Westbrook. In the rocket game, the rocket team also had a number of players absent because of the trigger health and safety agreement.
In Su Qun's view, the main reason why the Lakers can use the five small lineups to win is that the opponent is weak and plagued by injuries. While winning has lifted them out of the slump of the past period is indeed something to celebrate, it will take time to see if winning will be a habit in the following games, and whether the five squads can still play the expected performance against some of the more powerful teams on the inside.
The next game against the Timberwolves will obviously become a big challenge for the Lakers, and it is also a big test for James to play center. After all, downs is likely to return in this game, whether the Lakers will continue to use the five small to let James to fight Downs, or re-activate Howard or Jordan Jr., for Vogel, will be a very important decision.