The competitive situation in the east and west this season is very different from the past 20 years, there are not many strong teams in the real sense of the west, and the middle and lower reaches of the team can be called a rookie pecking at each other. The Los Angeles Lakers recruited everywhere last summer, but injuries, run-ins and other off-court reasons have plagued the Purple and Gold. Fortunately, after a bitter battle, the Lakers' home game direct rival Minnesota Timberwolves achieved an incomparably crucial and timely victory.
The Lakers' starting lineup can be said to be a rare sight, they did not send any real interior players, LeBron James as a starting center. In other positions, Russell Westbrook and Avery Bradley continue to play at the back, with the other two strikers being Malik Munch and the recently joined Stanley Johnson. In the end, the Lakers passed the home game, but the two centers Jordan Jr. and Howard did not get the opportunity to play, or caused widespread concern.
To be honest, the decision to use a small-ball lineup and not let two centers play is definitely not a momentary hothead in the Lakers coaching staff, they all have their own considerations. First of all, Jordan Jr., at the beginning of this season, he has always been the Lakers' starting center, but the performance is really difficult to say. Not to mention that Jordan Jr.'s best inside line eating, rebounding protection and defensive ability have seriously declined compared with the peak period, and Jordan Jr. will be inattentive from time to time, and emotionally it is also negative and depressed, so it is not unjust for him to be abandoned. Now that is, the Lakers can't find a better replacement, if they really want to adjust the lineup in the middle of the period, it is also possible that the management will directly cut Jordan Jr.
As for Howard, the situation is slightly more complicated. On the one hand, his own ability has indeed deteriorated significantly compared with his peak. Now Howard has basically no ability to score independently, the offensive end is responsible for eating cake under the basket, and his function and role are more reflected in the defense, in other words, Howard is really a pure interior blue-collar worker now.
But on the other hand, without Howard, or the Lakers using a five-small lineup for a long time, they have a very big relationship with Russell Westbrook. Because friends who are familiar with him know that since Westbrook entered the league, his playing style and role are relatively single, not only need to hold the ball in hand all the time, but also the outside projection also lacks a crosshair, once he appears outside the three-point line, many times it is simply released by the opponent. If you send a blue-collar center who lacks a projection threat, whether Howard or Jordan Jr., the Lakers' offensive space will appear crowded.
In addition, although LeBron James can play without the ball, relatively speaking, he still has to hold the ball in his hand, and the threat will be greater. And rather than being rushed to the basket by James to dunk or cause damage, opponents are definitely more inclined to let him shoot outside, so that they can bet on James's bad hand. In this case, the Lakers have to use a five-small lineup, relying on the impact of James and Westbrook to attract the opponent's defense and bag, while the other three starters on the outside line have a certain projection threat, as long as they can throw the empty three-pointer, the power is really not small. You could say that this style of play is too monotonous and difficult to compete for the championship, but at least for the Lakers at this stage, this may really be the best plan.
Back in this key card battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers naturally did not defend the opposing starting center Naz Reid, who efficiently cut 23 points and 11 rebounds, which is a career masterpiece. But after all, Reid and Towns are hugely different, even if his data looks gorgeous, it does not have so much impact on the trend of the game, so even if he cuts a high score, it is not fatal for the Lakers. Instead, the team's outside defense was excellent, with Timberwolves main attacker Malik Beasley scoring just 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting. And the 2020 champion Anthony Edwards has improved significantly this season, but this same 19 shots 7, contributing 18 points and 7 rebounds, the efficiency is obviously not high. At the same time, the Timberwolves shot 9 of 38 from three points, and the so-called two harms were the lesser, and the Lakers' change received a very good effect.
And the most important point is that Anthony Davis is in recuperation, and when he comes back, the Lakers' lineup is not so deformed, and he will undoubtedly appear in the fifth position. In the peak season of the Lakers' 19-20 championship, it was Anthony Davis who appeared as a small-ball center, which helped the Lakers break through and eventually regain the championship trophy. It can be seen that when the lineup becomes more neat, the big three + two shooters will become the lakers' regular model, how far they can go can not be predicted, but it is better than this period of lifeless completely unable to see hope, to have hope.