As the professional basketball league with the most games in the world, the regular season alone lasted more than 6 months, and in the long course of the game, players needed to fly to the away game for an average of 2-3 days, which was a double torture of both physical and mental. The reason why the stars can get a high salary is that they have a stable performance in every game, but "tigers also have times to nap", and it is reasonable to play intermittently.
Take stock of five stars who have played poorly recently:
V. Fournier (Nix)
Statistics from the last 4 matches at a glance:
Against the Timberwolves: 5-of-14 shooting, 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists
Against the Thunder: 1-of-8 shooting, 3 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists
Against the Raptors: 6-of-14 shooting, 20 points, 0 rebounds and 0 assists
Against the Pacers: 0-of-4 shooting, 0 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists
Last season, the Magic, which chose to enter the rebuilding period, sent out the main players with limited talent such as Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Fournier, and got multiple first-round picks, laying a solid foundation for subsequent reinforcements or "draft treasures".
Coming to the Green Army,Fournier played 16 games in the regular season, shooting 46.3 percent from three-point range and 2.8 three-pointers per game. Facing the Nets with the "Big Three" in the playoffs, Fournier averaged 15.4 points per game and ranked third on the team, shooting 43.3% from three-point range and 2.6 three-pointers per game, making him the team's most stable three-point shooter.
When easily eliminated by the Nets 4-1, Fournier's contract also expired, and his agent team was inclined to get a four-year contract extension of more than $80 million, but the Green Army management decisively refused, and the French forward also flowed into the free market.
Before getting a new contract, Fournier led the French men's basketball team to the Tokyo Olympics, and in the group stage upset victory over the "American Dream Team", he scored 28 points and 4 rebounds, becoming the biggest contributor to the team's victory. In the semifinals against the Slovenian men's basketball team led by Doncic, Fournier scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists to help the team advance to the final.
At this time, the New York Knicks, because they tasted the sweetness of the playoffs (the average home ticket price exceeded $2,000), the team management began to strengthen the weak offensive line, and Fournier, who had killed the four sides in the Olympic Games, became their first choice, a four-year, $73 million middle-class contract, and finally recruited the projection forward.
Along with Fournier to New York is Kemba Walker, who was bought out by the Thunder, and the addition of two pure attackers has added the team's offensive play style on paper, coupled with Thibodeau's defensive system, arrogant New York fans are already looking forward to the playoffs they aspire to.
But the truth is that the Knicks don't have an orthodox point guard, the team's offensive starting point is the big forward Randle, the main point guard Walker's poor big picture and defense was once abandoned by Thibodeau, and the team's position defense last season has become disorganized and unspecified due to the addition of two offensive players who can't defend.
Fournier, who did not organize a point guard to feed the ball, lost his best fixed-point shooting skills, and too many singles with the ball made the not-so-physical striker plummet in his offensive efficiency. So far this season, Fournier's shooting percentage is just 40.3 percent, a career low, and the Knicks' biggest signing this summer has clearly not been given the instruction manual.
4. Lillard (Trailblazer)
Against the Lone Ranger: 5-of-15 shooting, 26 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists
Against the Jazz: 10-of-23 shooting, 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists
Against the Lakers: 5-of-15 shooting, 18 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists
Against the Hawks: Absent, Simmons led the team to victory with 43 points
In last year's playoffs, the lineup of the Blazers to meet the lack of the main point guard Murray Denver Nuggets, this round of the series has also completely become a personal show of Lillard and Jokic, "Portland Leader" averaged 34.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 10 assists per game, all kinds of anti-heaven ultra-far three points have made nuggets fans despair, but in front of Jokic, who has more dominance on the inside, the Blazers have always been unable to escape the fate of a round of travel.
Failing to break through the first round for two consecutive seasons made the arrogant Lillard publicly question the operation of the team's management, and for a time, rumors about "Lillard wanting to leave the team" were boiling over.
In order to calm the anger of the team leader, the Blazers management finally chose to dismiss the employer Speights, and the Pistons star Billups took office, as for the latter's request for the lineup reinforcement, the team only used the base salary to get role players such as Zeller and Nance Jr. in order to avoid the luxury tax.
So far this season, whether it is a change of game ball or beset by the new rules of the league's offense, Lillard has completely lost his crosshairs on the offensive end, and his current shooting rate of 40.2% and three-point shooting rate of 32.4% have set new career lows. Perhaps feeling too bad, Lillard lost the arrogance he had before the start of the season and instead frequently posted "chicken soup" socially, hinting at his determination to end Up Portland.
In the recent Blazers game, when Lillard appeared and was absent, the Blazers played very differently across the team:
Debut:
Trail Blazers 97-111 Pelicans Trailblazers 117-132 Lone Rangers
Blazers 105-120 Jazz Blazers 106-139 Lakers
In absentia:
Trail Blazers 136-131 Hawks Blazers 109-115 Heat
The Trail Blazers lost a total of 77 points in four games, and the team lost four straight, including a loss to the pelicans, who are second-to-last in the West. In the two games in which Lillard was absent, simmons in the same position suddenly broke out, slashing 71 points in two games, fighting with the Eastern Conference powerhouse Heat to the last moment, interpreting to the fans with action: "Losing is not terrible, who is embarrassed in whom!" ”
Because of the sluggish performance of the star, the Blazers currently have a record of only 14 wins and 23 losses, ranking 12th in the West, and the Eighth In the West Clippers have a 4.5-game gap, even if Lillard re-finds the state on the offensive end in the later period, the Blazers' "only attack and not defend" team building concept is difficult to make the record soar.
The player trading market that opens in the middle of the season will be the last chance for the Blazers to fight for the playoffs this season, whether the second boss McCollum will be sent away, or Lillard will choose to leave (the salary is too high, the probability is not high), let's wait and see!
III. Ingram (Pelican)
Statistics from the last 2 games at a glance:
Against the Jazz: 3-of-18 shooting, 10 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists
Against the Suns: 5-of-18 shooting, 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists
In the summer of 2020, when the thirsty Bucks sent Bledsoe and three first-round picks to the Pelicans, the rebuilding team had no reason to refuse. As a result, Holliday came to Milwaukee and became the last piece of the puzzle for the Bucks to win the championship, and the Pelicans formally established a dual core system with Zion and Ingram, and the deal was a win-win situation.
In the first two seasons of the Pelicans, Ingram gradually cashed in on his talent, averaging 24+5+4.5 per game, and the three-pointers that were once criticized by Lakers fans were also stable at 39%, which is the upper level of the league. Although the results of the team are still poor, his excellent performance has earned him the honor of the fastest improved player and the all-star, and a five-year, $158 million maximum salary contract.
Before the start of the season, the talented Champion Zion Williamson was absent due to the repair surgery for the fracture of his right foot, and the pelican Twins, who are highly anticipated by fans, are now only left with Ingram to lead the team.
Without Zion on the inside, Ingram was repeatedly targeted on the offensive end, shooting 43.7 percent from the field, only better than his rookie season, with poor and reckless shooting choices allowing him to contribute an average of 10.5 hits per game, ranking ninth in the league.
As the Pelicans' current leader, Ingram played even more deadly in key moments (five minutes in the final game, within a five-point difference), shooting just 25 percent from the field and an embarrassing 0 percent from three-point range. At least five of the 25 games the Pelicans have lost so far have been buried by Ingram's last frequent strikes, and the 24-year-old doesn't seem to have found the trick to lead the team to win.
In recent games against the Jazz and Suns, Ingram was "ugly" against playoff-level defenses, with a dribble of more than three times being broken more than 30 percent, and mid-range shots under high-pressure defense without any crosshairs. As a small forward with a 2.21-meter arm span, Ingram did not like to kill the inside line, wasting this visible basketball talent.
2. Wei Shao (Lakers)
Against the Grizzlies: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 turnovers
Against the Trail Blazers: 15 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 turnovers
Against the Timberwolves: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 9 turnovers
Against the Kings: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers
In today's era of group championship competition, the ownership of the championship has gradually evolved into a competition for the number of stars, and it is precisely because of the influence of this environment that when Lakers general manager Pelinka learned of the opportunity to get MVP winner Wei Shao, he decisively sent Kuzma, Harrell and Pop three instant combat players to form a lineup of three giants of Wei Shao, James and Thick Brow, "star flavor" and strength benchmarking the Nets next door.
So far this season, the star-studded Lakers have only achieved a record of 20 wins and 19 losses, ranking sixth in the league, and the team's main big forward Thick Eyebrow Brother will be absent for at least a month due to injury, because the team's strength has not reached the level of championship competition, which has made many picky Los Angeles fans start to find players to "back the pot".
Wei Shao, who contributed an average of 4.6 mistakes per game, became the player with the most complaints from fans, and the super high mistakes made the home team fans more panicked than when they saw Wei Shao take the ball, and many games of empty baskets and dunks did not score, so that he successfully won the title of "waste wood".
But just look at the objective data, Westbrook's current shooting rate is 45.2%, which is 3.2 percentage points higher than the Warriors' core Curry's 42% shooting rate, and the three-point shot that has been criticized by fans, Wei Shao only averaged 3.6 shots per game, which is basically the same as the rookie season.
In the guard penalty area scoring list, Westbrook is fifth on the list with 9.9 points, behind only Morant, Beal, Alexander and Fox. On the scoring list at key moments, Westbrook has scored 56 points so far this season, which is higher than James's 53 points.
The above data is enough to show that Wei Shao has been changing since joining the Lakers, but fans seem to be more concerned about his mistakes on the court and the lack of empty baskets. Wei Shao's "brain fever" from time to time did hurt the team's overall attack at some time, but in terms of comprehensive performance, Wei Shao's performance this season is indeed not as bad as the fans say.
After the absence of the thick eyebrow brother due to injury, the Lakers' defensive efficiency plummeted from the 9th in the league to the current 24th, missing an interior defensive gate, and the Lakers' inner line frame protection ability in the face of strong teams was basically zero, which was also one of the main reasons for the team's loss. As for Wei Shao's performance, it has not reached the expectations of fans at present, but from another perspective, is it that Wei Shao's playing style does conflict with the Lakers' system!
I. Curry (Warriors)
Against the Nuggets: 5-of-14 three-pointers, 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists
Against the Jazz: 6 of 12 three-pointers, 28 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists
Against the Heat: 1 of 10 three-pointers, 9 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists
Against the Lone Rangers: 1 of 9 from three, 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists
As the leader of the league's current number one team, Curry was amazing enough to perform early in the season and broke Allen's three-point record on December 15 last year. But it was also at this time that Curry's play on the offensive end seemed to suffer a "curse", and in the eight games that followed, Curry shot 35 of 101 three-pointers, and his three-point shooting rate fell to 34.6%, averaging 26.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
In the game against the Lone Ranger, Curry hit iron 14 times in a row on the court, equaling the longest consecutive iron record of his career; in the past two games, Curry shot 8 of 41 shots under the targeted defense of his opponents, shooting less than 20% of the shooting rate, and the three-pointer was embarrassingly 19 shots and 2 of 19, setting a record for the worst shooting rate in two consecutive games of his career.
Compared with Durant, Alphabet Brother, Jokic's recent efficient play, Curry's downturn in many consecutive games has also made him fall behind in the MVP competition, fortunately, the team's current record is still in the league first, as long as the state returns in time in the later part of the season, Curry still has great hopes to chase the third regular season MVP trophy of his career.
In the Warriors' recent games, it is not difficult to see how well the opponent's defense of Curry is targeted, the two-person package is just the norm, multi-person defense is already the standard for defending Curry, coupled with the league's modification of offensive rules this season, which weakens the threat of Curry's breakthrough. When Curry missed his three-pointer, the Warriors' offense stalled and the familiar rhythm of sharing the ball faded away.
For Warriors fans, there is still great good news in the near future, Klay Thompson is expected to return to the game against the Cavaliers on January 10, with the top shooter on the outside, Curry's threat on the defensive end will inevitably decline, and it is only a matter of time before he returns to MVP level.