On January 8, Beijing time, in an NBA regular season game that ended today, the Lakers defeated the Hawks 134-118 and won four consecutive wins, which also allowed the Lakers to maintain a full victory in the 2022 game. In the last few games, many players in the Lakers have played well, Bradley, Reeves and other players have performed well after their return, and James has set a number of records.
But Munch's name also can't be circumvented. In this game, Munch played 34 minutes, shooting 11 of 20, including 7 of 12 three-pointers, and had 29 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. The 29 points in this game set a new season high. In the absence of Davis, Munch maintained a strong output ability, as if he had become the second person of the Lakers and the fourth giant of the Lakers. In his last seven games, Munch has averaged 21.9 points per game, the best performer on the offensive end outside of James.
There is no doubt that Munch's game during this time is phenomenal, and he has shot 62.8% of the last seven games, including 48.2% from three-point range, 90% from the free throw line, and the sum of the three shots has exceeded 200. His excellent form has also been praised by the Lakers, and after today's game, James was asked some questions about Munch. James said Munch is now in a magical realm where his shooting looks arbitrary, but he's not just a pitcher, he can do a lot of things and hopefully he can keep up with it.
Judging from the performance of this period, the Lakers' biggest gain in last summer's offseason is obviously not Westbrook, but Munch, a player who is almost unattended in the offseason. The 23-year-old defender has recently shown considerable star potential, performing very well on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and he has proved himself perfectly on the Lakers as expected. But it also makes it more difficult for the Lakers to keep him. Munch's current contract with the Lakers is only a base salary, with an annual salary of only $1.79 million, which is obviously far from matching his value, and with the characteristics he has shown, he can get a contract with an average salary of about $20 million.
Speaking about his recent hot form, Munch said: "I just let the game feel like coming to me. When asked if his confidence was stronger, Munch said: "Basically the same, always the same, I will not lose faith." "Now he's really ready to take on bigger challenges and prove himself better."
Munch's projection ability is extremely good, and he has a good impact ability, and the defensive end has a certain influence, and after these games he has no problem getting a contract similar to Hield's. Therefore, after the end of this season, it is difficult for the Lakers to let him continue to stay, but in any case, I believe that the Lakers will try their best to keep Munch, from the recent Lakers let Munch replace Tucker as the team's starting point, they have paid more and more attention to him, and also understand that Munch is a better player than Tucker, more qualified to become the future of the Lakers.
In recent games, Tucker who returned to the bench has also performed really well, this game is also a substitute, 21 points and 5 rebounds in 7 of 13 shooting, but compared with Munch, Tucker seems to be only suitable as a substitute player, and Munch is really the strength to become a starter, and even the potential to become a quasi-All-Star, no matter how you look at it, if you can only choose between Munch and Tucker, the Lakers should choose Munch.