On January 8, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 134-118 at home. In this game, the Lakers' role players played generally well. Munch shot seven three-pointers in a single game, scoring 29 points, four rebounds and three assists. Bradley started and also scored 21 points and six rebounds.
Munch and Bradley's outstanding performances seem to indicate that the Lakers have found their own backcourt answers. Munch, in particular, has significantly improved his offensive efficiency since he started. In the last six games, Munch has averaged 22.2 points per game, shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 49 percent from three-point range. He has become James' most trusted teammate on the court.
At the beginning of the season, Munch was not the Lakers' starter, and this position belonged to Bazemore. In the offseason, Bazemore rejected the Warriors' contract extension and chose to join the Lakers under James' solicitation. After joining the Lakers, Bazemore started in 13 consecutive games, but his personal form was very bad. The three-point shooting percentage has dropped from 40.8 percent last season to 34 percent today.
In the ensuing matches, Bazemore became a substitute for the team and slowly faded out of the team's rotation. In today's game against the Hawks, Bazemore only got 1 minute and 46 seconds to play in the final minutes. During this period, Bazemore's two three-point shots were all deflected out of the line, grabbing 2 rebounds.
Before this game, the US media released news that the Lakers are considering purging the team's redundant staff, including Bazemore and Jordan Jr. Bazemore knew in his heart that the countdown to his Lakers career had begun. However, Bazemore has a good mentality, he is the lakers' most active substitute player on the court. Whenever his teammates play a great performance, he will be the happiest one. To this end, many Lakers fans praised Bazemore as the cheerleader of the team. However, considering the Lakers' need to grab people in the buyout market, It is already a foregone conclusion that Bazemore will be abandoned.