The NBA regular season continues, and today the Lakers traveled to the road to challenge the Nuggets. In the end, they lost to the Nuggets 96:133, losing 37 points on the road. James had 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists on 9-of-23 shooting. Westbrook's offensive form has recovered, with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-of-15 shooting today. On the Nuggets side, seven people scored in double figures. Jokic cut a triple-double today without making a full-game attempt to finish with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. Off the bench, Hyland scored 27 points and 10 rebounds and hit six three-pointers.
The Nuggets aren't a particularly good three-point shooter. But today they shot a whopping 57.5 percent from outside the three-point line, shooting 23 from 40. Obviously because today the Lakers had problems on the defensive end, today the Lakers' defense is comparable to paper paste, there are a lot of leaks on the outside, and many of the three-point shots hit by the Nuggets are empty shots. Although during the game Vogel repeatedly made adjustments by calling for a timeout. But the Lakers players didn't change anything after they got on the court. Today, the Lakers' spirit on the court was obviously lost, and James repeatedly showed a helpless expression on the court.
The Lakers' sweet schedule is over. They were very lucky in the first half of the season's schedule, encountering some teams that were not strong. But the schedule for the second half of the season is challenging for the Lakers. There are many of the top teams in the league, including the Jazz, Suns, and Warriors. The Lakers want to change their current situation by simply shouting slogans. Maybe they will have very big personnel trades in the next, and even involve some of the main players. Only in this way can they change their weakness on the defensive end.
Strictly speaking, the Lakers are currently causing such a situation, and the management can be said to be self-inflicted. After the Lakers reached a deal with Westbrook in the offseason, many fans were already unhappy. Because they traded three forward players who are considered very important by many fans. They are Kuzma, Caruso and Pop. Making the Lakers' age structure even larger, sending away half of the players in their defensive system at once is obviously not a wise choice. So this season the Lakers' defensive system collapsed, and many fans have anticipated it.
The current situation cannot be solved by the return of thick eyebrows, and thick eyebrows cannot change the Lakers' defense on the outside. The Lakers will have to make major personnel adjustments next. Only then will they be able to save the season.