In the 19-20 season, the Lakers were not optimistic about winning the championship, with the "Zhan Mei Combination" in the playoffs, successively defeated the 4-1 "Gentleman sweep" Blazers, Rockets, Nuggets, and defeated the Heat 4-2 in the finals, successfully winning the 20-year championship trophy.
After this championship, the outside world re-realized that James was still in peak condition and his thick eyebrows were fully capable of continuing to play superstar-like performance in the playoffs. With the blessing of these two superstars, it seems that as long as James's state does not suddenly decline, then the Lakers are entirely likely to win the championship, or even complete the three consecutive championship dynasty...
21-year playoffs: After retiring from a thick eyebrow injury, the Lakers completely collapsed
Originally thought that the Lakers rely on the combination of "James + thick eyebrows", they can already win the championship in the playoffs in 20 years; it seems that as long as they continue to focus on the "James's combination" as the absolute core and strengthen the team's weaknesses, the Lakers will naturally have a great chance of completing the defense.
And the Lakers management did just that, bringing in Schroder and Harrell, who had stronger scoring ability, in response to the lack of scoring points in the 20-year offseason; and even brought in Drummond and Gasol Jr. to ease the burden of the thick eyebrow inside.
Unfortunately, even if the Nets' Big Three, which is regarded as the Biggest opponent on the Lakers' championship road, did not rush out of the East to reach the Finals, the Lakers failed to complete the defense. Because in the 20-21 season under the injury of James and Thick Brow, the Lakers only achieved the seventh record in the West during the regular season, and also lost 2-4 to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs, losing the series...
Before the thick eyebrow injury in that series, the Lakers won two consecutive games to take a 2-1 lead. But after the thick eyebrow injury retreated, the Lakers' overall defense was disorganized and the intensity dropped greatly compared to before — not only could not prevent Paul's breakthrough and Booker's accurate projection, but even they did not have a good way to take Ayton.
And at this time, the Lakers who urgently need someone to stand up and score steadily, except for James, no one can stand up. Schroeder, who had high hopes in this series, only had a 14.3% + 40.0% shooting percentage, Kuzma also fell to 6.3 points + 29.2% shooting rate; in the end, the Lakers, who could not attack and could not defend, faced the Suns with three consecutive losses and complete collapse...
The seventh + playoff first round of the regular season in the West forced the Lakers to form a super big three
When the Lakers only achieved the first round of the Seventh + Playoffs in the West in the 20-21 season, the Lakers management had to change. Especially in the first round of the playoffs, Schroeder, Kuzma, Pope and other poor performances have strengthened the Belief of the Lakers management in the "big change of lineup". Originally, when they were still hesitating whether to bring in Hield to replace Schroeder and become the team's third scorer, Westbrook applied to leave the team.
After Wei Shao applied to leave the team, the Lakers management did not hesitate to use "Kuzma, Pop, Harrell and 21 Year 22 Sign" as a trading chip, and won Wei Shao through a multi-party transaction, thus forming a "Zhan Wei Mei" super big three combination.
After successfully forming the super big three, the Lakers' lineup has become the top presence in the league. With the exception of the Nets Big Three, there's hardly a single team in the league that can match them on the roster. In the end, with the blessing of the luxurious lineup, the Lakers naturally became the most likely team to win the championship in the new season...
And in order to strengthen the big three lineup, the Lakers simply do not have enough salary space to introduce players who are both young and powerful. After all, the salaries of the Big Three alone have occupied the team's space of 120 million (Westbrook 44.21 million, James 41.18 million, thick eyebrows 35.36 million).
In the end, under the restriction of salary space, the Lakers management can only "pinch the budget" - the introduction of Anthony, Howard, Jordan Jr., Ellington, Ariza and other players, forced to carry out a "lineup change"...
39 points to the Nuggets, the new season the Lakers completely failed to play the expected dominance
After the Lakers' strong big three lineup, they are indeed optimistic about winning the championship with their luxurious lineup depth. But after most of the season, under the leadership of the Big Three, they did not play the expected dominance - they can lose to championship-fighting teams like the Warriors, Suns, Bulls, and Nets, and they can also lose to league "weak teams" like the Thunder, Timberwolves, and Kings...
In the recent Lakers vs Nuggets game, one side gave up a thick eyebrow, and the other side gave way to a Murray: I thought that the Lakers and the Nuggets, a potential opponent in the playoffs, would stage a "thunder and fire" battle. But in the end, in front of Henard's 27 points and 10 boards, Jokic's 17 points, 12 boards and 13 assists, and Jeff Green's 26 points, 4 boards and 3 assists, the Lakers were pressed in four consecutive quarters, and finally lost to the Nuggets with 37 points in a 96-133 defeat. And the fiasco of 37 points also makes people suddenly realize that maybe this Lakers have no possibility of winning the championship...
1. Due to the impact of age + injury, Wei Shao is no longer as "brave" as in previous years. As early as the 16-17 season, When Wei Shao averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 boards and 10.4 assists per game, and shot 42.5% of the shooting rate, some people asserted that Wei Shao, who relied too much on his body to play, would surely usher in a remarkable decline after the age of 30.
In the seasons after The Age of 30, when he joined the Rockets and Harden, although the regular season could still bomb 27.2 points, 7.9 boards, 7.0 assists, 47.2% shooting rate of superstar performance; but that year in the playoffs, he fell to 17.9 points, 7.0 boards, 4.6 assists, 42.1% shooting percentage.
After joining the Wizards to regain a large number of ball rights, although Westbrook once again blasted 22.2 points, 11.5 boards and 11.7 assists, 43.9% shooting rate of the season triple-double performance; but this year's playoffs, Westbrook still fell to 19.0 points, 10.4 boards, 11.8 assists, 33.3% shooting percentage. Judging from the performance of Westbrook in the past two seasons, his offensive performance under high-intensity defense has obviously declined a lot.
After joining the Lakers, due to the accumulation of injuries, his explosive power declined, the rise in age made him physically weak, and the changes in the system exposed his flaws, and in the end, Wei Shao only contributed 18.7 points, 8.1 boards, 8.0 assists, and 43.8% shooting percentage.
Especially when the eyebrows are thick or James is injured, in the current state of Westbrook, he can't play a superstar performance, and he can't afford the lakers management to introduce his original intention...
2, the overall defensive intensity is insufficient, resulting in the Lakers difficult to turn over. In the 19-20 season, the reason why the Lakers can play dominance + win the championship is not unrelated to the defensive lineup composed of thick eyebrows + Howard + McGee, Pop + Green + Caruso and so on.
After all, thick eyebrows + Howard + McGee are tall and long- and can effectively sit in the restricted area; while Pop + Green + Caruso and other defenses are active and strong, and can build the first line of defense for the Lakers.
And now the Lakers' inner line: thick eyebrow injury retreat, Jordan Jr. is useless, Howard can not be reused; outside: Westbrook, Ellington, Bazemore, Ariza and other people, either lack of speed, or lack of single defense ability, which is also the lakers in the new season always can not play dominance, always difficult to win when the score is not much difference.
3, "Zhan Weimei" three giants, playing style of repulsion. In fact, the lakers' purpose of introducing Wei Shao in the offseason is very clear, nothing more than wanting Wei Shao to lead the Lakers to stabilize the record when the eyebrows are thick or james is injured or the rotation is rested, as he did when he was a Wizard or Rocket. Judging from the current situation, although Wei Shao's attendance rate is not low, he obviously has not met the expectations of the Lakers management at present.
When the Lakers' big three were on the floor at the same time, Thick Brow had to give up his familiar offensive style and pull more to the middle and long distance shots; while James had to give up a lot of ball possession, give up a lot of breakthroughs, increase three-point shots, and make room for Wei Shao to play. But even so, after the divergence of the ball, It is still difficult for Wei Shao to play a super star's personal performance.
It is precisely because the play between the big three is repulsive, unable to play 1 + 1 + 1 greater than 3 effect, so the new season of the Lakers' record will be so bad...
In summary, after the 39-point defeat to the Nuggets, perhaps the Lakers management should take a good look at the current lineup. After all, from the current situation, whether it is "the state of Westbrook, the overall defensive intensity of the team, or the repulsion of the Big Three", these problems cannot be solved with the passage of time, and may even be more serious.
Judging from the overall lineup and state of the current team, unless the Lakers can make a "lineup change" again, just like the Cavaliers built a younger and more dynamic lineup for James in 18 years. Otherwise, with today's deformed lineup, the Lakers have almost no possibility of winning the championship this year.