After the Lakers lost to the Nuggets by 37 points, the comment area of the official media once again became the target of the fans' anger, in the long regular season, a loss does not actually mean anything, but what makes these fans most angry is that now this Lakers team has gradually made everyone lose any hope. On the basketball court, attitude can often determine everything, the so-called "diligence can make up for the clumsiness", the talent is not enough to need the attitude to make up, but now in the Lakers, willing to do their best on every game day night, there are really very few, losing 20 points, 30 points, 37 points? It doesn't matter, it's just a loss, and these abnormal situations seem to have become a norm for the Lakers.
Many fans believe that the deal to introduce Westbrook is the beginning of the Lakers' downward spiral. Now that the regular season is halfway through the season, it is clear that Westbrook is not suitable for playing in the Lakers, and at this point, fans and the media have basically reached a consensus. Age and injury wreckage have left Westbrook's competitive form on a cliff-like downward trend, and when he is the team's main controller, he has an average of about 5 turnovers per game, but on the scoring end, he often throws those "unbelievable" non-sticky shots. However, if you think about it, the source of the Lakers' beginning to go downhill is not the joining of Wei Shao, I am afraid it will go back to the 19-20 season after winning the championship.
In the 19-20 season, the Lakers once again had success in bubble park, winning the supreme O'Brien Trophy. However, when the offseason came, general manager Pelinka was still immersed in the dream of reinforcement, and he was fascinated. Sending away Danny Green, letting go of Howard, letting go of McGee, and just like that, under The operation of Pelinka, the Lakers' championship-winning lineup has also fallen apart. It's true that Danny Green's shooting percentage on the outside was a bit of a shame that season, but the defensive player was able to play a very important role in Vogel's tactical system. There is no doubt that Pope, Caruso and Danny Green all made indelible contributions to the Lakers in the year they won the championship. And in that season, the two giants of the Lakers, James and Davis, were in a healthy state of "no illness and no disaster".
Schroeder and Harrell were strong contenders for the best sixth man before coming to the Lakers (Harrell first, Schroeder second), but after joining the Lakers, head coach Vogel did not seem to be able to maximize the technical characteristics of the two of them, resulting in a long period of time, the former best sixth man Harrell has been in a state of snow, after last season's AD injury, James was difficult to support, resulting in them being eliminated by the Suns in the first round of the playoffs early. However, in the offseason last summer, Pelinka once again subverted the Lakers' roster, sending away Pop, Kuzma, Caruso, Harrell, Schroeder and other players, but after Pop and Caruso left, the Lakers did not have a player who was good at defense.
In terms of reinforcements, howard, Rondo, Ariza, Anthony and Ellington, Bazemore, Jordan Jr. Veterans joined the franchise to make the Lakers labeled the "sunset red" team, in addition to melons and Howard can also play for the team, most of the rest of these players are more famous than strength, with the increase in age, the peak period has long gone. Obviously, this way of relying on the bottom salary veteran to make up for the seams is no way to help the Lakers win another championship. However, between Tucker Jr. and Caruso, in the end, Pelinka chose to give the seemingly more talented Tucker Jr., providing Tucker Jr. with a contract with an annual salary of tens of millions, and it is clear that in the games that have been played this season, Tucker Jr. has undoubtedly lost his worth.
This season, Westbrook's annual salary is as high as $44.21 million, but next season, his annual salary will continue to grow, as high as $47 million. Today, in the NBA league, there are almost no teams interested in Westbrook, so even if Pelinka wants to correct mistakes now, there is probably no chance. After the analysis, it is not difficult to find that the active coach Vogel does need to carry some pots in the platoon, but can not carry the whole pot, like Green, Caruso, Pop, these defensive forward guards who are good at defense are obviously Vogel's favorite, but in two consecutive offseasons, Pelinka sent them all away, in exchange for the poor defense of Wei Shao, leaving a low Tak with a low player. And this failed deal and signing after another has also pushed the Lakers into an endless abyss.