If the NBA League is likened to a jianghu, LeBron James is the supreme martial arts league master, and Stephen Curry is the third-ranked Li Feidao on the weapons spectrum, then who is Russell Westbrook? Then it must be Ah Fei, who is known as the world's fastest sword. With a straight personality and clear love and hatred, these attributes are very similar to Wei Shao. At the beginning of the jianghu to kill the four sides, a fast word swept through the alliance, and then fell into the trouble of feelings, and began to be confused and wandering.
When Westbrook first entered the league, people's first impression of him was fast, simple moves, and crushing defenders with speed and strength. However, years and injuries gradually took away these advantages of Wei Shao, and eventually he became a tramp in the league, a team a year, eager to prove himself, but could not catch up with the pace of the times.
Three teams in three years
Russell Westbrook's first stop away from the Thunder was the Houston Rockets, teaming up with James Harden to try to storm the championship trophy. In order to get Westbrook, the Rockets sent Paul away and also hitched a draft pick, and the deal also laid the groundwork for the Rockets to rebuild. In order to make Westbrook more comfortable playing in the team, the Rockets sent Capela away and chose Covington. This is consistent with this season's Lakers, abandoning Howard, James playing center, this is the afterword, here is not to mention.
The departure of Paul and Capela left the Houston Rockets with no way back, but it only took one season, and everyone understood that this Rocket was destined to go far. Westbrook asks for a trade, Harden is determined to leave, and D'Antoni's magic ball theory, without Harden, also loses value. Eventually Westbrook was sent to the Wizards, Harden and D'Antoni reunited at the Nets, and the Rockets got a Wall, now sitting on the bench with the highest salary in the league, with an annual salary of more than $40 million.
Wei Shao, who went to the Washington Wizards, began to play a big package, not only becoming the king of the three doubles in history, but also leading the team to make a difference and return to the playoff stage. Although Wei Shao has been criticized over the years, you must also admit that he still has the strength of an All-Star level guard, coupled with the experience accumulated over the years, giving him a team that is not up and down, he can still bring it to the playoff stage, but the first round is already the limit, and the past few years in the Thunder single core team, is the best example.
At this time, the Lakers suffered a playoff loss, Kuzma felt cold, Pop became synonymous with Wolong Phoenix, and Harrell was basically abandoned by Vogel in the playoffs. So the Lakers used a change-for-change swap in the offseason, using the three to trade Russell Westbrook from the Wizards. Coupled with the arrival of Anthony and Ariza, the return of Rondo and Howard, a sunset red team, into the eyes of the team.
Sunset Red Squad
In such a sunset red team, Wei Shao may be the most energetic player, and what the Lakers value is Wei Shao's vitality. When the big three are still there, with super personal strength, the Lakers can still cover up many problems, especially the choice of Wei Shao. But with Anthony Davis getting injured, the Lakers' problems began to arise. Without a qualified small-ball center, Westbrook's speed on the court could not be unleashed, so James came to the center position, and Howard was gradually abandoned.
The Lakers gave Westbrook enough space, but Westbrook didn't return enough points. After a wave of losing streaks, the Lakers management began to exert pressure, and Vogel had no choice but to continue to use Howard, and the situation improved slightly. But howard is present, and Westbrook's role on the court is not as good as Munch or Bradley. Munch has offense and can pull out space, Bradley has defense and can limit the opponent's scoring arrows, and Westbrook is constantly making mistakes on the court, making unreasonable offensive choices again and again.
People accused Wei Shao of too many mistakes, so Wei Shao made a change, began to play without the ball, the number of mistakes continued to decrease, and even many times there were 0 mistakes in a single game, but Wei Shao also had three consecutive games without scoring in doubles. A player with an annual salary of more than 40 million, you can't make him sleepwalk on the field. Westbrook held back until the game against the Pacers, when Westbrook was discarded by Vogel in the final moments and bluntly said that he used the lineup he thought he could win. After the game, Wei Shao left directly and did not give an interview.
Wei Shao returned to the original point
How can a former superstar, or such a heart-filled defender, accept such humiliation. As a result, Russell Westbrook is no longer afraid of his hands and feet, he wants to show his truest self on the court. Against the Orlando Magic, Westbrook had 18 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, helping the team win the game and avoid a losing streak. This game against the Miami Heat, although losing, but Westbrook led the team to play a counter-attack climax in the final quarter, almost reversing the game. After the whole game, Wei Shao also has a quasi-triple-double stat of 24 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, and is still the best helper around James.
Pushing counter-attacks, grabbing fast attacks, breaking through the ball, tearing apart the opponent's defense line, this is what we are familiar with Wei Shao. Perhaps such a Wei Shao is not suitable for today's Lakers, nor is it suitable for playing next to James, but in general, instead of making Wei Shao afraid of his hands and feet, it is better to let him open completely, at least, during the time when Wei Shao leads the team, he can still share some pressure for James.
Vogel tried many ways to let Wei Shao play a variety of roles, with or without the ball, but in the end, he went around in a circle, and Wei Shao returned to the original point. A 33-year-old point guard who hasn't practiced baskets in so many years is difficult to practice again. Therefore, taking advantage of Wei Shao's speed is acceptable, still full of fighting spirit, the Lakers might as well let Wei Shao burn to the fullest, inject some vitality into this sunset red team, maybe still lose, or smash the upper edge of the rebound, or dribble out of bounds, but it is not a good choice.