Last offseason, the Lakers management gave up the opportunity to get DeRozan and Hield, and decisively chose Wei Shao, who was more famous + had played a superstar performance, and formed a super big three combination of "Zhan Wei Mei" with thick eyebrows and James.
I thought that after James and Thick Brow recovered their health, coupled with the addition of Wei Shao, the Lakers could return to the top in the new season and play the dominance of the championship team again. But after most of the season, the Lakers, who sit on the big three, have only been wandering in the playoff area, far from meeting the expectations of the outside world.
1 win, 4 losses! After James' absence, the Lakers were in a difficult situation to win
In the Lakers vs Nets game at the end of last month, the thick eyebrows that have been injured for more than a month have ushered in a comeback. And finally with the blessing of the big three, facing the "single core" Harden, the Lakers won the game with 106-96 "no suspense".
And after the comeback of the thick eyebrows, many people believe that they have reached the turning point of the Lakers' season - if the Lakers can return to the top six in the West after the comeback of the thick eyebrows, perhaps they can still make a difference in the playoffs; but if it is still difficult to get rid of the playoffs after the comeback of the thick eyebrows, then the Lakers are strong and limited in the playoffs this year.
But the comeback of the thick eyebrows did not bring a long winning streak to the Lakers, but because of James's absence from the game, the Lakers' overall record further declined, and they were further widened by the Timberwolves and Clippers...
After James's absence, despite thick eyebrows playing super star performances in a row - averaging 29.5 points, 12.2 boards, 2.3 assists per game, 55.6% shooting percentage; but the Lakers did not have a smooth sailing, but lost to Philadelphia, Hornets, Eagles, until they met the in-form Blazers, barely still thick eyebrows, Anthony's efficiency to win the game.
But back to the game against the Clippers, with the two superstars of Westbrook + thick eyebrows, facing the Clippers without George and Leonard, from the perspective of the lineup and the gap in strength, the Lakers are likely to be able to easily take them.
But in the face of the efficient firepower of Reggie Jackson, Morris, Ibaka and Kennard, the Lakers were even suppressed in the first three quarters. Fortunately, the Clippers, who did not have the blessing of superstars, suddenly "lost power" after the start of the fourth quarter - only 2 points in 6 and a half minutes, while the Lakers played a 12-2 offensive wave, which was close to the score in a short period of time.
Even in the 12 seconds of the final quarter, with the two-point goal of the thick eyebrow, the Lakers once led the Clippers by one point at a time 110-109, seemingly winning; unfortunately, in the end, Reggie Jackson still hit a quasi-kill, and finally with the two points of the thick eyebrows, the Lakers regrettably lost the game with a difference of 110-111 points.
It is also after the loss to the Clippers that the Lakers have missed in several games that James has missed, and Westbrook and Thick Brow have not taken on the role of team leader well. Even if the score is deadlocked, they can't lead the Lakers to win the game, which makes the Lakers' record fall out of the top eight in the West.
After James' absence, a win is hard to find, what should the Lakers do next to win more games?
Since the new season, the Lakers can lose to strong teams such as the Warriors and the Suns, as well as to the "weak teams" such as the Thunder and the Kings, and it seems that they can play with anyone and can be "reversed" with anyone.
In fact, this also shows that the state of the Lakers in the new season has a lot of ups and downs, they can rely on the hot state to win one or two games, but it is difficult to maintain the state for a long time and help the team maintain a high winning rate.
If there is no major deal in the follow-up, if the player wins only by the state of the player, then even if James returns and the Lakers' big three gather, the Lakers may not be able to rush into the top six in the West as desired. So no matter when James returns, the necessary adjustments are essential for the Lakers.
1, based on the defense of Wei Shao, in order to better help the Lakers. Since the new season, due to the team's unsatisfactory record, some people have attributed the primary reason to Wei Shao's inefficient offense, some people have attributed the primary reason to the decline in the overall strength of the thick eyebrows, and even some people have attributed the reason to James...
But in fact, the biggest reason why the Lakers can't play dominance in the new season is in the overall defense. In order to introduce Westbrook, the team's salary space is insufficient, and they can only introduce players such as Anthony and Ellington who are not good at defense; in this way, when Westbrook plays with Bradley, Munch and others, the defensive intensity of the Lakers' outside line can be imagined.
If, like in the Thunder period, someone defended and assisted Wei Shao, and did dirty and tiring work around him, then Wei Shao's playing style would not be too harmful to the team. But now the Lakers' overall guard line simply does not have enough ability to provide high-quality defense, if the Wei Shao defensive end is still extreme, then the Lakers are doomed to go far even if they enter the playoffs.
Only Wei Shao is willing to put down his body and base himself on the defensive end - no longer grabbing rebounds, no longer "gambling" defense, and taking in the dirty and tiring work that others can't do, so that Lakers have the opportunity to play a stronger dominance.
2. Maximize the offensive firepower of thick eyebrows. Before thick eyebrows were injured, he was only able to average 23.2 points, 9.8 boards and 2.8 assists per game, and 51.8% shooting percentage, when many people were reprimanding thick eyebrows for not managing their bodies in the offseason, which led to a rapid decline in personal status.
But almost no one is aware of the decline in the thick eyebrow data, and a large part of the reason is because of the team's tactical requirements. After Wei Shao joined, Thick Brow was not only required to play the fifth position that he did not like for a long time, but even had to choose more shots in the middle and long distances in order to help the team open up space in the game, giving up his "offensive comfort zone".
Especially after Wei Shao controlled the ball, thick eyebrows could not receive the pass in time and comfortably, but was used as a "blue-collar inside line", and could only continue to follow the team on the field to turn back.
In addition, With a height of 1.93 meters + a weight of 93 kilograms, Wogel really should not directly "abandon" him, after all, he was a qualified substitute during the Eagles, Kings, and Warriors periods - he can effectively use his physical advantages to limit the opponent's attack to a certain extent. And Howard is still efficient this season, but he has never been reused by Vogel...
In summary, "changing Wei Shao's defense + maximizing the offensive firepower of the thick eyebrows" can allow the Lakers to win more games in the future; instead of "sacrificing" the attack of the thick eyebrows in order to maintain the efficiency of the Westbrook offense as at the beginning of the season. Even if the follow-up Westbrook's defensive habits and attitudes can be changed, the thick eyebrows return to the comfortable offensive zone, and Vogel can better arrange the troops, then when James returns, the Lakers can completely blow the horn of "counterattack" and target the championship again...