In the second quarter of 5 minutes and 23 seconds, Russell Westbrook blocked the left side of the 45 degree emergency stop to hit the board shot, the ball hit the rebound and rebounded without even touching the basket, the Knicks took the ball to complete the counterattack.
Staples Center exploded in an instant, and the intolerable Lakers fans booed Wei Shao.
It is rare for home fans to be dissatisfied with their own players to boo, and the harsh boos must have brought a stinging feeling to Westbrook. Ke Wei can't complain about others, and he can only complain that he has performed too badly.
Statistically, Wei Shao played 29 minutes and shot 1 of 10, including 3 of 3 three-pointers, 3 of 7 free throws, only 5 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, he made 4 turnovers, and the plus-minus value of -15 was the worst on the team. In terms of effect, Wei Shao is incompatible with the entire Lake, he is the only player with a negative effect on the field, and the whole team carries him forward. The Lakers trailed by up to 21 points in the first half and nearly collapsed in the final minute of the fourth quarter, and Wei Shao was the number one culprit.
In overtime, Frank Vogel finally plucked up the courage to abandon Westbrook, and the Lakers defeated the Knicks 122-115 at home to complete a 21-point reversal. In the process of the Lakers' reversal, Wei Shao is either not present, and when he is present, he only plays a tool man and a spectator. With the team's first high salary of $44 million, Westbrook played such a performance, which makes people even more confused about how the Lakers will deal with Westbrook before the trade deadline.
The Lakers had thought that the presence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis would make Westbrook change his face. The Lakers had thought that Wei Shao was just habitually slow and hot, and his performance would improve as the schedule progressed. Now after 54 games, the Lakers can give up their hopes and fantasies about Westbrook. Wei Shao has some deep-seated problems that the environment cannot change.
For example, this low-level mistake, Wei Shao fell into hesitation in the face of shrinking defense, hesitated between shooting, suddenly, and passing, and finally the ball was bizarrely out of hand.
There is also this, Wei Shao counterattacked with the ball to advance, but was stolen from behind by the opponent, Wei Shao fell out of the bottom line, another low-level mistake.
This kind of mistake that only needs to be careful can be avoided, but when put on Wei Shao, this has become his routine operation. The phrase "reduce mistakes" has been shouted for many years, but Wei Shao still has at least 4 mistakes per game all year round, and the more he has the ball, the more mistakes he has.
On the defensive end, the problem of Wei Shao's defense not being active and watching the ball and not looking at people has been said for many years, but Wei Shao has never changed, and even a defensive master like Vogel cannot transform Wei Shao. Like this defense, look at James's meaning, the Lakers did not plan to change out to stare at the shooter, and Wei Shao did not plan to bypass to chase the shooter, and finally became Wei Shao's embarrassing "next person interference".
A similar look to assist, and being dunked by Barrett in the final moment of the fourth quarter, is perfectly normal for Westbrook.
The problems are all there, but Wei Shao just doesn't change, what can the Lakers do.
As for Wei Shao's empty layup that seriously damaged the team's morale and interfered with the team's offensive rhythm, the empty three-pointer did not score, the breakthrough was covered, and the two penalties at the key moment almost led to the team being overturned, the Lakers fans could only express their inner dissatisfaction with boos.
Westbrook has so many problems that the Lakers trailed by up to 21 points in the first half. If it is an ordinary player, Vogel will simply abandon him, but Wei Shao is not an ordinary player, and in the face of management pressure, Vogel must continue to use him. So how to use it? Vogel's compromise was to transform Wei Shao into a tool man, spending most of his time as a spectator with a VIP position on the field.
Wei Shao's poor performance in the first half has proved that the Lakers cannot give him the ball and let him play to block and dismantle and hold the ball organization, which will only lead to the Lakers constantly being counterattacked by opponents because of mistakes and iron. In the second half, Vogel still let Westbrook play, but the ball was concentrated in the hands of Malik Munch, James and Davis, and more attacks were launched by them, and Westbrook's position battle stood in the bottom corner, and the counter-attack was responsible for the transition of the ball.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Munch was full of firepower, and he either attacked with the ball himself, blocked the attack with James, or took over the pass to attack. In the third quarter, the Lakers became lake crazy, ostensibly because Munch exploded with 18 points in a single quarter, but in essence, Vogel deprived Westbrook of the right to hold the ball and forbade him to participate excessively in the offense.
When James is resting, even Tarren Horton Tucker is on the floor to hold the ball better than Westbrook.
Looking at the two rounds in the fourth quarter, Horton Tucker and Davis blocked, and Horton Tucker's breakthrough attracted the pinch, and finally assisted Davis to throw the shot.
In the next leg, Horton Tucker and Davis continued to block, this time the Knicks focused on the defense of Davis after covering the catch, but Davis assisted On Munch's three-point shot.
Horton Tucker didn't score directly, but fortunately he played reasonably, attracted pinch shots, and was able to pass the ball out without missing a beat, which was enough.
On the defensive end, the Lakers no longer trust the pursuit ability of Wei Shao and others, and Vogel chose to change defense indefinitely. After a series of adjustments, the Lakers limited the Knicks' open three-point shots and counter-attack scores, and finally filled the pit to successfully complete the counter-overtaking.
After the recent game, the Lakers should figure out that the way of playing with James as the core of the ball is still the Lakers' ace playing style. When James does not hold the ball, Munch's three-threat guard and Davis and James block the effect is not at all comparable to that of Westbrook holding the ball and blocking and dismantling. Because Wei Shao plays the block, any opponent will shrink, Wei Shao can't shoot, Davis can't score. Munch, on the other hand, can both tackle the ball himself and give Davis an easy chance to score.
There are still 4 days to go before the trade deadline, and the Lakers are entangled. Wanting to trade Westbrook, no team was willing to take over. Like the Rockets abandoned John Wall, putting a player with an annual salary of $44 million not to use, is certainly not appropriate, and it is impossible to account for the Lakers management and lakers fans. But if you let Wei Shao play, it is not realistic to give him enough ball to let him lead the team. Let him be like Bruce Brown last season, who is only responsible for empty cutting, playing the role of blocking cover, and his basket finish is not as strong as Brown.
The Lakers also have to consider Westbrook's emotions. In the fourth quarter of today, when Wei Shao walked to the bench during the suspension, he refused to high-five with the Lakers assistant coach and teammates, and coldly walked over and sat on the bench. Extra-time Saiwei is less abandoned, and in the next few days, this is bound to be a hot topic again. If you don't coax Wei Shao, the Lakers will have to carry a time bomb in the sprint stage.
What exactly? The Lakers are too headaches.