Lakers 105-107 Trailblazers
Russell Westbrook is in a truce due to a tight back, and the opponent is still the Blazers who have just started a huge change in the clearance sale lineup, the Lakers should win, right?
As a result, the Lakers really dare to continue to lose.
On February 10, Beijing time, the Lakers lost to the Blazers 105-107 on the road, suffering two consecutive defeats. Before the game was over, the Lakers fans who came to the Moda Center to support the Purple and Gold Legion had already begun to retire lonely, and the camera was given to the Lakers, and each of them was also cold-faced.
Playing the Knicks and Bucks in the past two games, Lakers coach Frank Vogel abandoned Westbrook in overtime and the fourth quarter, respectively, for the reason he wanted to use players he thought would bring victory to the team. Wei Shao's own poor performance, Vogel's use of him and remarks pushed Wei Shao to the cusp of the storm, and he became the Lakers' poor "back cooker".
There is also news before today's game that the Lakers have despaired of Wei Shao, and they no longer think that Wei Shao and Zhan Mei can still let the Lakers win on a high-level line. The problem is that today, in the face of the blazers in the reconstruction, the "cancer" of the population, Wei Shao, did not play, and the Lakers still performed dismal. The US media have ridiculed, who should the Lakers find to carry the pot this time?
Most of the time in the whole game, the Lakers were not in the rhythm at all. After the Westbrook truce, James returned to the no. 1 position to control the rhythm, and the Lakers began to slow down in order to cater to the speed of Westbrook, and the Lakers returned to the lineup and playing style of the 2020 championship-winning season. However, although it has only been 2 years since the 2020 Orlando Park championship, 2 years is not a vicissitude, but after 2 years of changes, the world is no longer the original appearance, and the Lakers are no longer the original Lakers. First of all, in the Westbrook trade, the Lakers, who lost a number of high-quality defenders, have lost the magic weapon of their original survival - defense.
In front of the young Blazers, the Lakers' defense is like a tofu slag project, the defense focus is Anfinney Simmons, the Lakers were bombarded by the young player for 29 points, Avery Bradley's close pressing is useless, and Simmons's second-half shot combined with the Explosion Lakers.
Defending Nurkic, Anthony Davis could not withstand the opponent's singles and was also copied by the opponent when he was transferred from the basket to assist in the defense. The Trail Blazers roster such as Greg Brown, Watford, Bellevance, Ellebi and other nameless players have difficulty entering the rotation before, but the Lakers have scored 33 points by these four people.
When Westbrook can play, his defense is always a problem. Wei Shao does not play, and the Lakers are only missing a defensive colander. In order to get him, multiple holes appeared in the Lakers defense line. Wei Shao's failure to fight does not mean that these loopholes can be plugged by themselves. Tarron Horton Tucker, Malik Munch, and Austin Reeves were helpless in the face of opponents' onslaught, and their ability to prevent breakthroughs was close to zero.
The Lakers' outside line was suddenly formed into a sieve, as a sweeper in the Lakers' defensive system, I don't know if it is because of physical fitness or other reasons, James's enthusiasm is not enough, did not take on the responsibility that should be assumed, and the Lakers lost a lot of baskets.
Lakers Highlights: James tied his career record 30+7+7
On the offensive end, the Lakers use James as a point guard, and the playing style with shooters around him is really good, and the Lakers hit 17 three-pointers in the whole game, which is already an extraordinary play. But Davis frequently suffered from a decline in bag firepower, and Munch and Tucker did as much as they did wrong after taking on more responsibility for the ball, with a total of 9 mistakes in the whole game. Including James himself, there have been a number of undeserved mistakes in passing.
Wei Shao did not play, the Lakers' mistake problem did not alleviate at all, 21 mistakes in the whole game, just because of the mistake lost 28 points, the opponent's fast attack score also reached 28 points.
Many of the Lakers' problems began with the Westbrook deal, but it was too extreme to throw the pot all over Westbrook. The Lakers' problem is by no means just Wei Shao, nor can it be solved by abandoning Wei Shao. The current Westbrook is largely carrying the pot for the Lakers management led by Pelinka.
With a trade deadline looming, the Lakers are still struggling with whether to send Westbrook now or wait for next year's offseason. "The Athletic" reported that before losing to the Bucks, the Lakers management tended to move less in the offseason, but after losing to the Bucks, the Lakers management felt a sense of urgency. But no matter how strong this sense of urgency is, if the Lakers send away Wei Shao before the trade deadline, it is nothing more than john Wall, and most of the problems still cannot be solved.
Admit it, the Lakers have little hope of turning things around the rest of the season. If it weren't for the playoff format, the Lakers could now give up the season and prepare for offseason operations. The playoff format only gives the Lakers a life extension, and the Lakers can fight for a playoff spot at most through the playoffs.
Especially considering the Lakers' next schedule, in the next 7 games, the Lakers will play 2 games each with the Warriors and Clippers, 1 game each with the Jazz and Lone Rangers, and the other 1 opponent is the Pelicans who have just introduced McCollum to complete the reinforcement. In these 7 games, the Lakers have no certainty of winning, and it is not impossible to lose all according to the current state. Now they are only four wins ahead of the 11th-place Blazers in the West, and after these seven games, it is unknown whether the Lakers will fall out of the playoff zone and fall to 11th place in the West.
The rankings are rushing upwards, which is basically unrealistic. The ranking goes down, and the probability is high. In this way, in the case of using Wei Shao + first-round picks for Wall, the Lakers can only patiently wait for the offseason to come. At that time, the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick can be included in the deal, and the Lakers may be able to launch a big deal to change the team and have better compatibility with Zhan Mei.
However, James's few remaining careers have been wasted for a year, can he still be in this state at the age of 38 next season? That's another question.