On February 10, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Lakers lost to the Blazers 105-107. Thick eyebrow brother played 41 minutes in this campaign, 11 shots 8 of 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks, it looks like the data is comprehensive, the efficiency is also very high, but in the most critical fourth quarter game, the thick eyebrow brother is completely invisible.
According to statistics, Anthony Davis played 9 minutes and 09 seconds in the fourth quarter, but did not have any shots, whether it was a shot or a free throw. The last time he played for more than five minutes in the final quarter, he made 0 shots, dating back to December 28, 2015.
So the question is, why is the thick eyebrow brother in the case of such high efficiency, but the last quarter of the game did not shoot once. Some Lakers fans blamed the thick eyebrow brother for not being motivated, playing the No. 5 position was not willing to fight frequently physically; others believed that because Howard was hidden by Vogel in this game, the thick eyebrow brother did not have a substitute, and he did not have the physical strength to attack again in the last quarter. Of course, these reasons exist, but the real problem is probably Vogel's tactical arrangement, throughout the fourth quarter, he did not let the thick eyebrow brother go to the inside line, but always let the thick eyebrow brother float outside the three-point line.
In the first three quarters of the game, The Thick Brow brother shot all five shots in the three-second zone, and the middle shot near the free throw line was 5 shots and 3 shots, and only one three-point shot was missed. Obviously, the thick-browed brother is good at attacking the basket, and can also play a dozen in the middle distance, while the three-point shot is not at all. So far this season, the three-point shooting rate of the thick eyebrow brother is only 17.2%.
Logically, in this case, the lakers' normal tactical arrangement should be to let the thick eyebrow brother slam the basket, make a proper shot, and reduce the three-point shot. But how did Vogel arrange his tactics in the final quarter? The thick-browed brother is completely floating outside the three-point line, not going to the basket at all, even if he receives the ball, he is also responsible for the high-level strategy, and occasionally when he blocks with James, he basically chooses to bounce outside instead of going down.
Such a tactical arrangement is obviously to help James open up space and let James attack the basket. In fact, James' offense in the final quarter is indeed more like a real center. James shot 6-of-9 in the entire fourth quarter, including six shots in the three-second zone and 4 goals, and in this quarter alone, he shot more shots in the three-second zone than Brother Thick-Brow's shots in the three-second zone.
Vogel's use of the thick-browed brother is reminiscent of Frye and Love during the Cavaliers, but the problem is that both of them have three-point shooting ability, and Fry is a full-time three-point shooter, so when they cooperate with James, they have been floating outside the three-point line.
But such an inside killer as Brother Thick Eyebrow has no sense of long-range shooting this season, and has kept him floating outside the three-point line, how can he not "refuse to shoot"? And even the thick eyebrow brother has become a spectator on the offensive end, how can James's burden not be heavy? Interestingly, after the game, James also made it clear that he was tired, while the thick-browed brother simply did not give an interview.
When Westbrook was on the court before, many people thought that Westbrook had the right to occupy the ball and it was difficult to open up space, which affected the Lakers' offense, but this ball Westbrook did not play, and the Lakers' offense still did not improve. Vogel should also reflect on his own problem, let the thick eyebrow brother this kind of inside killer has been floating outside the three-point line of play, if it does not change, then similar to the last quarter of this game, this thick eyebrow brother stealth situation, I am afraid that it will appear again.