On February 20, Beijing time, during the NBA All-Star Weekend, Heat coach Spoelstra talked about James' state in an interview: "He is playing center this year, and I really feel derelict in this. If I knew he was willing to play center, I would have done so 10 years ago. Anyway, he was able to go from 1 to 4 at that time, and in retrospect, it was better to put all the chips in and let him play all five positions. ”
In the offseason, Pelinka brought back Westbrook for the Lakers in the free market, the team's offensive space was squeezed, and when the thick eyebrow injury retreated, James began to play the fifth position of the team. So far this season, James has 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists, which is a rare statistic for the 38-year-old veteran. You know, there are many players in the league who have faded out of the league after they are over 25 years old, and James can still maintain such a high level of efficiency under the high pressure of the court, which can not help but be admired.
So far this season, Vogel's rotation has no small problems, even if the thick eyebrow injury is retired, Jordan Jr. is not in good shape, he also chose to hide Howard and insisted on letting James play the fifth position of the team. In fact, the reason for Vogel's stubborn small lineup is very simple, one is to open up the space on the field, the other is to speed up the rhythm of attack and defense on the field, when Howard comes on the field, it is difficult to match the opponent's offensive speed, and it is easy to be deliberately targeted by the opponent. If Vogel and Pelinka are still unable to solve the team's space problems and choose to use James as the fifth position, then James will also leave the field with the same injury as the thick eyebrows.
James played from the first position to the fourth position in the Heat, he showed full dominance, when the team had a space center Bosh, James did not need to directly against the fifth position. Today's Lakers have similarities with the original Heat's tactical system, but after the thick eyebrow injury, because the team lacks a reliable number five position, Vogel can only choose James as the fifth position, but the good news is that in the game against the Jazz, Vogel used Howard, which may also reduce the pressure on James.