Before the start of this season, the NBA's historical "triple doubles king" Wei Shao parachuted into Los Angeles, and formed a big three with James and thick eyebrows, just when the purple and gold fans were looking forward to the performance that the three "talent monsters" would bring, the sudden injury, the age caused the defense to be low, and the players had no tacit understanding on the field, so that this giant team was mired in the quagmire.
So far, the Lakers have a record of only 27 wins and 33 losses, in ninth place in the West, and have been stretched out by the sixth-place Denver Nuggets with an 8.5-game advantage, losing hope of directly advancing to the playoffs, and he will compete with the Timberwolves, Clippers and Pelicans for the last two playoff spots.
As a newly recruited player, Wei Shao has become the target of the team's poor record, and trading news has emerged endlessly. But a salary of more than $44 million and poor shots prevented him from being a bargaining chip at the last minute of the trade deadline, and the Lakers lost the chance to make one last change.
Unlike the Lakers, who have watched the changes, other teams in the league have large and small "moves" before the trade deadline, taking stock of the seven stars who have performed amazingly this season:
7. Drummond (76ers Nets)
Pre-trade stats: 6.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 53.8% shooting, 51.2% free throw shooting
Post-trade stats: 11.2 points, 11 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 56.1% shooting, 45.5% free throw shooting
Speaking of "Johnson God" Drummond, most fans have a first impression of him as a center who is keen to grab rebounds, relying on his height of 2.08 meters and a weight of 130 kilograms, Drummond has won the title of "Rebounding King" four times in his career so far. It is this inside player with outstanding data who has tasted the bittersweet and bittersweet in the league in the past three seasons.
As the ninth pick in the first round of 2012, Drummond was used by the Pistons as a rebuilding core as soon as he entered the league, and the rookie averaged 13.5 points and 13.2 rebounds per game in his second season, and then entered the top rebounders. But good stats don't lead to good results, and the title of "rebounding brush" disappointed the team management, which was eventually sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020.
Last season, the Cavaliers acquired center Allen through a four-way deal for Harden, and in order to give the youngster plenty of room to grow, the team management reached a buyout agreement with Drummond, whose contract is about to expire. At this time, the "Zhuang Shen" chose to come to the traffic brigade Lakers for the next big contract to "gild", but the serious water and soil dissatisfaction allowed him to be signed by the Philadelphia 76ers with the basic salary of the veteran after the contract expired.
In the first half of the season, Drummond came to Brooklyn as a substitute for "The Great" Embiid, performing decently and was used as a bargaining chip for Harden before the trade deadline. At this time, the Nets are in trouble, Durant, Ade is injured, Irving can only play in away games, Drummond was reused by Nash, contributing two double-doubles per game, and against the Bucks, he also had a button brother, as if he found the feeling that the Pistons were in charge of the inside line.
6. Hilde (King Pacers)
Pre-trade stats: 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, shooting 39.6% from the field and 36.8% from three-point range.
Post-trade stats: 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 49 percent shooting, 37.5 percent three-point range
In the 2016 draft, Hield was selected by the Pelicans with the sixth pick in the first round and was sent to the Kings, where his excellent outside three-point feel fits in with today's small-ball trends, and when he arrived in Sacramento, he was seen as a hope for revival by the Western "Fish belly" team.
In the 18-19 season, the Kings management at this time was still considering the core of the team's rebuilding, after all, the team was full of talent, attacking point guard Fox, the newly promoted league-eye center Bagley, and the three-point projection of the stable Hield, the "Trident" position did not coincide with each other, and the Kings fans seemed to see the hope of the playoffs.
This season, Hield received a four-year, $94 million early contract extension from the Kings with 20.7 points, five rebounds per game and 42.7 percent three-point shooting. Just as fans were expecting the three-point shooter to reach Klay Thompson's heights, team management gave the core position to Fox, Hield's tactical position plummeted, and the on-field stats and competitive status declined year by year.
The Kings have waited for several seasons, not to get the "trident" talent, but the atmosphere of the team's habit of losing, and the management is forced to seek a trade. Just before the trade deadline this season, the Kings struck a deal with the Pacers, sending Sabonis Jr., Lamb and Holliday to Hield, Halliburton and center Thompson.
After coming to Indiana, head coach Carlisle favored Hield, not only giving him 39.5 minutes of playing time, but also setting up his own tactics, which greatly increased Hield's confidence on the offensive end, shooting nearly 50% from the field, setting a new career high. Hilde's recent excellent performance has also made Carlisle unsparing in praise: "His running position is as good as Reggie Miller's." ”
5. Curry Jr. (76ers Nets)
Pre-trade stats: 15 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4 assists, 48.5 percent shooting, 40 percent three-point range
Post-trade stats: 19.2 points, 4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 50.7% shooting, 47.4% three-point shooting
Regarding Seth Curry's career, it is an inspirational model, from the draft to the summer league to the development league, ten days of short contracts without salary security helped him step on the NBA stage, only played four games in the first two seasons of his career, a total of six points, although the data is very poor, but he has always followed behind his father and brother.
The era of small ball led by his brother has largely helped Seth Curry gain a firm foothold in the league, and his accurate three-point shot has made him trusted by the Kings, and then he has shown his strength in the Lone Ranger, and the objective data of the three-point shooting rate of more than 40% in all seasons of his career has allowed him to gain a foothold in the NBA with a high elimination rate.
In the summer of 2019, Curry Jr. was offered a four-year, 32 million contract extension for the Lone Rangers, but the poor defense was at odds with the team's system and was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers after just one season. In last year's playoffs, when the team's main control Simmons gave up the offense, Seth Curry stepped up and averaged 18.8 points per game, shooting 50.6% from three-point range, making it the most stable scoring point around Embiid.
Like Drummond, Curry Jr. also became a chip for the team to get Harden, to the Nets of the missing major general, Curry Jr. played to 32 minutes, and around Irving and a group of substitute players, the former missing draft seemed to find the core of the team, and he could also assist his teammates while shooting, and the limelight completely crushed the veteran Mills.
4. Dinwiddie (Wizards Maverick)
Pre-trade stats: 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 37.6 percent shooting, 31 percent three-point range
Post-trade stats: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 63.9 percent shooting, 46.2 percent three-point range
In last year's playoffs, the Lone Rangers met the Los Angeles Clippers for two consecutive seasons, and Doncic averaged 35.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists in seven games in the series, but still failed to help the team advance to the second round. When the team was eliminated, fans pointed the loss at second-in-command Porzingis, a center who averaged just 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
Before the fans complained, Porzingis took the lead in publicly dissatisfied with the head coach's platoon on social media, believing that its tactical arrangement was too biased towards Dongcic, and the two sides were once tense, and finally ended with Coach Carlisle voluntarily resigning. This farce came to an end before the trade deadline of the season:
The Lone Ranger makes a deal with the Wizards, sending Porzingis to Washington, D.C., with Dinwiddie and Bertans.
Dinwiddie, who is 1.98 meters tall, has excellent personal offensive skills and a good view of the overall situation on the field, and after his league loner, he has been playing as the sixth man of the team, leading the substitute line-up to play, which has greatly eased the pressure on Doncic's attack and organizational end. It is worth mentioning that Dinwiddie's excellent scoring ability in key moments can bring more tactical changes to the Lone Rangers in the playoffs, which Porzingis cannot do.
After Dinwiddie joined the Lone Ranger, the team defeated the Heat and Warriors in succession, helping the team lock in a playoff spot in advance, and his arrival also provided confidence for the Lone Ranger to impact the second round of the playoffs. At present, the Lone Ranger has obvious shortcomings in the inside line, and once the outside three points are inaccurate, it is difficult for Powell and Bertans alone to reverse the decline.
3. Halliburton (King Pacers)
Pre-trade stats: 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists, shooting 45.7% from the field and 41.3% from three-point range.
Post-trade stats: 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists, shooting 52.5% from the field and 47.5% from three-point range.
Speaking of Halliburton, I believe many fans are very unfamiliar with this name, if you have ever watched the Kings game, then this treasure player will definitely make you shine. In the 2020 draft, Halliburton was selected by the Kings with the 12th pick in the first round, the 1.96-meter tall and 84-kilogram second-placed rookie who averaged 13 points, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his first season, shooting 40.9% from three-point range.
In the first half of the season, because of the presence of Fox and Hield in the team, Haliburton did not get much offensive tactics, head coach Gentry positioned him as a fixed-point shooter and offensive organizer, and from the final data, Haliburton averaged 7.4 assists per game and shot 41.7% from three-point range to prove his excellence.
In the deal for Sabonis, the Pacers saw Haliburton as a necessity, and the Kings management saw Fox's on-court value as significantly superior to the latter, so they agreed to the former's request and sent Haliburton, who was not physically fit, to Indiana.
Coming to the "tactical master" Carlisle, The value of Halliburton began to show, he and Brogdon, who is 1.96 meters tall, formed the league's highest backcourt duo, and in six games with the Pacers, Halliburton averaged 20+10 per game and a terrifying 47.5% three-point shooting rate.
Regarding the youngster's phenomenal performance, Suns coach Monty Williams also did not hesitate to praise: "For the Pacers, getting players like Harry Potter has allowed them to have excellent and reliable point guards for the next decade. At the same time, many fans have also begun to complain about the selection vision of the King's management, and it is a pity to let go of this talented youngster!
2. McCollum (Trailblazer Pelicans)
Pre-trade stats: 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 43.6 percent shooting, 38.4 percent three-point range
Post-trade stats: 28 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 52.8 percent shooting, 43.4 percent three-point range
Like Doncic in last year's playoffs, Lillard averaged 34.3 points and 10.2 assists in six series and shot 44.9 percent from three-point range. The team's second-in-command McCollum averaged 20.7 points per game, but fatal mistakes in a few key moments of the game buried Lillard's efforts and the team's hopes of qualifying.
After the team was eliminated, Lillard openly dissatisfied with the team's lineup layout, and eventually the team manager Speights was sacked, but the team did not carry out targeted reinforcements. So far this season, with Lillard's sluggish offensive end and injuries, the Blazers have lost their playoff competition, and that's when team management begins the road to rebuilding:
The Blazers sent McCollum, Nance Jr. and Snell to the Pelicans with Hart, Alexander Walker, Satoransky and the 2022 first-round picks.
After coming to the Pelicans, because Zion Williamson has not returned from injury, McCollum, Ingram and center Valanciunas formed a three-core lineup, in this young team, McCollum basically did a seamless connection, with excellent basic skills and shooting feel to replace Ingram, the team's chief scorer, and the latter has also developed assist skills in the recent past, can be called common progress.
At present, the Pelicans have a record of 25 wins and 36 losses, tied for tenth place in the West with the Blazers, and given that the latter has advanced into the "rotten" ranks, the Pelicans still have a good chance of entering the playoffs, competing with the Lakers, Clippers and Timberwolves for two playoff spots. There are many uncertainties in the format of a playoff game, and the Pelicans are expected to achieve a counterattack.
1. Harden (Nets 76ers)
Pre-trade stats: 22.5 points, 8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 41.4 percent shooting, 33.2 percent three-point range
Post-trade stats: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 14 assists, 2.5 steals, 57.7% shooting, 57.7% three-point shooting
For Harden, this season's journey with the Nets can be described as "ordeal", whether it is a revision of the league rules or a hamstring injury last season that has not fully recovered, the league's three-season scoring champion, in the offensive end of the trough, shooting percentage set a new career low.
On the team side, Durant's injury and Irving's off-court factor have gradually made fans lose confidence in the Nets' victory, as has the team management. So before the deal deadline, a deal that could change the pattern of the alliance was born:
The Nets sent Harden and Millsap from the 76ers to Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick, and a protected 2027 first-round pick.
At a glance of Harden's first two games with the 76ers:
Against the Timberwolves: 27 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists
Against the Knicks: 29 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists and 5 steals
In both games, Harden made a total of 26 shots, hit 15 shots, including eight three-pointers, switched randomly on the offensive and organizational ends, found the feeling of the rocket's scoring king, and used strength to fight back fans who once questioned his competitive status and high salary.
What's even more terrifying is that in the two games Harden played for the 76ers, he and Embiid made a total of 59 free throw shots, which is higher than the total number of free throws made by the league's 21 teams, and the two most lethal players on the inside and outside lines teamed up, leaving only painful memories for opponents.
At present, the 76ers' record has reached the third place in the East, only 2.5 wins away from the First Heat in the East, if he can successfully reach the top, Embiid currently averages 29.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 blocks, and it is likely to win this season's regular season MVP award. As for Harden, he qualifies for an early contract extension this summer, and as long as the team can reach the Eastern Conference Finals, the probability of him choosing to stay is very high.
Write at the end:
Towards the end of the regular season, teams with their own strength to compete for the championship have surfaced, the Western Suns are thriving, the Warriors and Grizzlies are full of competitiveness, the Lone Rangers and Nuggets have obvious shortcomings; the Eastern teams are similar in strength, the Heat, Bulls, 76ers and Bucks have their own characteristics, and I am personally optimistic about the 76ers against the Suns in the Finals.