In the final moments of the Lakers and Rockets' regular time, there was a controversial scene, that is, the Lakers had a chance to complete the kill, james had a chance to go to the basket when he broke through to the basket with the ball in a high position, but he finally chose to pass the ball to Anthony outside the three-point line. Anthony was unable to seize the opportunity and eventually lost the ball, and the game went into extra time. In overtime, the Lakers were in no form, allowing the Rockets to score 19 points in 5 minutes of overtime, while the team only had 10 points. In the end, the Lakers also lost to the Rockets on the road and suffered a losing streak.
After the game, many fans and the media questioned why James chose to pass the ball in the final attack, because when he broke through with the ball, he had already got rid of the defense of defenders such as Gordon, and he could complete the basket finish. However, he did not do so, but passed the ball to Anthony, who was farther away from the basket, and Anthony was unable to grasp it in the last moment, which also led to the game being dragged into extra time.
After the game, James also talked about why he chose to pass the ball in the final attack of the final quarter, James admitted: when he broke through with the ball, he was already behind the basketball, and he lost his balance, I could choose the backhand layup, but for me, it was not a good shot choice. I observed that Anthony had a better chance of shooting, so I passed the ball to him.
Vogel also acknowledged James' passing decision in the final attack of the final quarter, he admitted in an interview that he trusted the decision made by the team's best players in the final moments, James broke through to the basket, Anthony had a good open shooting opportunity, he would make the most correct decision on the court, he also chose to pass, we got a good shot, but did not shoot.
In fact, from the perspective of the game process, James's handling of the ball in the last moment is no problem, because Anthony did get a very good shooting opportunity, and if he did, then the result of the game was completely different. Unfortunately, Anthony was not able to score, and in one game, the players did not score, which is a normal thing. Although James's handling of the ball in the last moment has been questioned by the outside world, in the author's opinion, James has no problem handling the ball and plays reasonably.
For the team, the game has already been lost and they need to pay attention to the next game. After losing to the Rockets, the Lakers continue to be in 9th place in the West, 1.5 wins ahead of the Pelicans. The Lakers have less than 20 games left, most of them are away from home, and the team schedule is more difficult, they need to face the Suns, Raptors, Timberwolves, 76ers, Jazz and Nuggets and other playoff-level teams, according to the Lakers' current state, it is difficult for them to win the game against these teams.
For Vogel and James, how to make the team feel like winning will determine whether the Lakers can qualify for this season's playoffs. The next Lakers will be very tough, in this case, what kind of response they will make, it is worth looking forward to.