On March 10, Beijing time, the "eye-catching" fire lake battle.
It was obviously worse than the attention it had been, but the point of this game was that both teams had struggled very much in the past:
The Lakers have won 4 and lost 12 in the past 16 games, the second worst in the league in the same period
The Rockets have won 2-17 in the past 19 games, the first in the league in the same period
Of course, the meaning of this struggle is also different - the Rockets' rot is a "meaningful rot", they are in the rebuilding period, they want to get a higher pick, losing is not necessarily a bad thing; the Lakers are different, their goal is still the playoffs, so they must win more to keep the playoffs.
Supposedly, the Lakers should have played harder, but as a result, the Lakers lost.
In the first quarter of this battle, the Lakers can still lead 38-32, but the second quarter was surpassed by the Rockets, and the two sides of the second half played very anxiously, especially in the fourth quarter, the difference in points in the whole quarter did not exceed 3 points, and in the last moment, Anthony received a pass from James, and the game entered overtime.
In overtime, the first 2 and a half minutes, the Rockets played a wave of 10-0 under the leadership of Jaylen Green, and the last 2 and a half minutes became garbage time, and finally the Rockets defeated the Lakers 139-130, giving the Lakers a wave of two consecutive losses.
Statistically, the Lakers scored in double-figures for five members of the entire team:
James had a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, but shot only 9-of-26 and 1-of-9 from three-point range, which was not efficient, with plus-minus as low as -17 on the field
- Wei Shao made 11 of 21 of 21, 7 of 8 from the free throw line, and had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Wei Shao played a good game for a long time
Munch scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist, still the Lakers' first surprise this year
— Rivers had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, still the Lakers' second surprise this year
Anthony was 5-of-13 and 3-of-7 from three-point range, with 13 points, six rebounds and two assists
After this game, the Lakers have lost 13 games in the past 17 games, not a single consecutive win, no win on the road, the current record is only 28 wins and 37 losses, ranking ninth in the West, the Rockets have won 2 wins and 1 loss in the past three games, and the current record is 17 wins and 49 losses, continuing to rank first in the league.
Let's take a look at the current Western Record List:
— Eighth in the West, Clippers, 34-33
— Ninth in the West, Lakers, 28-37
— 10th in the West, Pelicans, 27 wins and 39 losses
— 11th in the West, Blazers, 25 wins and 40 losses
— 12th in the West, Spurs, 25-41
— 13th in the West, Kings, 24 wins, 43 losses
A slightly better aspect is that the Pelicans (three consecutive losses) and the Blazers (six consecutive losses) have not been in good shape recently, otherwise the Lakers have fallen out of the playoff ranks, but the bad side is that the Lakers are getting farther and farther away from the eighth Clippers, and the possibility of returning to the top eight is much lower.
After a wave of decline, the media began to "turn over the old account" again - ESPN posted a sentence James said last year, when the Lakers ranked seventh in the West but wanted to play the playoffs, James said: "Whoever comes up with the playoff system, this person should be fired." ”
Looking at it now, if it weren't for the playoff system, the Lakers would basically not have to think about the playoffs.
For the Lakers, the current situation is really not optimistic:
James scored 56 points a few days ago, and although he took a break in the middle, it is clear from today's point of view that he has not eased up, and he really did not play well in this game
- Wei Shao scored 30+ for the first time since February and shot more than 50% in the second time, which proved that Wei Shao can still play a superstar performance, but his play is very unstable
——The injury of the thick eyebrow is not good, and it is not known when it will come back, even if it is a comeback, the state of the thick eyebrow this year is also difficult to say
- Vogel is obsessed with the five small, and as far as this game is concerned, Howard directly DNP, and did not play for a minute
Throughout the season, the Lakers' problems have not stopped, but what is certain is that from the expected championship competition to the possibility of even improving the playoffs, this lineup is absolutely a failure, that is, how to imagine, when it is very much in need of a victory, the Lakers can even lose the rocket that is the first to last in the West.
Of course, everything has not yet been conclusive, at least for now the Lakers are still in the playoffs, but the recent situation is really very bad, in the current state, even if you enter the playoffs, you may not be able to enter the playoffs, even if you enter the playoffs, how far can you go? This season, to say not disappointed, is really impossible.