The Lakers played at home against the Wizards, and with 8 minutes and 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Lakers head coach Vogel replaced Westbrook. Until the end of the game, Wei Shao did not appear again. The Lakers, after replacing Westbrook, played 29-20 and eventually won 122-109 against the Wizards.
Westbrook is in extremely bad shape in this game. Westbrook played 31 minutes in the game, shooting only 2 of 11, 0 of 1 from three points and 1 of 4 from the free throw line, scoring only 5 points. If it were not for Vogel taking the initiative to win in the closing stage, it is really difficult to say whether the Lakers can finally win.
It can be said that Vogel won the Westbrook and once again helped the Lakers find the winning code. The Lakers can bear Wei Shao's bad feel, poor defense, and inexplicable mistakes in regular time, but in the closing stage and key moments, it is better to abandon Wei Shao. Although Wei Shao is very hard, if he and James play at the same time, the Lakers' offensive space will immediately crowd. Westbrook's strength must be acknowledged, but he really doesn't fit to play around James.
There are technical statistics: When Westbrook was deprecated in the closing stages this season, the Lakers' record was 3 wins and 1 loss. Although the sample is small, it is enough to explain the problem. The responsibility cannot be completely pushed to Westbrook, but James's technical characteristics and the Lakers' lineup are destined to be the head of the Lakers more often. I sincerely hope that at the end of this season, Wei Shao and the Lakers can be separated and two wide, and each is fine!
After the game, Lakers head coach Vogel talked about the abandonment of Westbrook in the closing stage in an interview. Vogel finally told the truth: I was just trying to get those guys to win the game, nothing more. "Although the Lakers' current record is dismal, Vogel can now wake up to the fact that the Lakers still have a play."
The Lakers are currently ranked 9th in the West with a record of 29-37. It's 4.5 wins away from the 8th-place Clippers in the West and 3.5 wins ahead of the 11th-place Spurs in the West. With only a dozen games left in the regular season, the Lakers have little chance of entering the top 8 in the West, and the probability of falling out of the top ten is also small. That is to say, the Lakers still have a chance to enter the playoffs through the playoffs. I'm sure James now thinks the guy who proposed the playoffs is a genius.
It can be said that James may suffer from physical problems in the long regular season, but when 1 or 2 games can determine the fate of the season, James will become even more terrible. I think the Lakers' entry into the playoffs this season should be a high probability event.
Once the Lakers reach the playoffs, whether it is against the Suns or the Grizzlies, the Lakers can cause a lot of trouble. If James can stay fit, even if he can reach the first round, I won't be too surprised.