Last season, under the premise of having a "Zhan Mei combination" + targeted reinforcement, the Lakers did not defend the title as desired; even because of the impact of injuries, they only achieved the "seventh + playoff round trip in the West".
But it is also because of the impact of last season's James and thick eyebrows that the "Zhan Mei combination" in the offseason last year was able to avoid the fate of falling apart. However, in order for the team to have the strength to compete for the championship again, even if the "lineup changes blood", the Lakers management has to introduce a third giant for the team...
Can't squeeze into the top eight in the West, the new season the Lakers are already doomed to compete for the championship hopeless?
When the Lakers introduced Wei Shao in the offseason last year, although some people doubted Wei Shao's personal ability and doubted the chemical reaction between the three giants; no one would doubt the Lakers' determination to fight for the championship and the strength of the championship, after all, the first season of "Zhan Mei Team" has already achieved the "first + overall championship in the West".
If it were not for the frequent injuries last season, the Lakers would never have achieved such a bad result. That is to say, the new season of "Zhan Mei Combination" is still worth looking forward to. So the introduction of a superstar player on the basis of the "Zhan Mei combination" has become the best plan for the Lakers to improve their competitiveness in the offseason.
However, despite the successful formation of the "Zhan Weimei" super big three, the Lakers failed to play a dominant role in the new season. So far this season, whether the Lakers are facing the top four teams in the division or facing the weak teams in the division, they have always been deeply trapped in the quagmire of "losing more and winning less"...
In the end, after more than half a season, the highly anticipated "Zhan Weimei" big three at the beginning of the season only led the Lakers to achieve a record of 29 wins and 37 losses, the ninth in the West. And in terms of the current actual rankings, the Lakers and the Nuggets, who rank sixth in the West, have reached a win difference of 10.5 games, and there is basically no chance to return to the top six in the West.
And from the recent Lakers' state of "losing more and winning less" and the overall winning rate of 43.9%, although it will not fall out of the top ten in the West, it will completely lose the hope of the playoffs. But in fact, it is not an easy task for the Lakers to squeeze down the Timberwolves and Clippers and return to the top eight in the west.
Even in the new season, because of the "serious aging of the lineup, the big three can't play chemistry, and the overall team's overall record is bad"; in the eyes of many people, even if today's Lakers can barely reach the playoffs, they have no hope of competing for the championship and have withdrawn from the championship race in advance...
So, obviously the Lakers have no hope of competing for the championship, why does James still fight so hard?
Although the overall record of the Lakers in the new season is bad, they even lost the hope of competing for the championship. But James still averaged 29.7 points, 8.2 boards, 6.3 assists per game, 52.2% shooting and 35.5% three-point shooting.
Especially since entering March, James has obviously played more "fighting" than before, averaging 36.2 points, 10.2 boards and 6.0 assists per game, 53.5% shooting rate + 39.4% three-point shooting rate of super performance. Whether it is scoring or rebounding, compared to James's season average, there is no small improvement...
Point 1: James wants to take the season scoring champion and contribute to the "411 Project"
Due to the new season of the Lakers' overall record of "pulling crotch" and James's defensive efficiency is too low, many people believe that the reason why James is fighting so much now is not just for the team to win, it is completely a personal "brushing behavior".
Because from the top five players in the scoring list, Derod and Doncic, who average 28.1 points per game, have almost no chance to counterattack the scoring champions. And the top three alphabet brothers, Embiid, James, their individual average scores per game did not really open the gap. James, who currently has an average of 29.7 points per game, as long as the subsequent scoring is high enough, he has every chance to get another trophy of the scoring king.
Moreover, with the decline of personal physical strength, James has prepared for the career "411 Project" in advance. So far, James has accumulated 10,143 rebounds and 9,998 assists, which are no longer difficult for the "411 Project".
But James's personal total score is still a long way from 40,000 points (36,793 points). If he does not work in advance now, the follow-up may be due to injuries, season shrinkage, personal scoring decline and other impacts, resulting in personal career total scores can not reach 40,000 points and miss the achievement of "40,000 + 10,000 + 10,000" ...
Point two: If you want to continue to chase the championship, James has to get a high score
1, if James does not fight, the Lakers can not even get a playoff place. Although the overall performance of the Lakers in the new season is too poor, it has a lot to do with the aging of the team's lineup and the failure to create a mature defensive system. But in fact, the main reason for affecting the Lakers' record is still concentrated on the big three.
Thick Eyebrow has missed many games due to the impact of injuries; although Wei Shao can remain healthy, his average per game has slipped to 18.6 points, 7.2 boards, 7.1 assists, 43.3% shooting rate + 28.1% shooting rate, and it is difficult to play a superstar performance.
That is to say, the Lakers' big three not only did not play a chemical reaction, but also did not exert their personal strength. And judging from the recent 2-5 results of the Lakers, if james had not fired 56 points against the Warriors and 50 points against the Wizards, the Lakers would probably have ushered in a wave of eight consecutive losses.
Even if it weren't for James' offensive performance of 31.3 points in January, 28.2 points in February, and 36.2 points in March, the Lakers would not even get a playoff spot now.
2, with practical actions to tell the thick eyebrows, they have not given up the championship. In fact, as early as March, the Lakers, who have been struggling in the play-off area, have been identified - with their heritage and superstarity, they may be able to stand out in the playoffs; but if they want to compete with the Bucks, Nets, Bulls, Warriors, Suns and other teams, this year's Lakers have no probability.
Recently, in the case that the team is not optimistic and is considered to have no hope of competing for the championship, James has averaged 36.2 points, 10.2 boards and 6.0 assists, 53.5% of the "full strength" performance. In fact, this is not that James is deliberately "brushing points", and he is silently stating to the thick eyebrows: even if the Lakers' record is no longer bad, no matter how unpromising to win the championship, now that the season is not over, he has not given up entering the playoffs, nor has he given up the championship.
After all, as long as before the start of the playoffs, thick eyebrows can return in time and reach the superstar status, then this year, no matter whether the Lakers are promoted to the seventh place in the West or the eighth place in the West, they have the opportunity to "go down to the gram" and continue to impact the championship...
3. Prove to the Lakers management that they still have the strength to be the core of the championship. After the Lakers barely qualified for the playoffs last year, in fact, whether it was before or after the thick eyebrow injury, the outside world had great expectations for the Lakers - just because they had James.
However, after the thick eyebrow injury in that series, when the team needed James to cut high scores and lead the team to force the promotion, James did not play the "all-out Zhan" performance - averaging only 23.3 points, 7.2 boards and 8.0 assists per game, 47.4% shooting percentage, and his previous year's state difference that broke out in the playoffs fell a lot.
It was also after this season that the outside world began to question whether it would be able to win the championship if it continued to build a championship team with James as the core. After all, due to injuries and the impact of age, now James is no longer as omnipotent as in the past, and can forcibly raise the lower limit of the team by himself.
Especially the record of the Lakers in the new season seems to illustrate that "continue to build a championship team with James as the core", this road has not worked. So james' recent high-scoring performances may not only be for the team to win, but also to prove to the outside world and the team management that I am OK, I still have the strength as the core of the team's championship!
In summary, James has won the top honor of "4FMVP + 4MVP + 1 scoring king" in his career, and at present, in addition to the championship and MVP, the influence and attraction of other honors on James is extremely limited. He will certainly not "brush points" in order to pursue the scoring king and pursue 40,000 points.