On March 15, the Los Angeles Lakers sat at home to defeat the Toronto Raptors, the team recently lost 9 games and 7 losses, the two games won James scored 56 points and 50 points respectively, if there is no explosive performance, the Lakers at this time may be hovering in the playoffs, whether they can play in the playoffs are unknown, not to mention the championship.
The Lakers still had a steady start to the game, trailing their opponents by 19 points 21-2 and scoring 12 points on 3-of-25 shooting in the first quarter, far less than Towns' 32-point performance in the single quarter. Although the team blew the horn of counterattack in the second half, it did not help, after all, the pit was too big in the early stage, and even the American fans were angry with their own TV sets, and James became the lakers' last fig leaf.
During the game, James rushed into the paint area alone to compete with the raptors' three forward players for rebounds, and returned to the position war to take the initiative to hold the ball and consume the opponent. James played 11-of-19 in 40 minutes, contributing 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, plus 5 turnovers, and his personal efficiency value reached -21. In the game, James jumped out of the field to save the ball, turned and smashed into the fallen Raptors rookie Barnes, the scene was particularly silent, sitting on the bench Horton Tucker was stunned chin; this battle Tucker performed well, 27 minutes, 8 of 13 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, contributed 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, perhaps James's anger spread to him.
After losing this game, James did not give a post-game interview, and Wei Shao only used 90 seconds to rush things, so the Lakers did not have good chemistry at all. Head coach Vogel stood in the best position, watching the game without spending money, talking about the tactics and rotation of the team. In the face of the interview with the reporter after the game, he showed hindsight, the statistics showed that the team's rebounding was exploded by the opponent, he simply mentioned: Howard should be sent, so the operation of the horse cannon is really admirable.
In recent consecutive losses, the Lakers' rebounding is the deadliest existence, and many opponents have seized on this point to singles Lakers center James. The Rockets' ShenJing was the best example, with 21 points and 16 rebounds against James, and the Raptors' Boucher, Avachu and Siakam combined to pick up 31 rebounds. After Vogel abandoned Howard, James went crazy on the court, and to solve the rebounding problem, the whole team put the last expectations on Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis has only played 37 games for the team due to injury, averaging 23 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season, he is the core of the Lakers' attack and defense, and the absence of the thick eyebrow brother undoubtedly accelerates the team's rout. After that, Vogel focused on small-ball tactics, with Cameron Anthony and LeBron James propping up the Lakers' interior line, and the two of them are second only to Davis in the current lineup.
Anthony Davis suffered an ankle injury in February, and according to the latest US media reports: he has resumed training, but there is no specific comeback time. It's safe to say that head coach Vogel said that the team has not completely given up, still trying to work hard for the upcoming playoffs, and at some point in the future, Davis will definitely appear in the team's starting list wearing the Lakers' purple and gold jersey.