Last season, sitting on the peak of the "Jameson combination" and the targeted introduction of Schroeder, Harrell, and Draymond, the Lakers who aspired to defend their titles played a very bad result - only finished seventh in the West in the regular season, fell to the playoff area, and the playoffs that were pinned on the hope of "Black Seven" were also eliminated by the Suns in the first round.
So how to adjust and strengthen the existing championship lineup in the offseason last year has become the most urgent and important thing for the Lakers management. In the end, they chose Westbrook when it was possible to get DeRozan and Hield...
21-22 season: The Lakers' record fell out of the top eight in the West, and Wei Shao could not play the expected performance
After successfully forming the "Zhan Wei Mei" super big three, it was thought that with the strength shown by James and Thick Brow in the first two seasons, even if Wei Shao could not play, the Lakers could easily achieve the top four results in the West under the leadership of the "Zhan Mei Combination".
But what people did not expect is that the Lakers not only failed to stabilize the record of the top four in the West in the new season, but also fell out of the top eight in the West. The Lakers' poor record in the new season, although it is related to the team's overall lineup and defense is too "crotch", but in fact, the most important thing is the highly anticipated "Zhan Weimei" big three, and did not play the expected performance in the new season.
In the first season when Thick Brow joined the Lakers, he was able to contribute an average of 26.1 points and 9.3 boards per game, coupled with super defensive ability, becoming the real "first core" of the team's offensive and defensive ends.
However, in the past two seasons, due to the impact of injuries, the influence of the offensive and defensive ends of the thick eyebrows has declined sharply. So far in the new season, Thick Brow has only 23.1 points, 9.7 boards and 2.9 assists, 53.7% shooting percentage of individual performance, and due to frequent injuries and positioning, Thick Brow's defense is no longer as strong as before.
In the new season, James can still average 29.7 points per game, 8.1 boards and 6.2 assists, and a superstar performance of 52.1% shooting; in terms of statistics alone, he is even better than the 19-20 season. But in fact, due to age and physical decline, james has seriously imbalanced the offensive and defensive ends, and although he has played 29.7 points, the defensive intensity is seriously insufficient.
At present, judging by his physical strength, he can no longer balance attack and defense at the same time. As a "lakers new signing", Wei Shao was placed great expectations at the beginning of joining. However, so far in the new season, Wei Shao has only been able to get 18.0 points, 7.5 boards and 7.1 assists per game, 43.3% shooting + 28.6% three-point shooting rate, and the performance of both offensive and defensive ends has not met expectations...
Raptors vs Lakers: Facing the Raptors defense, Westbrook hit a three-pointer
With 14 games left in the regular season, towards the end of the season, Westbrook recently played a good personal performance in the Lakers vs Raptors game. Before this game, the Lakers, who did not have a thick eyebrow blessing, had lost to the Suns, Raptors, and Timberwolves, and it was always difficult to win.
The Lakers, who thought they were still trailing 113-116 in the last 10 seconds of the game, also lost this time. Who ever wanted to catch Presches Achuva's mistake in the final moments, steal successfully and hit a three-pointer to help the Lakers drag the game into overtime.
In the end, the Lakers were able to beat the Raptors 128-123 in overtime, ending a three-game losing streak. And in this game, Wei Shao not only successfully hit a three-point draw, but also got a triple-double of 22 points, 10 boards and 10 assists; for a while, many people were looking forward to whether he could play a superstar performance again...
During the Rockets and Wizards period, Wei Shao completed his self-redemption late in the season
After leaving the Thunder to join the Rockets in his first season, Westbrook and Harden teamed up, and his personal performance in the early part of the season was quite bad due to the decline in ball power and tactical status. At that time, the Rockets even reached the point where they needed to shoot 40 points on the field to barely win.
However, Westbrook did not always "pull the crotch", and in the last two months of that season, he ushered in a recovery - averaging 32.0 points per game, 8.6 boards, 6.9 assists, 53.6% shooting percentage performance, and successfully helped the Rockets squeeze into the playoffs.
After joining the Wizards, Wei Shao also ushered in a low point in the early part of the season, causing the Wizards' record to fall to just 10 in the East. Fortunately, with Wei Shao's timely adjustment, he played 23.1 points, 13.6 boards and 13.2 assists in the late season, and a superstar performance of 43.5% shooting percentage, which brought the Wizards into the playoffs...
Although Wei Shao also played a personal performance of "pulling crotch" in the early stage of the Rockets and Wizards, and even once was regarded as a "team tumor" by outside fans; but in the late two seasons, Wei Shao played a huge star performance at the same time, and helped the team successfully enter the playoffs and successfully complete self-redemption.
So after the Raptors vs Lakers game got a triple-double data + hit a three-point draw, the outside world began to expect Wei Shao, expecting him to play a superstar performance in the late season again and lead the team to the playoffs.
So, having redeemed himself twice late in the season, is it worth looking forward to this year?
1, the three giants play each other, Wei Shao can not maximize personal strength. After the Lakers successfully formed the "Zhan Wei Mei" big three in the new season, there were many voices at that time that it was difficult to have a chemical reaction with James and thick eyebrows with wei shao's big package of play and the defect of not being good at projection.
Sure enough, the lakers' big three in the new season not only did not produce a chemical reaction, but also played extremely "uncomfortable". In order to maximize Wei Shao's strength, James gave up most of the ball possession, and also deliberately reduced the breakthrough and increased the long-distance projection; and in order to help Wei Shao open up space, he not only needed to serve as the fifth position for a long time, but also needed to reduce the internal attack and pull away to the middle and long distance before shooting.
After Receiving a certain amount of ball rights, Wei Shao cannot do as big as before, and can only conscientiously do a good job in organizing and connecting the team, and put the individual attack at the end. However, while Wei Shao averaged 7.1 assists per game in the new season, his average number of turnovers per game also reached 3.83.
It can be said that the Lakers big three are actually playing in a way that they are not good at, so they can neither fully exert their personal strength, nor can they produce chemical reactions because of it...
2, physical fitness and athletic ability serious decline, Wei Shao has not been able to go back. Before the start of the 20-year playoffs, Wei Shao experienced a lot of injury effects, which led to his continuous "crotch pulling" performance in the playoffs, which was one of the main reasons for his poor personal performance in the early Wizards.
In addition to the impact of injuries, the increase in age has also caused Wei Shao's body to decline a lot. Nowadays, Wei Shao's personal physical fitness and athletic ability are far inferior to those of the Thunder period. He can no longer provide high-quality defense with strong physical fitness, nor can he break through with super-fast first steps, and even after losing his super-fast speed and altitude, he can no longer "turn the river upside down" on the inside...
It can be said that after the decline in physical fitness and athleticism at the same time, although Wei Shao can occasionally force a breakthrough by virtue of the opponent's "lack of defense", he cannot face the defensive "crushing" breakthrough as before. Coupled with not having enough projection ability, it is really difficult for Wei Shao to play a superstar performance now.
3, there is not enough ball power and tactical status, Wei Shao can not play at all. Although in order to maximize the strength of Wei Shao in the new season, James and Thick Brow have made no small "sacrifice", but this degree of "sacrifice" is far from enough for Wei Shao.
The reason why the Rockets were able to play late was because Capela was traded, the team was completely around the "double core", and Westbrook got more ball rights and shots. The Wizards were able to play late in the game because Beal was focused on scoring, giving Westbrook a lot of possession.
And now at James's side, Westbrook, as the three leaders, does not get "enough" ball rights and shooting freedom; even in the Lakers' offensive system, Westbrook is only the titular big three, but in fact, the offensive tactical position may be ranked after Munch. Therefore, if the Lakers do not completely release the ball and let Wei Shao "pick", then it is really difficult for him to play a super star performance next.
In summary, although in the past two seasons, Westbrook has played superstar performances in the late Rockets and late Wizards, and has also helped the team reach the playoffs. But now, in the case of "the big three playing style, serious decline in physical fitness and athleticism, insufficient ball possession and tactical status", even if the hit three points are tied, Wei Shao is still not worth looking forward to, because he simply cannot continue to play a super star performance...