After four hard fights on the road, the Lakers finally won 131-120 to the Cavaliers to avoid a losing streak. James once again played a super performance in front of his old club, so that the Cleveland fans who once supported him crazy fell into madness again, from the moment James entered the game, he once again received the applause that was once incomparably familiar, and this support from the fans in his hometown seemed to give him extra motivation.
James frantically cut 38 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in this game to get his 105th career triple-double, and he also became the player with the most 30+ triple-doubles since the age of 35, he did it a total of 6 times after the age of 35, and no other player in NBA history can exceed 2 times after the age of 35. Of course, compared to taking this kind of commonplace data, perhaps what makes James happier is that the Lakers can be described as three happy after winning this game, which adds more protection for them to impact the playoffs.
First, the Lakers return to the ninth place in the west
After the Lakers lost the last game, they were overtaken by the Pelicans to the tenth place in the West, and the qualification for the playoffs was in jeopardy, even if they eventually entered the playoffs as the tenth, the team did not have home advantage in the first round of playoffs.
After the victory over the Cavaliers in this game, due to the other side of the Pelicans regrettably lost to the Hornets, this and the other, the Lakers' record improved to 31 wins and 41 losses, surpassing the Pelicans to return to the ninth place in the West, and also led by one win. Although they want to hold the ninth place in the West and they must continue to work hard in the future, being able to quickly return to the ninth place is undoubtedly a huge boost to the morale of the Lakers.
Second, Wei Shao has finally recovered
After the thick eyebrow was injured, Wei Shao was pinned high hopes, he is the strongest helper that James can trust now, and he is also one of the three giants of the Lakers, but helplessly, for a long time in the past, Wei Shao's performance has become invisible to everyone, and even become a burden, and he has been complained about.
However, in the last three games, Wei Shao continued to recover, first cutting the long-lost triple-double data of 22 +10+10, and then contributing to the efficient performance of 22+10+8 in the last game, and in this game, Wei Shao once again contributed two doubles of 20+4+11, which has reached the expectations of the outside world for him. Offense does not pull crotch, passing can really share the pressure of James, perhaps this is what the Lakers expect Westbrook to look like.
If Westbrook can continue this performance, like the performance he played in the Wizards at the end of last season, there is no doubt that the next Lakers will still be competitive.
Third, the outside of the surprise is too critical
In this game, the Lakers' biggest surprise is undoubtedly veteran Augustine, who shot 7 of 7 from the field, 6 of 6 from three points, cut 20 points, and shot 100% from the field. As a veteran shooter, the Lakers signed him in the hope that he can bring a stable projection to the team on the outside line and solve the problem of the Lakers' projection instability that has always existed on the outside line.
And in this game, the veteran showed his threat from outside the 3-point line, which will be very important for the Lakers. If Augustine can maintain a stable performance outside the 3-point line, there is no doubt that James and Westbrook will also gain more space when they attack the inside line, at least there is a very threatening shooter outside that opponents cannot ignore.
A win may not be enough to make the Lakers excited, but from the spirit of the Lakers and the performance of the players, it is obvious that they can still feel optimistic about their prospects for impacting the playoffs.