The Lakers finally won again, and it was to beat the more powerful Cavaliers in the East. The Lakers played well in this game, and the whole team shot down 131 points, scoring a high score. Both Wei Shao and Old Zhan had outbreaks, and these two people broke out at the same time, which was rare in the past. Interestingly, in this game, Tucker was discarded. Vogel eventually chose to give up on him, and the Lakers rotated 10 this time, but they didn't have Tucker's name. He played too badly in the last game, if it were not for his bad performance, the Lakers had a good chance of winning the last game, and now after he was abandoned, the Lakers did win the game.
The Lakers are now hitting 131 points to win, but Walker is not happy, he has fallen out of the Lakers' rotation lineup. This time Vogel made a 10-man rotation, starting with James, Westbrook, Reeves, Gabriel and Howard, and the five substitutes were Augustine, Johnson, Munch, Anthony and Bradley. This should be a stable 10-person rotation for the Lakers! Hopefully, Vogel won't change much in the future, and this rotation lineup is indeed much better. Among them, Tucker was abandoned, Bradley only played 5 minutes, the playing time is not high, And Vogel's adjustment also has a miraculous effect, making the Lakers' offense more fluid.
Seeing Tucker abandoned, I believe many Lakers fans are relieved. Tucker played very badly in his last game, playing 17 minutes to get 0 points and shooting 0-of-5. The Lakers were originally ahead, but after Tucker came on, a wave of operations left the Lakers behind, and many Lakers fans were upset with him at that time. And Vogel did not dare to abandon Wei Shao, but there was no problem in abandoning Tucker! This time Tucker did not fight, the Lakers' offense immediately improved a lot. Like the substitute Augustine stepped forward and became a surprise soldier. The new signing got a lot of playing time and a fiery shot, playing much better than Tucker.
Augustine played 26 minutes this time, scored 20 points, and was a 7-of-7 shooting percentage, including three-pointers and 6-of-6 shooting. Is this kind of shooting feel very hot? Therefore, Vogel was all right to abandon Tucker, and instead activated the new signing Augustine. And Augustine's outburst also helped Westbrook and James. Now that there are finally shooters on the outside, James and Westbrook are playing a lot better. Augustine does not occupy the ball, but can open up space, very suitable for Wei Shao Lao Zhan, the two giants played an efficient performance, many breakthrough points, and Wei Shao sent 11 assists, only 1 mistake, and is 7 of 14 shooting.
If you use Tucker to match Wei Shao, there is undoubtedly no such effect. Tucker's playing style is too unique, always sticky ball, and vegetables and love to play, can be said to be the Lakers' brush. He averaged just 9.4 points, 3.3 boards, 2.7 assists, 1.46 turnovers per game this season, shooting just 26.8 percent from three-point range and 40.9 percent overall. Compared to last season, Tucker has not improved significantly, and even the shooting has declined. Westbrook has shot badly, Tucker shot worse than Westbrook, how else can he play? Therefore, Tucker is not compatible with James Wei after all, it is better to abandon him early! There was no need to insist on letting him play.
Now that the Lakers' 10-man rotation lineup is out, Vogel can rotate around these 10 players, and tucker must be on the court again. By the time Davis returns, there's an 11-man rotation. People like Augustine played well, and these temporary workers were more active. Augustine's three-point shooting rate this season is 43.2%, which is extremely high. Now the Lakers don't need him to do much more, they can hit the empty three-pointer. Gabriel has also had an outbreak and can do blue collar. Overall, Tucker has no place in the Lakers, and giving him $30.78 million for 3 years is a failure, and he can trade away next season.