The Lakers worked hard at the beginning of the season, recruiting a group of veterans who have been famous for a long time, and Westbrook, Anthony, Howard, etc. are the stars of other teams, and now they are bound to do a big cause when they come together. After all, Zhan Huang was already 37 years old. There is not much time left for him to rush the championship, and the Lakers management naturally wants to do everything in the window period to help Zhan Huang win the championship, which is why it is so frequently recruited. But we seem to have only guessed the beginning, not the end, which is a cognitive blind spot as a fan.
Veterans, despite their experience, are able to make more rational judgments at critical moments, so that the game can develop in the direction of their own team. But in the long regular season, their current physical strength seems to be less allowed to collide with the muscles of the younger generation on the field, which is no longer a game that belongs to their age. From now on, too many Lakers veterans will make the lineup lose its former momentum and vitality, so it has led to James even if he plays a triple-double all-around data, not necessarily able to take away the final victory of the game.
Earlier, when Caruso, Kuzma and Pop were still alive, it was a championship team with both attack and defense, and the victory in 2020 depended on the energetic and healthy body of these young people and the strategizing of the stars. However, at present, the Lakers' attack and defense are unbalanced, and the attack of many games is only a single output of 110 points; the stars are constantly in the home, and the offensive and defensive play of role players is unstable, so the realistic situation makes the Lakers' record slowly decline; coupled with the rise of the Western Power, the team's loss of competitiveness has become justified.
However, in recent games, Wei Shao has slowly regained the feeling of playing: the data shows that in the lakers' past three games, Wei Shao has played well. He averaged 21.3 points, 8 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range (8 of 16 in total), with an overall plus-minus of +29. In addition, the Lakers' role players slowly emerged, and in the game of victory over the Raptors, the young General Rivers sent a quarterback to collapse the assist of the whole game, and also stole Barnes in the final defensive time.
And it wasn't long before the Lakers challenged the Cavaliers on the road, and there were role players who could stand up and shoulder the responsibility. Augustine played his best performance since joining the Lakers as a substitute, shooting all-of-7 and 6-of-6 from three-point range, contributing 20 points. You know, he was cut by the Rockets, and now he has become the Lakers' surprise player. His three-point shooting percentage has improved to 43.2%, which is the most accurate shooter in the Lakers' lineup at the moment, and James may have another knife guard.
Although Augustine is 35 years old, he still feels immortal, and he is still so energetic in the game. Maybe that's how role players play against the world, they don't have the superhuman talent of the Chosen Son, they just have to do their best in every round of the game in order to gain the trust of the manager and get more playing time. We also know that Augustine's annual salary is only $620,000 for cabbage, which is a "scrap" that the Lakers took from the Rockets.
Augustine's efforts have finally paid off, and perhaps this is his new beginning. Efficient scoring on 7-of-7 shooting and 6-of-6 three-point shooting will undoubtedly be the right and left arm that James needs at key moments. Just as in the play-offs that followed, James was bound to be guarded against when he held the ball to the basket, and after passing the ball out, Augustine had the opportunity to show his value. The Lakers can win this game, really thanks to the Rockets to send warmth, 630,000 cabbage price for James to find a top shooter, the Lakers this wave of operations is really profitable.
At this point, we expect the Lakers to go further and beat their opponents in the playoffs to reach the playoffs. For every game for James, we do it and cherish it, after all, he has reached the age of retirement at the age of 37.