On March 22, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers came to the road to challenge James' old club, the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the last game against the Wizards, the Lakers lost a good game, and in the fourth quarter, they were single-handedly blown up by Porzingis, and finally reversed, so after the start of this game, Vogel gave up the five small lineups again, and took Howard and Gabriel back into the starting lineup. In the end, the Lakers, whose lineup configuration became more flexible, played a multi-point blossom situation on the offensive end, and James, who returned to The City, scored 38 points to help the team beat the Cavaliers 131-120 and win a hearty victory.
After the end of the All-Star game, the Lakers did not seem to usher in a recovery, but once again fell into the bottom, in addition to James's two games of 50+ explosions, the Lakers almost became a "soft persimmon" who was seen and deceived. However, after the start of this road trip, Vogel apparently recognized some of his previous mistakes and adjusted the team's starting lineup. In the previous home game against the Raptors, the Raptors' tall forward group brought a disastrous blow to the Lakers' five small lineups, and it took only one section to play. Therefore, in the previous away game against the Raptors, Vogel "sacrificed" Howard + Gabriel's interior match, and this time the adjustment of the starting lineup obviously played a miracle effect.
In this game against the Cavaliers, Vogel once again sent a starting combination of Howard + Gabriel to deal with the Cavaliers' tall sub-lineup, and it is clear that the absence of the core allen on the inside has indeed dropped the Cavaliers by one dimension in terms of the protective frame of the inner line, and even if the young Tanhua xiu Mobly can frequently play a brilliant performance on the offensive end, it is difficult to stop James and Westbrook from taking turns to launch a fierce attack on the basket. However, in this game, the Lakers' efficiency outside the three-point line is very good, substitute Wizards DJ Augustine in the three-point line outside the 6-of-6 shooting, a hundred steps through the Yang, all thanks to the Lakers sent Howard and Gabriel who can compete for rebounds in the frontcourt, after the height of the inside line, the Lakers' shooters can more confidently complete the three-point finish on the outside.
For the Lakers, the salary framework of the team in this game can be described as "strange" to the extreme, because except for James and Wei Shao, the two top salary players, all the other players who appear on the scene are holding a basic salary contract, and it is precisely because of the joint efforts of these basic salary players that they can save the Lakers from fire. Among them, Augustine, Gabriel, two new signings who have just joined the team, have played a very competitive state in recent games, and the likes of Munch, Reeves and Stanley Johnson have fully entered the Lakers' rotation lineup. Therefore, for the Purple and Gold Army, the power of the basic salary is often something that the coaching staff can never ignore, after all, except for Zhan Meiwei, Tucker Jr. and Nunn, the rest of the players' contracts are basic salary contracts.
After the victory over the Cavaliers, many Lakers fans at home and abroad have said: "Vogel, please don't stick to the five small lineups anymore." "In the 19-20 season, Vogel had tasted some small lineup sweetness, but in that lineup system, AD was often able to appear in the center position, and on the flanks, they also had defensive gates such as Pop and Caruso. This season, although Vogel still wants to continue the concept of the five small, but now this Lakers team is no longer the Lakers team that won the championship, and the death five he now poses is more like "suicide five small", neither attacking nor defending. Obviously, Gabriel, a tall interior lineman who just joined the Lakers, is a very dynamic player, whether it is offense or rim protection, he can make a great contribution to the team. Therefore, if the Lakers want to continue to play dominant games, they need Vogel to be able to abandon the so-called persistence and make the entire team's lineup more flexible.