Before the start of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers were the champions, but in the closing stage, everyone was surprised to find that the Lakers actually fell out of the top eight in the West, and the play-off rules that LeBron James has always scorned became the lakers' last straw. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have risen to prominence this season, the Lakers came together to win 131-120 and win an incomparably crucial victory.
Back in Cleveland again, LeBron James is not soft against his old club, not to mention that he is still in a hurry to complete the "411" project, and the Lakers urgently need to win the playoffs. So LeBron James cut a triple-double of 38 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and veteran guard DJ Augustine also became a surpriser, and he scored 20 points at 100 percent shooting. Of course, the most pleasing to the Lakers fans, must be the point guard Russell Westbrook state recovery, statistics show that the past three games Russell Westbrook can be said to be full of firepower, he averaged 21.3 points, 8 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, and the shooting and three-point shooting rate is more than 50%, the total plus or minus value also reached +29 points, such efficiency is really rare for him.
Not to mention the ability and fame of Russell Westbrook's peak, last summer the Lakers management in order to get him, can be said to have made a lot of money, the Lakers including Kyle Kuzma, Monterrez Harrell and Kentavis Caldwell Pope, including three major rotation players, plus a first-round draft pick packaged to send the Wizards, in exchange for Russell Westbrook. You must know that the Lakers have basically reached an agreement with the King, and the sharpshooter Buddy Hield has packed his bags and is ready to report to the Lakers. As a result, at the last moment, Westbrook asked the Wizards to send him away, and the Lakers immediately terminated the negotiations with the King and brought Westbrook back to Los Angeles.
When the dust settled, the Lakers and their fans were extremely excited. Although Russell-Westbrook's state is not the same as its peak, everyone will feel that the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, and Russell Westbrook is more than enough to be a third boss. But this is not the case, especially after entering the 21st century, every time the Lakers form a luxurious lineup, the results are not satisfactory. 03-04 season the Lakers have Kobe, O'Neal, Carl Malone and Gary Payton, but affected by injuries and off-court events, although in the Finals, but lost to the Civilian Army Pistons; 12-13 season is even worse, although the Lakers have Kobe, Howard, Gasol and Nash and other superstars, but the whole year has experienced ups and downs, and finally Kobe Bryant to tear the Achilles tendon, to bring the Lakers into the playoffs; this season is the same, the Lakers from the preseason consecutive losses, the state of veterans have a cliff-like decline, And careful friends may have found that the Time of the Lakers' formation of the super lineup is nine years apart, perhaps it is really fate.
Russell Westbrook has been disappointing for most of the season. From the conventional data, he still averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, but Russell Westbrook had nearly 4 turnovers per game, and the annual three-point shooting rate was less than 30%, not to mention his disastrous performance on the defensive end. If Russell Westbrook is a role player or has a lower salary, there will not be so many people who question him, but Westbrook's annual salary is as high as $44.21 million, which is at the top of the Lakers, higher than James and Anthony Davis, and is in the first gear in the league.
Fortunately, Russell Westbrook's professional attitude and desire to win have always been trustworthy, and regardless of the overall performance, Russell Westbrook's form in the final stages of the season has been basically quite hot over the years, and he has continued this momentum this season. Against the Toronto Raptors, Russell Westbrook cut a triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and in the last minute he completed the key steals, and then hit a three-pointer, the Lakers also laughed hard after overtime; against the old owner Washington Wizards, although the Lakers unfortunately lost to the opponent, But Westbrook cut 22 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, the efficiency is also very high; and then against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Westbrook got 20 points and 11 assists, compared to the usual unpredictable mode, If Westbrook can stay stable, even if the data is not as bright at times, everyone can obviously accept it.
Since Westbrook joined, he and LeBron James have not been able to get together, and the outside world even thinks that the two are inherently unable to coexist. But as the season progressed, both players, whether Westbrook or James, made sacrifices and ran more without the ball. Head coach Vogel also made adjustments in personnel rotation and tactical arrangements, on the one hand, to dismantle the time of the two cores together, so that both of them were comfortable and could each have unlimited firing rights for a period of time. When Westbrook and James were on the floor at the same time, the contact and communication were obviously much more, which gradually made the Lakers gradually come out of the haze.