4 days and 3 games, 37-year-old LeBron James is still unable to resist the invasion of the years after all, the Lakers home to meet the 76ers game, the 30-year-old man chose to hang up the free card because of the soreness in his knees. LeBron was absent, and although the Lakers took a slight lead in the opening and spent three and a half quarters with Philadelphia, they still couldn't escape a defeat.
To be fair, the Lakers have played quite well, coach Vogel finally stopped tangling in the five small lineups, began to reuse Howard, Master Huo is also living up to expectations, contributing 24 points and 8 rebounds, and even teamed up with Gabriel to help the Lakers explode in rebound statistics 76ers. Although Wei Shao played poorly in the first half, it is difficult to be hacked at the quasi-triple-double of 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Not to mention that On the bench, Anthony and Munch scored 20 points and swept down 23 points one by one, freeing a pair of bench bandits.
However, competitive sports still have to talk about achievements. Although the Lakers have come together to play a remarkable game without Old Zhan, they can't hide that they are already 11 wins away from the 50% win rate. That means they're currently in ninth place in the West, just 0.5 wins ahead of the Pelicans in the tenth place in the West, and just two wins away from the eleventh place Spurs in the West. Sloppy, otherwise the play-off qualification will have to be surrendered every minute.
The so-called narrow road, the Next opponent of the Lakers is no one else, it is their direct competitor, the New Orleans Pelicans. The good news is that they have had a full three-day break before that, which is enough to rejuvenate them from the previous intensive schedule. Of course, on the other hand, this also makes them have no way to retreat, against the Pelicans is a game that the Lakers cannot afford to lose, once there is a three long and two short, they can no longer shirk the car, horse lawton, physical fatigue.
In this regard, Russell Westbrook officially stated, facing the camera Westbrook said: "I find that everyone has entered their roles at a deeper level, which has greatly improved our performance. The game against the Pelicans is expected to playoff immediacy, and it's a game we have to win. After being ridiculed and humiliated by Towns and Beverley on the court, it allowed the strong Westbrook to play the best performance of the season, and the last four games of Westbrook averaged 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, far better than his season average. The warming performance also made Wei Shao have more confidence in speaking, and the familiar Wei Shao, who was not afraid of heaven and was always full of confidence, came back!
Despite the grim situation, there is Westbrook who has regained his self-confidence, and James, who has returned with full blood after a full rest, sitting in the face of the Pelicans without Ingram's leadership, I believe that the balance of victory will be slightly on the side of the Lakers. Coach Vogel's statement is also very interesting, when asked about the next game and his views on the upcoming play-offs, Wogel's words are quite intriguing: "I only hope that both play-offs Anthony Davis can play. ”
On the surface, he is a ardent thought of Brother Thick Eyebrows, but in fact, the meaning contained in his words is far more than this, and there are words in his words. This sentence actually reveals two pieces of information: first, although the Lakers look critical and will fall out of the playoff range if they are not careful, Wo Shuai is full of confidence, tacitly acknowledging that his disciples can lock a playoff ticket and make two final efforts in order to catch the last train of the playoffs; the second is that although the thick eyebrow brother may not necessarily play, old Zhan is basically bound to play, Vogel is by default in the case of a thirty-year-old man to start conceiving the playoff lineup and strategy, as long as James can come up with "full strength Zhan." "The strength, I believe the Lakers still have a chance."
So, can the Lakers win the key card battle with the Pelicans?