Last season, sitting on the dominant "Zhan Mei combination" + the overall lineup was targeted and strengthened, the Lakers naturally became one of the favorite teams to compete for the championship. Last season, the Nets also successfully joined the ranks of the top teams competing for the title after introducing Ha Ha Deng and forming the "Duooha" super big three.
It's just that in last year's playoffs, whether it was the Lakers or the Nets, they did not play the expected results, but instead "overturned" in the playoffs. In the first round of the Lakers' Western Playoffs, the big score was lost 2-4 to the Suns; the Nets lost 3-4 to the Bucks in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs...
21-22 season: The Nets and Lakers, who are aiming for the championship, have once again "overturned" at the same time?
Although the Nets and Lakers failed to achieve the expected results last season, in the context of the healthy return of the Nets' big three and the Lakers' formation of the "Zhan Weimei" big three, they are still the two teams most likely to win the championship in the eyes of the outside world.
However, after most of the season, the Lakers, under the leadership of the "Zhan Weimei" big three, not only did not play the strength to compete for the championship, but even the playoffs could not be squeezed in. Especially after the Lakers recently lost 118-129 to the Nuggets and spurs to the Blazers 113-92, the win gap between them has widened further.
In the current situation, if the follow-up Spurs win 0 and lose 4, then the Lakers must win at least 3 games before it is possible to squeeze into the playoffs; if the Spurs win 1 win and 3 losses, then the Lakers want to squeeze into the playoffs, they have to win all four games. And once the Spurs get 2 wins, then even if the next game is all won, the Lakers can't get into the playoffs...
As one of the favorite teams to compete for the title before the start of the new season, the situation of the Nets is not optimistic now. In the new season, against the backdrop of Irving's "part-time job", Harden's departure and Durant's injury, they have already fallen out of the top eight in the East. Although it is not as difficult as the Lakers to keep the play-off places, it is likely to be unable to squeeze into the top eight in the East.
Once the Nets are unable to squeeze into the top eight in the East, then in this year's playoffs, they will have to face the winner between the Hornets, Hawks or Cavaliers directly. From the current situation, as long as Simmons can't make a comeback in time, it will be difficult for the Nets to win two consecutive games in the playoffs by relying on Durant's "super god" + "Ramadan" Irving, and they may not be able to play in the playoffs.
So, if the Nets and Lakers miss the playoffs at the same time in the new season, who will be more disappointed?
1. The Lakers lineup is significantly more stable than the Nets lineup. Although the new season is the second season of the Nets' big three cooperation, the Nets' internal atmosphere and lineup are not stable due to the impact of Irving's "part-time playing" and Harden's decline in status. Even after Durant's injury, Harden chose to leave before the trade day deadline...
The turbulent lineup + the big three could not fit together for a long time, which led to the Nets' record in the new season far from what expected. In the new season, although the Lakers cannot integrate the big three and the team's record is poor, they have not changed the existing lineup before the end of the trading day, and the overall lineup is more stable than the Nets.
From this point of view, if there is no playoff at the same time, it is obvious that the Lakers will be more disappointing. After all, the Nets fell out of the top eight in the East under the premise that the Big Three could not "fit" + the lineup turmoil for a long time. However, the Lakers' big three are unable to produce chemical reactions and cannot achieve the effect of 1+1+1 greater than 3, which leads to the team's poor performance...
2, the Nets Big Three compared to the Lakers Big Three, the status and age are more dominant. After the start of the new season, although Harden's personal status has declined due to injuries and new regulations. But in fact, Durant and Irving after the return, both remain extremely hot. When the Nets are in trouble, they can always use a high score to force the Nets to win...
In terms of the Lakers, last season, James and Thick Brow had a large ups and downs in their personal state due to injuries; after the new season joined Westbrook, due to changes in playing style and position, the influence and personal status of James and Thick Brow games showed a continuous downward trend.
And in addition to individual status, the current Durant (33 years old), Irving (30 years old), Harden (32 years old, played 44 games for the team), obviously more dominant than James 37 years old, thick eyebrows 29 years old, Westbrook 33 years old.
Just imagine, if James is 33 years old this year, he still has an "inexhaustible" physical advantage, and then partner with 29-year-old thick eyebrows and 33-year-old Wei Shao, will the Lakers still fall into this situation? So from this point of view, if the Lakers and the Nets miss the playoffs at the same time, it is obvious that the Nets' Big Three, who are more dominant in terms of status and age, will be more disappointing.
3, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. After Harden joined the Nets last season, he was still able to force the Nets to achieve a second-place record of 48 wins and 24 losses in the East after Durant's injury was discharged and Irving did not enter the game. This also made people aware of the nets' terrifying power ceiling, after all, Durant and Irving had not yet fully exported.
Especially when the Nets' big three playoffs first joined forces last year, they led the Nets to easily play dominance in the first round. In that series, Ha averaged 27.8 points, 7.2 boards, 10.6 assists, 55% shooting percentage, Durant 32.6 points, 7.4 boards, 3.0 assists, 56.2% shooting percentage, Irving 23.8 points, 6.5 boards, 3.3 assists, 48.9% shooting percentage...
According to the performance and chemical reaction between the Nets' big three in the first round of the playoffs last year, if it were not for the injuries of Harden and Irving in the second round against the Bucks, the follow-up Nets advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, and there was not much of a problem in advancing to the Finals. Even the Nets won the championship directly last year, which is not impossible.
So in the new season, although the Lakers form a "Zhan Weimei" super big three, in fact, the outside world is still more optimistic about the Nets and has greater expectations for them. Because as long as the "Duooha" big three can stay healthy, whether it is the Bucks, Philadelphia, or the Suns, Warriors and other teams, it is difficult to beat them in the series.
Although the Lakers' big three are equally luxurious, in fact, from the beginning, many people are not optimistic about them. After all, Wei Shao's big-around style of play is not suitable for the James system, which also means that it is difficult for them to play a strength of 1+1+1 greater than 3.
In summary, although the Lakers lineup is more stable in the new season, it is more conducive to the team to play chemistry and play a better record performance. However, due to the dominance and age of the Nets' big three, coupled with the fact that the outside world has greater expectations for the Nets big three, if the Lakers and the Nets miss the playoffs at the same time in the new season, then the Nets will be more disappointing and more difficult.
However, from the overall state and record of the current Nets, they still have a very big opportunity to force them into the playoffs under durant's leadership; but at present, the state and record of the Lakers, they are likely to not even get a playoff place...