Missed the play-offs! What did the Lakers experience in the 306-day light speed fall This time it was not just injuries that destroyed the Purple Gold Army

On April 5, Beijing time, LeBron James continued to truce due to an ankle injury, and the Lakers suffered a 7-game losing streak on the road to the Suns. As spurs beat the Nuggets on the road, the Lakers decided not to qualify for the playoffs, and the 2021-22 season ended in a complete failure.

Last season, the Lakers narrowly made it through the playoffs to reach the first round of the playoffs and were out, more because of the natural disaster of injury. This season, the Lakers still have not escaped natural disasters, but from the first round of last season to today's determination not to qualify for the play-offs, the Lakers experienced a light-speed fall in these 306 days, not only because of the natural disasters of injuries, the impact of man-made disasters on the Lakers may even exceed natural disasters.

For the Lakers who aspire to the championship, what they have suffered is not just a temporary failure, they may have lost their future. The Lakers standing at the intersection looked depressed and confused at the same time.

Delayed by injuries for the second year in a row

Last season's Lakers, who "fought the richest battle," were out of the first round, more because of the shortest offseason and injuries in history. As the defending champion, the Lakers only had 71 days off before embarking on a new season. As a result, Anthony Davis started the season in a slump, not long after playing injured, playing the sun in the first round of the playoffs, and Davis, who already had a knee injury, injured his groin in Game 4. James missed as many as 20 consecutive games with an ankle sprain and returned to play the playoffs at the end of the season but was clearly not in the best form. Dennis Schroeder and Gasol Jr. have both been absent in violation of health and safety regulations.

After the Lakers were out of the first round, James and Davis believed that if there was no injury, the Lakers would not fall into such a miserable ending. In the offseason, James and Davis spent a lot of time recuperating from injuries and also conducted a lot of strength training to avoid injury risks. But unfortunately, luck did not take the side of the Lakers.

James missed as many as 23 games because of abdominal strains, knee pain and ankle sprains. Davis was even worse, injuring his knee by an opponent and returning to the Jazz sprained his ankle when he took off and received the ball and landed on the ground, playing only 40 games. Zhan Mei's combination had bad luck and was knocked down by injuries for two consecutive seasons, which was completely unexpected by the Lakers.

Last offseason, the Lakers signed Kendrick Nine for $10 million for 2 years, which was a super cost-effective signing under the circumstances of the time, and the Lakers used up valuable mini-mid-class exceptions. Nunn had a brilliant preseason performance, but because of a knee injury, Nunn did not play a single second this season. Davis sighed: "If I, James, and Nunn were healthy, we wouldn't be in such a predicament." ”

The nature of Westbrook trading failures

The Lakers' deal in exchange for Russell Westbrook can be characterized as a "failure," and there are many opinions about who should be held responsible for the failed deal. For example, magic johnson believes that James should be responsible, because he is the one who named Westbrook. And cross-comparison of the information of several authoritative US media can be seen that the boss Jenny Bass is also responsible.

Regarding the deal of Wei Shao, the Lakers should not be entangled in who should take responsibility for this transaction, but reflect and summarize from it. Because Jenny, who is obsessed with star fame and is more focused on box office revenue, Pelinka, who was originally aiming to introduce DeRozan, Hield, and James, who contacted Westbrook, all made the same mistake - out of touch with the times.

Neither Pelinka nor James realized which type of point guard was best for the Lakers. The lakers' offensive crux of the past two seasons lies in this, when James holds the ball, the Lakers' no.1 position has poor shooting ability without the ball, and it is impossible to open up the space. When James and Davis were in the fourth and fifth positions respectively, the first position could not send the ball to the inside line because of its lack of projection ability. Even a low-salary guard with a good three-point shooting ability can make the James combination unlock more playing styles, but Pelinka did not try to find a way to introduce a more high-grade blocking guard.

From the introduction of Schroeder, to the refusal to give up Tucker Jr. for Lowry, to the introduction of Westbrook, to the intention of exchanging Westbrook for John Wall in the middle of the season, the root of the Lakers' problem lies in the problem of consciousness. This era has entered an era dominated by blocking offense and three-point projection, and in order to play the league's top ten offenses, a defender with both peripheral projection ability and blocking offensive ability is a necessity. This season, of the league's top 10 teams for offensive efficiency, only jamal Murray's unfulfilled Nuggets were eligible, compared to last season.

Palace fight, the Lakers will never be absent from the drama

The Lakers have been reduced to a laughingstock this season, and the management is chaotic, and the inability to distinguish between priority and priority is a major reason. The owner Jenny shouts every day to create family warmth in the Lakers, and as a result, the Lakers fall into the clichés of the traditional family business model.

As the team's general manager and president, Pelinka should have had extremely high decision-making power, and Jenny only needed to make the final decision, which is the operating model of most teams. But Jenny has built a huge think tank around her, in addition to her girlfriend Linda Lambis and Linda's husband, Cott Lambis, Jenny will also turn to lakers celebrity magician Johnson.

Previously, "The Athletic" broke the news that throughout the season, Jenny frequently contacted "Zen Master" Phil Jackson to communicate about the situation of the team and listen to Jackson's opinions. Playing the Warriors, Jackson also came to the scene to watch the game.

The Rambis' influence on Jenny has been interpreted many times before and needs no further elaboration. The key is the identity of the magician and the Zen master, they do not have specific positions in the Lakers, but they have become Jenny's shadow advisors. When the magician resigned, he tore his face with Pelinka, and Jenny asked the magician for help, what would Pelinka think? Zen master and James have exchanged blows each other many times, and when he was in the Knicks, he still broke up with Anthony, and James was angry with Zen master for his good brother. Now that the Zen master is meddling in the lakers' affairs, what will James think?

The Lakers' palace fight also affected coach Vogel. There must be a problem with Vogel's coaching, and at the beginning of the season, Vogel's "head iron" insisted on starting with DeAndre Jordan, which was questioned countless times. Including some of Vogel's rotation methods, the lack of tactical arrangements and adjustments on the offensive end, Vogel has to take responsibility. But was Vogel's situation so bad for the Lakers? No, he's not the root cause.

Although Vogel led the team to the championship and was promoted to "championship manager", in the eyes of the Lakers management, he was never a "little sweetie".

When Vogel took office, the Lakers management installed a Kidd as an assistant coach around him, and he was regarded as an insurance for the Lakers, and once the team's performance was not good, Kidd could replace Vogel at any time. Last year, when the Lakers renewed his contract with Vogel and only gave him a one-year contract, it can also be seen that the Lakers are not at ease with Vogel, and the Players who the Lakers management has repeatedly forced Vogel not to use can also be seen. When the Lakers had a poor record, Lambis interfered with Vogel's coaching and asked Vogel to use Jordan Jr. and Howard. Originally, Vogel was the coach that Rambis had brought in, but now Pelinka is ready to fire Vogel in the offseason.

The Lakers are infighting, and there are many tricks

The giants are not many, and the Lakers are typical. This season, the Lakers have experienced various infighting. From the quarrel between the players, to the loss of the coach, to the core players and management, and even between the players and the fans, there are many contradictions and tricks.

At the beginning of this season, Davis had clashed with Dwight Howard on the sidelines, and although both sides said afterwards that they had spoken out and it was no big deal to say a few words on the court, in fact, the hidden dangers had been buried at that time.

ESPN reported that at a video analysis meeting, There were some tense moments in the relationship between Westbrook and Vogel, and some people inside the Lakers hoped that Vogel could arrange for Wei Shao to play on the bench, but Vogel did not listen to suggestions. "The Athletic" also said in an insider report that Westbrook has a poor relationship with the Lakers coaching staff. Before the trade deadline, the Lakers coaching staff had pushed the Lakers to send away Wei Shao, but because the Lakers needed to post the first round of the pick, and the Lakers were not sure how Wall had not played for a season, the transaction was not completed.

Because of the Lakers' poor performance, the Lakers fans sent boos before they defected, and James and other players have fought with Lakers fans. Wei Shao scolded fans at a press conference, responding to death threats from Lakers fans.

Because of the management's inaction, the relationship between the Lakers' top brass and James has a rift. During the All-Star Game, James made a series of remarks that sparked speculation about his possible departure from the Lakers, and various rumors affected the Lakers' mentality. To get the team back on track, James and agent Rich Paul met with Lakers management and released a "no problem with the relationship" to try to quell the controversy. But now, even Davis says he doesn't know what james will have to do when his contract expires.

epilogue

When they won the championship in 2020, the Lakers seemed to have signs of melting ice and snow, rejuvenating the vitality of summer flowers. But now, the Lakers have witnessed the collapse of high-rise buildings and felt the cold of the cold wind.

In the offseason, the Lakers will inevitably open the great purge mode from top to bottom. But will this bring the Lakers back to the top? Only time will give the answer.