Beijing time on April 6, with the Spurs victory over the Nuggets and Lakers fiasco against the Suns, the Lakers 31 wins and 48 losses officially did not qualify for the playoffs, James, Westbrook and the first season of cooperation between the big three of them failed, the original championship talk has been reduced to a bubble, the Lakers have many reasons for the failure of the season, of which the big three do not match, injuries, management operations and Vogel's poor coaching are important reasons for their failure.
First, the Lakers' big three don't match
Last offseason, the Lakers through a big deal from the Wizards to introduce Wei Shao, the composition of James + thick eyebrows + Wei Shao's big three, but the chemical reaction between the three giants is far lower than expected, the most intuitive reaction is the Lakers' poor record; this season's Performance of Westbrook is often questioned, there are too many bizarre mistakes on the field, it has been abandoned many times at key moments, but Wei Shao is very hard, the season has only been only one game off, and today is also the end of the battle.
Now that the Lakers' season is over, the first season of the Big Three partnership ended in failure, and they only played 21 games together.
Second, injuries continue, and Zhan Mei has missed several games
James has suffered abdominal strains (8 consecutive games) and knee injuries (5 consecutive games) this season, and suffered a 90-degree slump in the closing stage of the season, accumulating 24 games; Thick Brow suffered a variety of different injuries, left knee sprain against the Timberwolves (17 consecutive missing games), and midfoot sprains against the Jazz (18 consecutive games), accumulating 49 games, playing only 40 games.
Nunn earns $5 million a year, but he did not play a single game due to a contusion in his right knee, which is equivalent to being reimbursed for injury, and players such as Tucker and Ellington also suffered some injuries.
After the Lakers lost to the Suns, Thick Brow said injuries hindered the team, and bluntly said that the number of starts this season (39 starts) was more than winning.
Third, Vogel's questionable coaching
This season, the Lakers averaged 111.6 points per game in the league, but the offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency are ranked outside the league's 20th, vogel, known for its defense, did not build the Lakers into a defensive team; the Lakers often have defensive power outages and are hit by the opponent in a wave, Vogel's on-the-spot change of position does not have much effect.
Vogel often uses James as the center of the five small lineups, against the team with the big center still do not know how to change, even if there is a center like Howard, the consequence is that the Lakers' interior line is exploded; in other words, in terms of ranking and lineup rotation, Vogel has done a very bad job, which is also a big reason why fans often call for Vogel to leave the class.
In January this year, the Lakers almost fired Vogel, but considering that even a change of coach could not save the team, the Lakers finally decided to let Vogel continue to coach, and the Lakers did not create a miracle.
Fourth, the management of the faint operation
Pelinka let go of Caruso, renewed Horton Tucker with an annual salary of 10 million yuan, and added a large number of veterans to create an aging team; at the trade deadline, the Lakers did not have any operation, and the internal chaos made some veterans not want to play for them.
The Lakers' 2021-2022 season has ended early, and for the Lakers led by James, Thick Brow and Westbrook, what do you think is the biggest reason for their early exit?