The Lakers missed the playoffs early this season — oh no, it should be said that "didn't make the playoffs early", and such a result is surprising anyway. You know, before the start of the season, the Lakers were still considered to be champions contenders, and the title of "Lakers and Nets Meet in the Finals" was as exciting as Tachibana Miryo and Shiina Yuna announcing a date with fans.
Reality is like dew on a cool night, and it is very uncomfortable to hit the face.
As a team that has attracted much attention, they have been in the eyes of fans all season and want to see the Lakers show super strength between the run-ins. From the configuration upgrade of "Two-Headed Monster" to "Big Three", what kind of performance can the Lakers have? A short downturn is acceptable, who would have thought that the Lakers would plunge to the trough, free fall like a winged eagle.
The eagle looked back before leaving the cliff, with a hint of teasing, beyond the inner throbbing of despair and fear.
The Lakers have been repeatedly lowered by expectations this season, from the original championship team to the playoff team to the playoffs... Until finally even the play-offs became a luxury. It's a cruel story, for the team, for the players, and why not for head coach Frank Vogel?
The cruelty is not only because of the team's unexpected exit, but also because the way out is too outrageous - like a knife cutting the neck, blood gushing out of the blood vessels, and the sound of blood flowing can be heard but can't move. There are many ways to die in this world, and it is most embarrassing to feel that you are dying and unable to make any struggle.
This is a true portrayal of the Lakers this season.
Even in the final part of the schedule, there are still people who are willing to believe that the Lakers can make it to the playoffs, but the Lakers have wasted opportunities again and again, and they have finally been cut by fate. The blood of the Purple Gold Dynasty spilled on the ground, causing a crowd to stop and watch, "Oh, this is noble blood!" ”
Is getting out early and a relief from the Lakers' life this season? Maybe it is, or maybe not.
Say it's a relief, the Lakers won't be on the playoff stage, and there will be less talk about them, which will make the team less troubled. But can it really be liberated? Frank Vogel left with the team's "thanks", Westbrook's trade rumors scurried like spring willows, and even included the "James" trade rumors.
Don't be surprised by the rumors that are rife.
That's when a team that's expected doesn't live up to expectations. For example, the Rockets during the partnership of James Harden and Chris Paul could not cross the Warriors in the playoffs, and the team was tightly wrapped in negative news - the contradiction between the core players, the head coach had difficulty controlling the team's locker room...
The negative news is hidden in the corner, just waiting for the team to break in immediately, as has been the case with the Lakers this season. Westbrook, on the other hand, lives in the Eye of the Storm, and it seems that everything is directly related to him, with coaches, teammates and teams, so that he has been questioned and criticized all season.
So, is Westbrook responsible for the team's poor ending this season?
We all know that Westbrook has been blamed in recent years, leaving the Thunder and becoming a tramp. Joining the Wizards last season, he was given a very low opinion for a long time, and it was not until the second half that he gradually regained his sense of play, but Westbrook has become a representative of high-paid and low-ability players.
Westbrook's style of play, coupled with his personality factors, he needs to play in a team that regards it as the core, such conditions are obviously difficult for the Lakers to provide. Throughout the season, Westbrook failed to integrate into the Lakers' system (if any), and he was criticized for his sluggish performance, which affected Westbrook's state even more.
Westbrook and his family even received death threats as the season progressed, saying, "I haven't done anything wrong with anybody, and I haven't hurt anybody." I didn't do anything wrong other than play basketball in a way that people might not like. ”
Westbrook's occasional flashes throughout the season allow those who question it to shut up a bit, but the overall poor performance is an indisputable fact. Westbrook's position on the team was awkward, with being left on the cold bench at key moments and arguing that the team should have let him go to the bench – something Frank Vogel didn't do.
If it's not fair to let Westbrook carry the pot, he has been playing in the same way all his career, and the Lakers should have known this when they brought him in, but the Lakers were not prepared for any docking hand Westbrook. Westbrook is competitive and hopes to prove himself again on the Lakers, but he seems at a loss on the court.
Initially, Vogel said he wanted to give Westbrook more ball rights, but was that really the case throughout the season? If you look at Westbrook's stats, round share is 26.4 – the lowest since the 2010-11 season. Westbrook struggled with the Lakers, was it really his fault alone?
Just like Chris Paul, who was questioned during his time with the Rockets, after leaving, he performed well in both the Thunder and the Suns, and the Rockets' dark period only left a sneer of fate.
Looks like Frank - was right to let Vogel carry the pot? Not really.
Vogel is not a capable head coach, as he led the Lakers to win the championship and lost the value of discussion, but being the Lakers coach has never been simple. When Vogel was just selected by the Lakers, a time bomb was planted under his coaching position — oh, not just one.
Joining the Lakers coaching staff with Vogel is Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins, both of whom have been coaches, and are simply a double spare tire prepared in advance. After winning the championship, Vogel's coaching position gradually stabilized, the alarm was only lifted to a certain extent, and the risk of being the head coach of the Lakers has always existed.
The fate of Vogel's departure from failing to bring the team into the playoffs this season is inevitable, but is this really Vogel's responsibility? From the news so far this season, we can see that Vogel has never thought that the joining of Westbrook is beneficial to the team, and recent media reports have said that Vogel thought that Westbrook and Anthony Davis were difficult to adapt to in the preseason.
Bill Oram said of the Lakers on a show, saying: "[The Lakers] management is arrogant, including James and 'Thick Brow', who arrogantly believe they can transform Westbrook into the kind of player they need. They were also self-conscious enough to think that these three players were enough, regardless of the puzzle around them. ”
In such a situation, James is also considered one of the "culprits", because he may have influenced the team's reinforcements. But if you think about it carefully, you will know that what really put the Lakers in a desperate situation is the failure of the team management to bring in reinforcements, they gave Westbrook to Vogel, and the "Big Three" team let Vogel create some results.
In fact, Westbrook is not the player Vogel needs, and this move has hurt the players and pit themselves.
The Lakers have been gambling heavily since the beginning of the season, and the move to introduce Westbrook was a lot of problems at the time, but the Lakers believed that it could change the way Westbrook played, overestimating the chemistry within the team. LeBron James would have been different if he had been younger, but james is no longer the all-powerful "king" after all.
Sacking Vogel doesn't mean it's all over, and the offseason is still chaotic.
(Text/Yan Wujun)