A trade created the team's biggest crisis. Irving's trade was supposed to find a helper for Doncic, but it caused the Lone Ranger's plummet, dropping directly to 11th in the league, and there is no end. The Irving trade cost the Lone Ranger defensive resources, so much so that the interior defense is now stretched. What is the future of the Lone Ranger?
The Lone Rangers played a full 20 games after the Irving trade, and Irving played in 14 of them, finishing 6-8. Coupled with the fact that the previous 6 games were only 2-4, the overall total is only 8-12. The ranking also slipped from the top 6 in the West to 11th in the West Division. During this period, the Lone Ranger only had 2 consecutive wins, a 3-game winning streak and a 2-game winning streak, and the rest of the time it was an endless defeat.
Yesterday's loss to the Hornets really caused the crisis within the Lone Rangers to explode. The Hornets are only better than the Pistons in the East this season, with a pile of injuries in the team, with Oubre and Rozier finishing all three goals. But Rao is such a Hornets, but came up and relied on Hayward and Washington to rush forward, and the Lone Ranger struggled to catch up the whole game, but when he chased 1 point in the fourth quarter, he saw his opponent rise again. Losing to the Wasps left the Lone Ranger doomed. The doors of the Lone Ranger's locker room were closed after the game, the press conference was postponed, and it was indeed time to learn the lessons.
Doncic concluded his presentation after the game by pointing out that too much off-court personal matters distracted him from fully devoting himself to the game. In the past, he always smiled and groaned on the field, but now he is much more serious and serious. He also knew how much pressure he was carrying, but there was no way.
In the Irving trade, the Lone Ranger should never send Dorian Finney Smith, he is a rare talent on the Lone Ranger's forward line, a defensive expert on the team, and the team's reliance on him after he went to the Nets can be seen (only the offensive end has a serious decline, all because the Lone Ranger has Doncic to attract defense for him, and the Nets do not have such a big ball core). Among the players exchanged by the Lone Ranger, Irving and Big Morris are both defensive colanders, and the rest of the players are also heavy on attack and light on defense. This creates a situation where how many points the lone ranger gets, and in the end, how many points the opponent has to add.
In the match against the Hornets, the Lone Ranger made him feel like no man's land when he faced Hayward, which was very infuriating. When discussing the Irving trade, the Lone Ranger could have taken advantage of Irving's departure to bargain with the Nets, press Finney Smith to choose someone else, and then add to strengthen the defense (Beverley could consider), and then take out Hardaway Jr. and Wood for a market. The Nets asked for Finney Smith, but even Yuta Watanabe was reluctant to give it to the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger executives did have less wisdom when discussing deals.
Now there is a problem that plagues the Lone Ranger hierarchy. It is said that Doncic plays like Harden, why Harden and Irving previously partnered smoothly in the Nets, but not Doncic? In fact, it can't be said that it can't be done, but Harden has previously discussed with Irving, he will focus on point guard and let Irving play shooting guard, and then focus on what point guards should do, and give the heavy responsibility of scoring to Irving.
On the other hand, Doncic and Irving are injured, and the injuries are not good, naturally they can't play what they want, and Doncic is also troubled by off-court affairs. The second is that teammates are not strong. In the last game, the Lone Rangers hit only 9 three-pointers, 3 of which were thrown by the "Eastern European combination", but wasted 17 shots. Finally, due to the difference in technology between Doncic and Harden, Harden's shot is still very fast, and Doncic's shot is relatively slow. The fact that the Lone Ranger averaged the second slowest pace (96.3) in the league under Doncic's leadership is proof of this.
What type of players are missing from today's Lone Ranger? There is a lack of an interior lineman who can provide tough cover for teammates, an interior line that can turn the passes of an "Eastern European combination" into a scorer, a defensive expert who can lock up opponents at the front, and a defensive gate on the outside. Whether the Lone Ranger can find all three players, or only one or two of them, tests the wisdom of the Lone Ranger's high-level management.
The Lone Ranger is now like this, and whether Irving will renew his contract is also a troubling question. Logically, the Lone Ranger isn't a good fit for Irving, but he may continue to stay here to prove that he and Doncic work well together. The Lone Ranger may also have strengthened his roster this summer. Irving has a "no grandpa here, there is a place for him" mentality, go to a team that is more suitable for him (the Lakers who have always longed for him are good), and his whereabouts seem difficult to guess from now on.
The Lone Ranger needs to leave aside what happened this summer, do what he needs to do now, and the first thing is to win tomorrow's rematch against the Hornets before he can catch his breath. The Lone Rangers now have to fight for another winning streak to hold their ground in the competitive Western Conference playoff battle. (Hairy Daddy/Supine Push-ups)