The Lakers recently played with the Bulls 2 times in a row, in the first meeting between the two sides, the Lakers sat at home, this game James came back, thought that with the home bonus Lakers can win the Bulls, did not expect that the Lakers were suppressed by the Bulls in the whole game, once trailed by 21 points, although the Lakers narrowed the point difference in the fourth quarter, but finally lost to the Bulls by 10 points.
Today's rematch between the two sides, the Bulls sit at home, many people think that the Bulls will be the dominant side, did not expect the Lakers to start the game strongly, quickly took the lead, once led by 17 points in the first quarter, although the Bulls once overtook the score in the second quarter, but the Lakers quickly regained the lead, and firmly controlled the game trend, has been in the lead, and finally the Lakers defeated the Bulls by 11 points.
The Lakers lost 10 points to the Bulls at home, but won the Bulls by 11 points on the road, what is the reason for the Lakers' strong rebound? There are many answers, one of which is particularly critical, that is, the absence of a Lakers player in the first game, and the return of this person in the rematch and 36 minutes, this person is an important reason why the Lakers can beat the Bulls.
This player is Russell, Russell missed due to injury when the Lakers hosted the Bulls, and today against the Bulls, Russell returned, he played 36 minutes, shot 7 of 12 (2 of 4 three-pointers), 1 of 3 free throws, scored 17 points, 4 boards, 4 assists and 1 steal, with a team-high plus-minus of +35, much higher than the second-ranked Reeves (+28).
Russell showed his all-round skills in this game, let's take a look at his individual offensive performance. In the first quarter, he scored layups twice with his personal ability, showing excellent ball-holding breakthrough ability. In the second quarter, he made a steal and a dragon broke through to score a layup.
In the third quarter, he ran into the bottom corner, received a pass from Reeves, completed a catch-and-shoot shot, and hit a three-pointer. Later, he held the ball and used the cover of thick eyebrows to complete the mid-range shooting and score. In the fourth quarter, he first missed a single shot but immediately scored his own basket, and then hit a three-point shot with the ball outside the three-point line, showing excellent three-point shooting ability.
In addition to the threat of excellent individual offense, Russell's organizational passing when he was on the floor also contributed a lot, he gave a number of good balls to Thick Eyebrows, Russell gave 3 of his 4 assists in this game to Thick Eyebrows, and one gave Vanderbilt, Thick Eyebrows can break out strongly, the Bulls only shot 8 times in the first game and scored 15 points on 13 of 20 shots, Russell's contribution was indispensable.
According to NBA official website statistics, in the 36 minutes that Russell was on the floor, the Lakers' offensive efficiency was as high as 154.3, and in the 12 minutes he was not on the floor, the Lakers' offensive efficiency dropped to 44.8, and whether Russell was present had an impact on the Lakers' offensive efficiency of +109.5, ranking first in the team. It is said that Russell is not good at defense, but this game he also increased the Lakers' defensive efficiency by 17.5 when he was on the floor, and comprehensive statistics at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, whether Russell was present in this game had an impact on the Lakers' net efficiency as high as +127, far ahead of his teammates (Reeves in second place is +86.9, James in third place is +62.3, and the fourth is +48).
In a post-match interview, La Serra said: "I really appreciated our attacking organisation and the team adapted to the new squad very quickly. Our team has a high basketball IQ and is good at understanding tactical intent, which obviously takes some pressure off. "From Russell's interview, we can see that he has a thorough understanding of the Lakers' tactics, which is why the team's net efficiency is so high when he is on the floor.
Russell is a player with comprehensive skills and high ball intelligence, but he also has flaws, that is, his physical talent is limited and his playing style is not tough enough, so he may not be able to guarantee efficiency as the big boss or second boss of the team, but let him be the three bosses around James, Russell can be amazingly efficient, because his skill set is rich enough, and the ball intelligence is very high, and he knows what to do when and is enough to deal with a variety of game situations.
Since Russell came to the Lakers, when he and James can play, the Lakers' winning percentage has been excellent, and they have won very cleanly, such as beating the Pelicans by 18 points, beating the Warriors by 13 points, and beating the Bulls by 11 points today. Judging from this trend, once the complete Lakers enter the playoffs, they do have the ability to pose a huge threat to opponents such as the Nuggets and Grizzlies.