On April 17, Beijing time, the second matchday of the 2022-23 playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 128-112, becoming the second team to play the next game after the Knicks.
LeBron James had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and completed two steals and three blocks at the age of 38;
Anthony Davis 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 7 blocks, the numbers speak for themselves;
Hachimura became a bench raider, shooting a team-high 29 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting;
Austin Reeves scored 9 consecutive points in the final minute, Mamba possessed;
Angelo Russell, who has cold hands in the play-offs, also has decent stats of 19 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists...
The Lakers' victory has so much to offer.
However, the biggest contributor of the Lakers is Rob Pelinka, who waited in the player tunnel and these stars on the court to give high-fives and hugs after the game.
"The real MVP of the Lakers is general manager Rob Pelinka. He saved and turned the season around through the trade before the deadline. How can such a performance not be the Manager of the Year? Even the famous Skip Bayless was convinced.
On social media, there was an endless stream of people lining up to apologize.
Pelinka once represented Lakers Totem Kobe Bryant as an agent, and personally helped the team win the 17th championship trophy in 2020, but all this has not stopped the overwhelming scolding of Lakers fans in the past two years.
No wonder the fans are sentimental, after winning the championship in 2020, Pelinka did faint - let go of the champions Howard, Rondo, Danny Green, McGee... Bringing in Harrell, Gasol Jr., Drummond... He chose Caruso and Horton-Tucker out of the latter, and because he missed the opportunity to get Lowry... exchanged Kuzma, Pop, and Harrell for Wei Shao, and after finding that the Big Three could not be adapted, there was no follow-up adjustment...
So the Lakers were out of the first round in 2021, missed the playoffs in 2022, and started the season with 5 consecutive losses, 2-10 in the first 12 games, when Thick Eyebrows and Old Zhan suffered injuries and faced long-term absence, this team that always aims for the championship has two words written on the top of the head: despair!
Throughout the process, Pelinka has been under a lot of pressure, all the media and fans are calling for a trade, and James has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the current roster more than once, almost saying that we have to trade Wei Shao.
But Pelinka was very calm and pressed his feet until before the deadline, when he pulled the trigger.
Of course, you can say that Pelinka is calm, you can also say that he is conservative, if the Lakers are not playing the playoffs with the Grizzlies today, but have gone home to fish, I believe everyone will question why Pelinka did not sacrifice his draft picks earlier in exchange for Turner, Hield, or Bojan.
But the reality is this: He waited until the deadline and then traded Nunn and a couple of second-round picks for Hachimura, and Wishaw and a first-round pick for Russell, Beasley and Vanderbilt, all deals that received unanimous praise when the trade happened.
After that, the Lakers fought back all the way, waiting for the return of Zhan Huang, miraculously reaching the play-offs, and even hoping to qualify for the playoffs for a while, and many "bricks" who had sentenced this team to death began to change their positions and classify them as championship contenders.
The Lakers beat the Grizzlies today, on the surface, it was James, Hachimura, Reeves, Russell "three small giants" to kill, but the reason why this team is really worth looking forward to is that in addition, there are a large number of people who may stand up at any time and become key figures who change the trend of the game.
We still remember Russell's last game against his old club and Hachimura's previous rollercoaster form, and even Reeves, a favorite of Lakers fans, inevitably had a bad performance in the playoffs.
But even if Reeves is not working, the Lakers and Zhang Fus and Wang Fus, Dennis Schroder, who was once scolded by the Lakers to half death, and Vanderbilt, who can affect the game without scoring, have all played the role of the team's savior. And if in the next game, the new generation of "ice shooter" Malik Beasley suddenly opens up and becomes the key Mr. of the Lakers, I will not be surprised at all.
This is Pelinka's greatest contribution to the Lakers, he waited for the best moment to successfully "reduce Wei Shao to zero", so that a dead, sluggish team suddenly became energetic and blossomed.
Professional sports have always been kings and failures, consequential heroes, Pelinka's road to consecration, just took the first step, what the future holds, there are still many variables. But at the very least, he has completed self-redemption.