On December 29, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Lakers hosted the Hornets. Previously, the Lakers had a 16-15 record, ranked ninth in the West, and the team had various problems, the most lethal point was that they did not shoot three-pointers, and they averaged 10.9 three-pointers per game and only ranked 27th in the league. Secondly, the lack of ball possession, the Lakers' average of 20 breakaways per game is also the bottom three in the league. The key is that Lao Zhan is 39 years old, and he can't maintain a lasting and stable offensive and defensive performance in the long regular season, so the Lakers obviously lack scoring points in many games. Statistics show that in the past 82 games of the Lakers, thick eyebrows have played 78 games, and thick eyebrows have averaged 31.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in the last 7 games, but thick eyebrows alone, as well as Reaves and Lao Zhan, who average about 20 points per game, are obviously not enough.
Ham has changed his starting lineup in recent games, letting Lao Zhan play point guard, to put it bluntly, he still hopes to relieve the pressure on Lao Zhan, but Vanderbilt, Prince, and Reddish have no effect of opening up space. In addition, the Los Angeles media has been paying attention to the progress of the transaction recently, the Lakers are interested in LaVine, Murray is interested in the Hawks, and even some media have recruited the Lakers to trade Durant, but all this is like a castle in the air, the Lakers' chips are nothing more than Russell, Hachimura, Vincent, Hayes, the Lakers are impossible to get Reaves, and they don't have many first-round picks, and they are also affected by hard hats, how can they reach a deal? Hachimura, including the base-paid players, needs to play at a higher level!
The Hornets were 7-21 and have lost 8 in a row in the latest wave and are in 13th place in the East. Three-ball Ball was sidelined for a long time with an ankle injury, and Hayward also suffered a calf injury, and the team was largely uncompetitive. Hornets starters: Rozier + Miller + McGovins + Bridges + Richards, Lakers starters: James + Prince + Hachimura + Vanderbilt + Davis. At the beginning of the game, Hachimura counterattacked the flying dunk, thick eyebrows hooked hands + one-arm violent dunks, McGovins and Bridges rained three-pointers, Rozier continued to add three points, and the Hornets suppressed the Lakers. In the middle of the period, James stopped the bleeding with three points, the Hornets began to make kills, the Lakers offense was dumb, and the Hornets once opened a 9-point difference. In the second half, Russell made a layup + two three-pointers to stop the bleeding, and Reeves blossomed inside and out, constantly narrowing the score.
After the first quarter, the Lakers trailed the Hornets 28-31, Lao Zhan was not willing to attack with the ball, and his thick eyebrows were a little tired from being beaten, but fortunately, there were more points on the bench. Back in the second quarter, Hachimura forced a strong attack to complete 2+1, and James Tank made a layup to tie the score. In the middle of the period, Nick Smith and Christie hit three points, Washington ate Wood alone, and Wood immediately joined Reaves to rain three-pointers! Wood made another mistake and was counterattacked, Miller burst inside and outside to reopen the difference! In the second half, thick eyebrows and Vanderbilt attacked the frame in a row, Prince and Wood hit three-pointers in a row, and at the end of the half, the Lakers overtook the Hornets 58-57. Thick eyebrows scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in the half, and Lao Zhan only had 5 points and 6 assists.
At the beginning of the second half, James rode a horse and archery to complete 2+1, Rozier led the team to complete the tie score, and then Hachimura and Lao Zhan took turns to attack the frame, and the thick eyebrows also easily ate cakes and scored 5 points in a row, and the Lakers stopped the Hornets in waves! Bridges and Martin took turns to stop the bleeding, James responded with three points, or Hachimura, and went to the bottom line to attack Martin to complete 2+1! In the second half, Russell burst inside and outside, Christie also hit a jumper, and Hachimura's one-arm bomb frame, the Hornets have collapsed! At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led the Hornets 99-80!
As soon as he came back in the fourth quarter, Wood hit a three-pointer, and then Christie made a kill, Reaves used Ginobili's classic move, and Russell continued to hit a three-pointer with a back-to-back basket, and the Lakers had opened up a 27-point difference! In the end, the Lakers defeated the Hornets 133-112 at home, and after this game, the Lakers returned to the top eight in the West! The Hornets suffered a nine-game losing streak!
Hornets stats, Rozier 18 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Miller 17 points, Bridges 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Richards 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lakers statistics, James 17 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists, thick eyebrows 26 points and 8 rebounds, Russell 16 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists, Reaves 16 points and 4 assists, Hachimura 17 points and 4 rebounds, Christie 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Wood 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Hayes 10 points. Hachimura's outburst in the third quarter of the game was crucial to become a surprise player, and Russell felt warmer, but to be honest, Vanderbilt and Prince really couldn't be on the court at the same time, and the space was too small. Hopefully, this big win will be a turning point, the Lakers really need three-pointers to open up the situation.