As the Pistons extended their regular-season losing streak to 28 games, the gap between teams across the league is growing. The Celtics have firmly occupied the first place in the league with a four-game winning streak, and the defending champion Nuggets are back on track after a six-game winning streak, sitting in second place in the West with a 23-10 record. And after most teams have played 30 rounds, the Timberwolves, Thunder, and Magic are not as short-lived as the Rockets and Pacers. The Timberwolves and Thunder took the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in the West, respectively, and the Magic also grabbed the No. 5 spot in the East. However, there are still a lot of big teams in the West that were considered favorites to win the championship before the season.
The Suns' back-to-back absence from Beal has caused the team to have big problems on the offensive end. Despite a hard-fought win over the Rockets to maintain a 15-15 win rate and a 0.5 win rate, the Suns' lineup has a very big problem on the defensive end. The Suns rank 12th in the league in defensive efficiency at 115.3 so far this season, and once Beal returns, the Suns' defensive problems will be even more acute. Therefore, if the Suns want to win, they must rely on the full play of the Big Three. The Warriors, who are in 11th place in the West behind the Suns, are in an even tougher position. While Kerr made timely changes to his starting lineup after Green's suspension, it caused Curry to face greater defensive intensity on the offensive end.
If teammates can open up the situation on the offensive end, Kerr's change of formation can really work, and there has been considerable positive feedback against the Trail Blazers, Wizards, and even the Celtics. But the truth is that Thompson and Wiggins have been in the doldrums for most of the season, and young players such as Kuminga and Podzemski, as well as Davis, have not been able to handle the task in crunch time. Curry has shot just 33.3% and 20% from the field in his last two games, and there is no doubt that the Warriors have lost both games. Of course, in addition to the Suns and Warriors, there is another traditional giant, and the situation is not much better.
The Lakers have won just one of their six games since losing to the Spurs. Although that game was against the Thunder, who are third in the West, and that game was the first game after Ham reshuffled his starting lineup, the Lakers' disadvantage on both ends of the floor was once again evident in the subsequent game against the Celtics. James even went public after the game to say that he didn't think the team could compete with the strong teams, and that he questioned his teammates. Ham demoted Russell to the bench and brought up the forward trio of Vanderbilt and Reddish and Prince. James' return to a point guard role will indeed be more threatening on the offensive end, but it will speed up James' physical exertion, and the Lakers will need to have a reasonable physical arrangement for James and Bushy Eyebrows in the regular season if they want to go further in the playoffs.
After the loss to the Celtics, Ham made another change to the rotation in the game against the Hornets, and Wood was given more playing time among the two center benches. In fact, regarding the use of Hayes and Wood, Hamm's approach was questioned by fans not long ago. Wood, who has been in the league for eight seasons, has not been as tactically tall as Hayes for most of the game. As a center who averaged 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his career, shot 37.5 percent from three-point range, and combined many offensive skills, Wood deserves to be challenged by the outside world. In addition to Wood, there is another player who played one of the team's best offensive performances in the playoffs last season, but has still not had a clear tactical role this season and has erratic playing time. 7-of-12 shooting, plus/minus +34! Reddish is absent and you take advantage of the opportunity to match James perfectly!
Hachimura started just one game in the 16 rounds of the playoffs last season. In just 24 minutes per game, Hachimura averaged 12.2 points per game and shot 48.7 percent from three-point range. This is not the first time Hachimura has broken out in the playoffs, back in the days of the Wizards, Hachimura made the first playoff game of his career. In the first round, Hachimura played 5 games and played an average of 35 minutes per game, but still maintained a 60% three-point shooting rate. After signing a contract with the Lakers for more than $50 million in the offseason, Hachimura's tactical position with the Lakers has not improved accordingly, and he still only averages 24 minutes per game. There are even many games in which the playing time is less than 18 minutes.
And in the game against the Hornets, due to Reddish's absence, Ham had to put Hachimura in the starting lineup to supplement the Lakers' size. This time, Hachimura played 28 minutes, the most minutes of any starter. He scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with a plus/minus of +34, while the second-ranked plus/minus in the starters was only +6. Hachimura defends better in the low post than Reddish, which can also help James defend. And on the offensive end, Hachimura's means are more stable, and his mid-range, air cut, and three-point ability are quite calm. Hachimura's outside shooting is exactly what James and Bush need in the lineup, and it's clear that Hachimura deserves a more significant role in Ham's rotation.