After the loss to the Timberwolves, James has been sticking to his opinion, shooting his own three-pointers. "It's obviously a three-pointer, and Steve Wonder can see that as well. My foot is outside the three-point line and you can see that there's space between the foot and the three-point line. James said angrily.
He wanted to win the match on his birthday night, but unfortunately the match couldn't be changed. After the Lakers' loss to the Timberwolves, they are just 2-8 against the top six teams in the West this season, winning only the Thunder (129-120) and the Clippers (130-125). You know, even if there is still water in this result, when they beat the Clippers, the Clippers have not yet run in.
The Lakers have a big problem right now, the team doesn't have a stable rotation lineup, and coach Darvin Ham is constantly adjusting the rotation and starters, experimenting with different lineup combinations, but it looks like he's starting with a bad combination. In this game, Ham put Reddish back into the starting line-up and Hachimura returned to the bench.
Hachimura will start one and come off the bench, and he will also need to adapt to his role reversal. In this game, he failed to continue his good performance, shooting 2-of-8 and scoring only 5 points and 1 rebound. In fact, Hachimura played very well in the last starter, shooting 7 of 12 and getting 17 points and 4 rebounds. The Lakers' five-man duo of James, Prince, Vanderbilt, Hachimura and Bushy Eyebrows is very efficient. Prior to the Timberwolves, the five-man group had a net efficiency value of +50.0, which translates to 50 points per 100 possessions.
However, Hamm didn't continue to use this game. Reddish, who started the game, finished with four points, three rebounds and four assists on 2-of-7 shooting. What kind of starters should the Lakers use? At the moment, the Lakers' starters lack sufficient projection ability, and the offensive organization relies too much on James.
The Lakers may still need to adjust their rotation lineup in the future. The Lakers' poor record this season is largely due to the fact that Russell, Reaves and Hachimura, who signed contract extensions, have not played as expected.
Russell was still able to abuse vegetables last season, although he couldn't play high-end games, and he was still very vigorous against some ordinary teams. This season, Russell has also been without power for the underdog team. Reaves was once fancied to become the Lakers' third star, but his form has had its ups and downs. Hachimura's state is also good and bad, especially the rebounding performance is not good.
It is worth mentioning that before the start of the season, many American media praised Lakers general manager Pelinka for his great operation in the summer. But now it seems that Pelinka is doing a terrible job, especially when the draft is messed up. Looking at new stars such as Harkes, Podemski, and Jackson Davis shining this season, the Lakers' rookies can't help at all. The Lakers want to make a trade and lack good leverage. Vincent, who was poached by the Lakers, was not used at all, and had surgery again, requiring six to eight weeks of recuperation.
Coach Ham reflected on the loss after the game, saying: "We had a lot of open shots that we normally could have and then we didn't make today. After the game, Brother Thick Mei was very unwilling to lose, he said: "Any time I lose, no matter whether I play well or not, it will bother me." You always think, especially me, I missed two important free throws and we lost the game by two points. You have to look back and see what you can do better. ”
In addition to stepping on the line to turn three points into two points, James also missed the last attack in time, James said: "I thought I would be able to shoot quickly, but when I turned, Gobert was there. I misjudged. I should have better known how much time was left. ”
The Lakers now have a 17-16 record, slipping to ninth in the West. The competition in the West is fierce, and the Lakers need to adjust their roster as soon as possible.