The NBA regular season has been playing for more than two months, and the situation in the East and West has gradually stabilized, with the Timberwolves, Thunder, Nuggets and Clippers occupying the top four positions in the West, and the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers competing for supremacy in the East. When legendary superstars such as James, Durant, and Curry are getting old, the new generation is rapidly ascending, and many teams are rising from this. For example, the Thunder, the core of the team, Alexander, averaged 31.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game, and there was no shortcoming in the integration of offense and defense, which is precisely the epitome of the Thunder this season, sixth in offensive efficiency, second in defensive efficiency, and first in the league in three-point shooting rate + blocks + using turnovers to score!
In addition, several giant teams in the West, the situation of the team boss can reflect the real problems faced by the team, the Lakers, James is over 39 years old, it is difficult to continue to produce a stable output in the long regular season, the Lakers need a pitcher, need to impact the basket with the ball, because no one does it, so only James himself comes, this has formed a vicious circle; the Warriors have only ranked 11th in the West since the start of the season, Klay is in a slump and Curry is in a slump, and then the two are in a slump together, plus the Warriors' lineup framework and age shortcomings, they have almost lost their competitiveness this season, and whether they can enter the playoffs is a problem。 In general, most of the core of the team are the pillars and play the role of stepping up at critical moments, but there is one team that is different, because their core has become the biggest burden!
In previous seasons, the Bulls created a triumvirate combination of DeRozan + LaVine + Vucevic, and the team was also paired with Caruso, Ball and other giants, looking forward to making a difference. But after more than a year of recuperation, no one knows when he will return. And the so-called Big Three combination is more like a castle in the air, with the Bulls 15-19 since the start of the game, only ranking tenth in the East, 28th in the league in points per game, 23rd in the league in offensive efficiency, and 29th in the league in assists per game. As the leader of the team, LaVine averaged 21 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season, with a two-point shooting rate of only 44%+34%. An effective shooting percentage of 51.5 percent, which is about the same level as Smart of the Grizzlies! Essentially, he is the same as Trae Young, eating the dividends of hand-making, but not very efficient.
But in the past two years, LaVine has caused trouble, quarreled with the coach, and made a lot of noise in the locker room, including openly admitting to the media that the team is not compatible! But there are two statistics that are glaring: LaVine has a 5-13 record in the games he has played this season (he had a break of 1 game against the Thunder); and the Bulls have 10-5 losses in the 15 games that LaVine has missed in a row! Of these five losses, one was a killout, and one was an overtime defeat to the Bucks. In addition, before LaVine's injury, the Bulls were 3-6 at critical moments (the difference was within 5 points in the last 5 minutes), and after LaVine's injury, the Bulls were 6-2 at critical moments! Koby White incarnated Alexander, and even Zhuang Shen was able to break out in a row (24 points and 25 rebounds against the Hawks, 15 points and 23 rebounds against the 76ers).
The most interesting thing is that LaVine has scored 30+ games this season, and the Bulls have not won a single game! Playing the Raptors with 36 points, the team has lost by 13 points; playing the Magic with 34 points, and the team has lost by 6 points; and even scoring 51 points against the Pistons, but the Bulls have lost to the Pistons by 16 points! Selfishness and fighting alone make him the team's oil bottle. And in the 15 games that LaVine was absent, in the words of Koby White, the team was united and invincible! And the Bulls' decision was to temporarily send LaVine to the Development League for recovery training with the team! And after the Bulls put LaVine on the trade shelf early, it also attracted the attention of teams including the 76ers, Kings, and Lakers.
Even so, LaVine has been favored by the Lakers, and in the trade plan listed by the American media, the Lakers may have to take Reaves or even a first-round pick if they want to get LaVine. The deep relationship behind this is because LaVine is also a client of Rich Paul. Because James is too old and Bushy Eyebrows needs someone to provide stable support to deliver shells, the Lakers do need to increase the ball handling points, but LaVine's style of play is similar to Beal's, lacking the ability to respond to the organization, as the team leader, he can have unlimited firing rights, but he can't be a championship puzzle. LaVine has played 1 playoff game in his entire career, and DeRozan led the team to score, LaVine averaged 19 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, shooting 42.9% + 37.5% from the field.
The Lakers have narrowly escaped! The Bulls have proved that LaVine is a drag oil bottle with their actions, and if the Lakers still want to pursue LaVine, it can only be said that there must be something strange in this! The Lakers have fallen to tenth in the West, Russell has no intention of fighting, Hachimura and Vanderbilt have not met the expected performance level of matching salary, including the team's lack of projection ability and breakthrough point, LaVine can be eliminated in advance. In my opinion, the most suitable for the Lakers, such as Murray of the Hawks, Brogton of the Trail Blazers, the Lakers need real blue collars, and James Mei is still the absolute core.