Losing to the Pelicans, the Heat, and the Grizzlies, the Lakers have only won one since January.
Russell, meanwhile, has missed three games since the Pelicans. Considering that it is completely tradable at this stage, Russell is by no means as simple as a rotation. Potentially, Shuila is increasingly resembling Willis – a victim of the Lakers' poor record.
So far this season, Russell has averaged 45.6 passes per game, 6.3 of which can be converted into assists. It is worth mentioning that the Lakers are second only to James, Thick Eyebrows and Reaves in the average number of passes per game, and second only to James in assists.
This reflects the fact that Russell is still the No. 2 assist on the Lakers' team. Combined with the 1+1 contract with an average salary of 18.5 million, it means that the Lakers will not give up Russell easily. In other words, it is not for potential departing stars such as Siakam and Murray who should not make a move.
Meanwhile, Reaves has averaged 46.8 passes per game so far this season, up from 29.7 last season. With the increase in passes, Reaves also averaged a career-high 5.2 assists per game. For comparison, it's higher than orthodox point guards like Irving (5.1) and Murray (5.0).
However, judging from the 2.35 assist-to-turnover ratio, Reaves' pass-control lighting star point guard is still far behind. But it doesn't matter, it's about being able to create comfortable scoring opportunities for your teammates.
In terms of data, 13 Lakers players, including James, thick eyebrows, and Reddish, received Reaves' pass to complete their shooting, and only Prince and Vincent had a shooting rate of less than 38%. To a certain extent, Reeves' passing also has a bonus effect on his teammates' shots.
Individually, Reaves is averaging 61.0 percent true shooting from 11.1 attempts per game. For comparison, Dong Qiqi 61.5% and Durant 64.3%. In other words, the ability to score points is about to catch up with the star players.
To sum up, Reeves at this stage is becoming more and more like Mitchell, Alexander and other two-way guards.
Meanwhile, after returning from injury for the second time, Hachimura shot 55.9% true shooting. Relative efficiency, what is even more surprising is the recovery of a mid-range shot like Leonard.
Statistically, the Lakers' offensive efficiency is 114.7 when Hachimura is on the floor, which is the first on the team in the same period, and 106.8 when he is not on the floor. The 7.9 margin is a good indication of Hachimura's importance — the Lakers scored 7.9 more points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
In addition, after getting through the slump, Wood's perimeter began to pick up - shooting 48.7% from three-point range, shooting 53.8% from the field, and averaging 1.0 shots per game.
There are control points (Reeves), attackers (Reeves, Hachimura), and bread eaters (Wood, etc.). Looking at it this way, the Lakers bench group is more like a whole than the starters.
In fact, as shown in the chart below, the Lakers bench averaged 32.9 points per game with just 2 wins and 8 losses over the same period, which is even higher than the defending champion Nuggets' 32.5 points.
How much energy does the Lakers' bench group have not yet burst out? It is still unknown at present, after all, as I just said, the bench includes various types of players. In addition, if Russell plays off the bench with peace of mind, it will make the team even more powerful.