The Lakers, who were reversed by the Timberwolves, still reaped good news one after another

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2024-04-08 16:16Posted in Beijing Sports Creators

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Before the Lakers, the Timberwolves had a defensive efficiency of 107.7, which ranked first in the league. It is worth mentioning that the only presence below 110 for the 30 teams.

The Timberwolves have a defensive efficiency of 108.5 when Towns is on the floor and 103.6 when they're not. The 4.9 margin shows that the Timberwolves defend better when Towns isn't on the floor.

And against the Lakers, Towns just didn't play.

The Lakers, who were reversed by the Timberwolves, still reaped good news one after another

On the Lakers' side, James did not play.

When James isn't on the floor, the Lakers have an offensive efficiency of 108.3.

The Grizzlies and Trail Blazers, who lost Morant and Lillard, were directly reduced to fish belly. And the Lakers without James, this offensive efficiency is the existence of "no Mo Bear".

The Lakers' "offense" VS the Timberwolves' "defense". Obviously, before the game even began, the balance of victory had begun to tip in favor of the Minnesotans.

The opening time was less than 6 minutes. To be precise, the Lakers took a 20-13 lead after Hachimura, Reaves and Dinwiddie hit three-pointers one after another. That's when the important factor in the absolute Lakers' trend comes - the thick eyebrows are injured.

Facing the Timberwolves this season, thick eyebrows averaged 30.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. All three stats are higher than the season's average of 24.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. In other words, "fighting wolves" thick eyebrows are still good.

Without Zhan Mei, theoretically speaking, the Lakers' offensive burden falls more on Russell.

He made 35 passes and registered a season-high 11 assists. Russell did a good job of completing the burden of tandem teams, but the shooting efficiency of 5 of 19 shots is a "spicy eye" no matter how you look at it.

Russell has averaged 20.1 points per game since March, including 44 against the Bucks. But even so, it is still difficult to hide Russell's shortcomings. To be precise, it has become an inconsistent phenomenon under the team's main offensive point. Without Zhan Mei's containment, Conley and Edwards' defensive strategy against Russell is simple and straightforward - to counter.

This season, Russell's true shooting percentage is just 52.1 percent when defenders are within 4 feet, and 42.6 percent when defenders are within 2 feet. Lacking a certain amount of strong throwing ability, it is not difficult to understand why Russell is basically the icing on the cake and can't do it.

Compared to Russell, Reeves has a certain amount of strong shooting ability.

Statistically, the true shooting percentage is still 59.6% when the defender is within 4 feet. But the problem is that, unlike low-pick, undrafted inspirational players like Jeremy Lin, Louis Williams, and Clarkson, Reaves lacks a certain ball-handling finishing ability.

In a small sample, Reaves has shot just 34.9 percent from the field so far this season when he has the ball for less than 6 seconds.

Without James, Russell is not performing well, and the Lakers' ball falls more on Reaves. But the payoff was 4-of-14 shots.

Meanwhile, Dinwiddie was given another chance to start when James was sidelined. Unlike last time, this time Dinwiddie is more of a match with Edwards.

So far this season, Edwards has been able to shoot from 47.1 percent to 43.9 percent. Famous Scene: In the four-game game against the Clippers, Paul George was limited to just 3-of-14 shooting (21.4 percent) at 19:37.

Looking at it this way, Edwards' defensive ability is not weak. But even so, Dinwiddie scored 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Of course, having a Dinwiddie alone is not enough. At this time, we have to mention Hachimura. In the last 20 minutes with McDaniels, Hachimura scored 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting.

30+, so far this season, Hachimura has done it to the Jazz and Grizzlies. But the meaning of this battle is different. First, there is less Zhan Mei's containment, and second, the opponent is Vanderbilt, who is known as the top version - the defensive ability is not strong.

To add a few words, Hachimura was plus/minus 1 in the 36 minutes he was present. This performance, this importance, is self-evident to the Lakers who lack Zhan Mei.

Although the Lakers were eventually defeated by the Timberwolves 127-117, it was not without good news for the Lakers.

First, "counterexamples". Against a tough opponent, the Timberwolves, especially this top-tier defense. Once again, Russell's lack of ability to play hard, as well as a good exposure of Reeves' low ceiling - lack of shooting ability.

For the former, if the asking price for a renewal this summer is too high. Or if the Spurs, Magic and other teams with salary space offer too much, the Lakers can choose to give up. After all, Russell of 18 million is very "fragrant", and 30 million is very interesting.

For Reaves, if there is a chance to get Trae Young, Mitchell and other stars this summer, he can consider giving up. Again, Reeves is inspirational but his ceiling isn't high.

Second, "positive examples". The same situation once again proves that Hachimura and Dinwiddie have the ability to fight tough battles. Looking at it from another angle, it's worth staying. In other words, Dinwiddie could replace Russell this summer, and Hachimura and Reeves are faced with a choice between the former.

In the end, the season is long and losing is not terrible. The scary thing is to expose the problem and not solve it. After the battle with the Timberwolves, I think Hachimura and Dinwiddie are completely worth reusing. Dinwiddie, in particular, I think he could have replaced Reaves as a starter.

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