On October 27, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Spurs played at home against the Lakers. The Lakers announced james' absence due to sore ankles before the game, and to be honest, this is an opportunity for Westbrook to fully show himself. The final score was fixed at 121-125, and after overtime, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Spurs. Looking at the whole game, two words describe the Performance of the Lakers: Heart-wrenching. In terms of paper strength, the Spurs are not the opponents of the Lakers at all, but the Spurs scored in double figures with 5 people today, and Vassell and Walker scored more points than all the Lakers benches combined, why are the Lakers struggling so much?
From the statistics point of view, on the Spurs side, Walker had 21 points and 6 assists, Vassell 19 points and 7 rebounds, Bortel 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Johnson had 11 points and 6 rebounds. On the Lakers side, Westbrook had 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, Davis 35 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, Reeves 10 points, Munch 17 points and 3 assists, and Rondo 8 points and 3 assists.
First of all, we have to start with Davis, who was really too tired today and tried his best. From the first quarter, Davis continued to make kills under the basket, hand-to-hand combat again and again, and in the case of opponents constantly exerting physical confrontation on Davis, Davis went from the last game to the Grizzlies to the Spurs, and the state was getting better and better, both offensive and defensive. In addition, the center who is most partnered with Davis must be Howard, Howard's protective frame, his ability to fill in the gaps, so that Davis can confidently pounce on the Spurs outside. In the words of Teacher Yang Yi, Jordan Jr. and Davis have some conflicts, while Howard and Davis echo each other, one inside and one outside, too well protected by the basket. After talking about the good aspects, then the next step is very ruthless, starting with Wei Shao.
Westbrook played 40 minutes today, 15-of-27 to score 33 points, especially in the middle of the fourth quarter that the catch jump shot three-pointer, very unexpected, this is the first time since Westbrook's main game to receive the ball jump shot hit a three-pointer, which Vogel allowed Westbrook to do. Behind Wei Shao's gorgeous data, the efficiency value in the field is +1. There were also 5 fouls. Since the preseason, Vogel has tried to pair Westbrook and Rondo in the backcourt, in order to make Davis more comfortable with the ball, but the combination of defense is really terrible. In the last minute of the second quarter, Murray slipped the bottom line, Rondo did not block, Wei Shao waited for the rebound under the basket, and asked Reeves to come over and plug the leak for the two big guys, but did not block. In the final attack of the first half, Murray passed the ball out to find Walker, and Westbrook did not pounce out to block it at the first time, but stood under the basket and waited for the rebound. Including the second half of the third quarter, when the Spurs' outside Wassell and Walker were in full swing, the five-man team of Westbrook, Rondo, Anthony, Rivers, and Howard, no defense and no offense, Howard could not save, watching the opponent easily open the point difference.
Wei Shao's defense is not an attitude problem, it is a professional habit he has developed for more than a decade. Rondo's defense is not an attitude problem either, he is really a bit inadequate. Why not give Munch more time? Why not let Bradley top it? Wei Shao's offensive end impacted the basket, his energy is beyond doubt, but Vogel is too overestimated wei shao on the defensive end, and now can only hope that Ellington and Nunn can come back as soon as possible, and everyone gives Wei Shao help on the defensive end, otherwise if he really encounters that kind of outside team, Wei Shao can be exploded by the opponent at this point. But let's be honest, James is gone, and Westbrook's offensive end is really back to normal.
Next, let's talk about Vogel, his employer, who can't understand. In the second half of the first quarter, Jordan Jr. went down, Vogel did not go to Howard, and as a result, the Spurs kept hitting the basket under the condition of weak outside lines, and the Lakers were played by the opponent with a wave of 17-6 climax to complete the rebound. At the beginning of the second quarter, Howard and Davis came up to fill the pit for their teammates, and it can be said that the Lakers played very well in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the Spurs' outside line was completely opened, and Vogel still had Howard on the court, following the turning back. And in the final moments of the fourth quarter, Howard was replaced, the Spurs scored from the basket twice in a row, and when the Lakers began to contract to protect Davis, the outside Murray opened again. On the Lakers side, every scoring is too difficult, thick eyebrows are hard to rush the inside, Wei Shao carries one or two people to rush inside, but why is Vogel always slower on the defensive end? And after Howard went off, the Lakers couldn't protect the rebounds in the backcourt, which was called a mess. The key moment is still to watch Munch, to be honest, today's game, is Davis + Munch + Reeves + Howard four people dragging everyone along.
And in the end, Thick Brow finally fell to the ground injured in the confrontation, why didn't Vogel protect him and arrange for Jordan Jr. or Howard to play? The right knee was directly topped by the opponent, why did you have to accumulate Davis into this? Westbrook's defensive performance is difficult to satisfy, Vogel's platoon arrangement can not understand, bitter Davis, it turns out that the regular season wants to win a game so hard!