In the NBA new season opener on October 20, the Lakers faced the Warriors in the first three quarters of the team's lead, and in the fourth quarter, they were torn through the defense by the opponent and eventually lost the game. Losing the game is not terrible, the terrible thing is that only James and Davis scored in double figures in this game, James had 34 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Davis had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists, and the two scored 67 points together or could not lead the team to a victory. As the Lakers' most important offseason westbrook state is still sluggish, the historical triple-double king got three singles data, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 turnovers, and the shooting rate is only 13 shots and 4 of 13 shots, which is really hard to believe that it was the performance of the wei zhentian.
Today, O'Neill is even more blunt: "The Lakers still need role players, and I see Westbrook as a role player, a very good role player." The first in the team was LeBron James, the second was Anthony Davis, and then Russell. He can show those skills in fast attack. "Good guys, know that Westbrook has made $44.31 million this season, which is the third highest salary in the league, and the first and second are Curry and Harden. The Lakers paid Kuzma + Harrell in the offseason, and even paid 40 million to just get a role player?
While it's true that Westbrook didn't show the level it deserved in seven games (including six preseason games), it's an absolute mistake to say that Westbrook is a role player. Last season Westbrook was still able to play a triple-double, and it can't be said that just one regular season game and six preseason games have made Westbrook a role player. So what exactly went wrong with Westbrook? Have the Lakers really found a way to use Westbrook?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Vogel's use of Westbrook is a misdirectionality</h1>
In the first game against the Warriors we could see that Westbrook rarely carried the ball and more likely to hand the ball over to James. Then the problem comes, the Lakers claim to introduce Westbrook in order to find a second ball carrier, in order to reduce James's burden of holding the ball, but this game it seems that Vogel's use of Westbrook has increased James' burden. Vogel has a player with a perennial three-point shooting percentage of just 32 percent as a point-and-shooter, and you can see that all Warriors players are two steps ahead of Westbrook, and even if they prefer to pack James, they will completely empty Westbrook on the three-point line.
Westbrook's entire career is a player who needs to hold the ball in his hand to play the greatest role, even if he is partnered with Harden, Bill and Durant, it is also held by Westbrook, his no-ball threat is really limited, especially after the big injury, Westbrook's athletic ability has dropped significantly, relying on speed and can not get rid of opponents, what role can you let him play on the no-ball end? Although Wei Shao made too many mistakes in holding the ball in the preseason, and Vogel also deprived Wei Shao of the ball in order to stop the loss in time and reduce Wei Shao's mistakes, such an approach undoubtedly cut off an arm, and Wei Shao, who played without the ball, was a pure standing pile on the field.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > Wei Shao and Zhan Mei did not have enough tacit understanding</h1>
The 360 combination has not yet understood each other's temper, the three people are still not familiar enough, Wei Shao does not know what thick eyebrows like to attack on the court, and Wei Shao has never partnered with players who carry the ball to the basket like him, so on the court you will see Wei Shao playing with fear, he has been working hard to cater to the two on the court in order to adapt to Zhan Mei, resulting in the loss of what he is best at. This problem is believed to be slowly improved as the season progresses, at least Westbrook will not be like a headless fly on the field like the first game.
Despite losing the opener, James and Thick Brow encouraged Westbrook and didn't blame him for his performance on the court. Davis said that it is normal for Westbrook to have "debut nervousness", and James encouraged Westbrook to watch a comedy to adjust his mood or accompany his three children, which can be seen that the two cores of the Lakers are still very confident in Westbrook.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Wei Shao's own psychological causes</h1>
It seems that after a few games with the Lakers, Westbrook began to lose confidence in himself. In an interview in the preseason, when the reporter asked Wei Shao when he would be able to play his best performance, Wei Shao replied that I don't know, and I have no answer to this question myself. It was hard to believe that the confident Wei Shao would answer like this, and in my impression, Wei Shao would never say such a depressing word. In the first game, Wei Shao also began to become hesitant about each attack, he did not dare to hold the ball, he was afraid of many mistakes, and even after receiving the ball, Wei Shao did not dare to shoot resolutely. Such a cowering wei shao is rare, when you go to play with such a lot of psychological pressure, it is difficult to let go of your hands and feet on the field. As James and Davis said, they hope Westbrook doesn't blame himself too much when facing his in-form performances, this is only the first regular season game, and the whole season is still very long.
All in all, I don't believe Westbrook would be what O'Neal calls a role player. I haven't seen a player with an MVP called a role player, and I haven't seen a player who achieves a triple-double per game called a role player. Wei Shao now needs only time, it is unfair to evaluate Wei Shao by relying on only one argument, and the same performance in the opening of the Wizards and Rockets Wei Shao is sluggish, but as the season deepens, Wei Shao's performance is getting better and better, I hope that Wei Shao can find his best state as soon as possible!