In a game that ended today, the Lakers lost to the Blazers without James and Davis retired. At present, the Lakers are temporarily ranked 10th in the West with a 5-5 record, and the 50% win rate seems reasonable, but with the end of the easy schedule and the uncertainty of James and Davis' physical condition, their record is likely to decline further. Judging from the performance at the beginning of the season, the Lakers seem to have drifted away from this season's O'Brien Cup, so is this team really not saved? The US media CBS interviewed a number of industry executives and talked about the matter.
A team executive a: Honestly? The Lakers' lineup strength this season is really average, not up to James's standard, not up to the Lakers' standard. Now this Lakers team is really too old, and it has no effect in everything. As always, James gathered a group of people who he was willing to play with, not the player who was best suited to him. It's not a team that Pelinka built, it's a team that James built according to his own wishes, and I think he still wants to make some sort of tinkering with the roster, and to be honest, they're a real mess right now. I expect they'll end the regular season in Midwest, and they'll disappoint everybody. Now this Lakers team has huge weaknesses, may not be as tough as last year, they may be out of the playoffs early, or they may reach the Finals.
A team executive b: They're not as good as we expected. Do you know what the real reason is? James. Maybe he could be an evergreen like Tom Brady, but I don't think he can. I think now that James is old and his attendance is already declining, he can't help the team through the long regular season on his own. And the Lakers need him very much, their lineup is not good, I don't know if James can help the Lakers in the playoffs now, he has begun to suffer from age.
Former James's team executive c: Every athlete can't avoid injuries, and if James can't break through the opponent's defense and change the opponent's defense with his own strength, then the idea of building a four-pitcher lineup around him will not work. Now James is no longer undefendable, and when opponents don't need to wrap him up, there will not be too good opportunities on the outside. One-star is a thing of the past.
A scout familiar with the Lakers: In the past period of time, my view of the Lakers has changed, but overall it has not changed much, I still believe in James, I believe that he can find a way to help the Lakers get through this. However, I don't think the upper limit of the Lakers is as high as we think. But at the same time, the rest of the Teams in the West are not as dominant. The Jazz came to the playoffs, and I don't think they could beat the Lakers in the series. Whether Murray can do well in the playoffs is a question mark, and the same is true for the Speedboat. Although the Lakers have a lot of problems now, and Wei Shao's run-in is also a problem, I believe james, he is the most problem-solving player in the history of the league. I'd be surprised if the Lakers make it to the final Western Conference Finals, but again, he's James.
A former NBA player: I have the impression that when you team James with a group of great players, even if the lineup doesn't seem to fit well, you can still achieve great results. I'm a Fan of Wei Shao, and I think he's a key part of the Lakers' winning formula. But so far this season, they haven't found the answer, which worries me a little. In general, 20 games is enough to determine the level and quality of a team. On both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, I saw the Lakers' obvious problems. Now that the rest of the league is no longer afraid of the Lakers, James may still be great, but it is impossible to continue in 98 games. If this Lakers team wants to succeed, it must make a big deal, and even need to trade Wei Shao. I think the Lakers have had the most of the second round in the playoffs this season.
In fact, at the beginning of the season, the biggest problem that Vogel faced was how to integrate Wei Shao into the Lakers' offensive system with Zhan Mei as the core. However, so far this season, the Lakers, whether it is offensive or proud of their defense, have not been able to get on the table. "This season because of the composition of our personnel and the way we execute the pack, it was difficult for us to limit the fast, long-range defenders. So, we reduced the clips in some of those rounds and the opposing players took advantage of that. We weren't strong enough on the rotation defense of the low defenders until we stopped the packs, and our defenders didn't do well enough on the packs. Lakers head coach Vogel said after today's game: "So, when both sides are not good, so back to the basic defensive strategy, and when facing pitchers like Lillard and McCollum, it's risky to do that, they find a little bit of form." By then we were behind and then we were trying to throw away the game. ”
"We're not going to make any excuses, it's not Lakers basketball, there's no excuse. We need to work harder, to stay energetic, to be humble. We're not the championship team we want to be right now and if we want to win, we have to be humble. As Howard said, down-to-earth, with the following dog stance doing their best, the Lakers are likely to bounce back in this year's regular season. The superstars are getting older, their status is declining, and they have lost their arrogant capital.
Sports Weekly all-media reporter Bai Qi