Last offseason, the pressure of the first round of the playoffs + the Nets' big three forced the Lakers management to make drastic changes to the existing lineup; because if there are still small repairs around the "Zhan Mei combination", then even if the Lakers can finally rush out of the West smoothly, it will be difficult to win the championship trophy from the Nets, Bucks and other teams.
In the end, the Lakers management, who was eager to introduce the third big man for the team, in the case of the possibility of getting DeRozan or Hield, chose Wei Shao, who did not look like his own system and playing style, and formed a "Zhan Wei mei" super big three combination to launch an impact on the championship...
Sitting on the big three but can not play the expected dominance, Wei Shao always "back the pot" for the team to lose?
After the Lakers forcibly formed the "Zhan Wei Mei" super big three, they naturally became one of the teams most likely to rush out of the West and the most likely to win the championship in the eyes of the outside world. After all, in the 19-20 season, with the combination of "James + thick eyebrows", the Lakers can win the championship trophy, there is no reason to introduce Westbrook, the team's strength does not advance and retreat.
But after most of the season, the Lakers did not play dominance. They can lose to championship-fighting teams like the Warriors, Suns, Bucks, and Nets, or they can lose to weak teams like the Thunder, Timberwolves, and Spurs, and it seems that there is no certainty of winning against strong teams or weak teams.
In the end, in the context of the Lakers' failure to find the right way to win and the Big Three failed to play the chemistry as desired, they fell out of the top eight in the West. And so far, the team has only finished ninth in the West with 26 wins and 30 losses...
While the Lakers' big three can't play dominance and the team's record does not meet expectations, Wei Shao has become the "back pot bearer" of the team's loss. After all, from the overall data alone, James 29.1 points, 7.7 boards, 6.5 assists, 52.6% shooting percentage performance, 37 years old has this performance is good enough; and thick eyebrows 23.5 points, 10.0 board 2.9 assists, 53.7% shooting rate, because the impact of injuries is not particularly serious.
Ke Wei Shao's personal performance from an average triple-double last season has slipped to 18.3 points, 7.8 boards and 7.6 assists, 43.5% shooting percentage, coupled with his inefficiency on the defensive end, and finally naturally became the "back cooker" of the team's loss.
There are even some fans who believe that as long as they trade Wei Shao, or do not let Wei Shao play at a critical moment, then the Lakers can regain their dominance and play a championship-level strength...
Without Westbrook, "James + Thick Eyebrows" teamed up but lost to the remnants of the Blazers?
After the Lakers' crushing defeat to the Bucks, they thought they could face a big win against the Blazers. After all, the current Blazers double gun is no longer there - Lillard retired, McCrom was traded; according to the superficial strength and lineup advantages, today's Blazers can not pose any threat to the Lakers, especially in the case of the Lakers' "team tumor" Wei Shao did not play...
But even if the Lakers have the blessing of the two superstars James + thick eyebrows, they have no advantage in the other three quarters of the game except for the second quarter to end the half with a 36-29 advantage, and the Lakers cannot take advantage of any advantage in the other three quarters of the game against the remnants of the Blazers.
Although James shot 13 of 22 in this game, he shot 30 points, 7 boards and 7 assists, but under the play of Anfine Simmons with 29 points and Nurkic with 19 points and 12 boards, the Lakers finally lost the game to the Blazers 105-107.
If the Lakers lose to the Warriors, Bucks and other championship-level teams today, the outside world will not be much of a surprise; even if they lose to teams like the Timberwolves and Kings, it will not be surprising. But at present, this Blazers have become the bottom team in the league without the blessing of Lillard and McClem - the paper lineup + real strength is close to the top signing.
Paper lineup: Simmons 3.94 million, Nurkic 12 million, McLemo 2.39 million, Winslow 3.9 million, Ellerby 1.52 million, plus four people on the bench, the Lakers with James + thick eyebrows, facing the Blazers' total salary (nine players on the game) is only $35.71 million.
True strength: After losing Lillard and McCallum, the current Blazers team actually have no one who can average more than 20 points per game. And this also means that the current Blazers do not even have an All-Star level of immediate combat power...
After thinking that there was no Wei Shao "dragging his legs", with James + thick eyebrows, he could lead the Lakers to easily defeat the remnant Blazers. Unexpectedly, after Wei Shao's absence, the Lakers still failed to play their due dominance, but were "scorched" by the remnant pioneers.
And from this game, it can also be seen that the problem of the Lakers in the new season is not only in Wei Shao; blindly blaming Wei Shao for "pulling crotch" caused the team to not be able to play dominance, but only "covering his ears and stealing bells".
If you don't face up to your own flaws, the Next Lakers may not even be able to enter the playoffs
1, paper paste defense, is the lakers can not play the key to dominance. In the 19-20 season, the reason why the Lakers were able to win the first record + championship in the West under the leadership of "James + Thick Eyebrows" and the team built a good defensive system around thick eyebrows is extremely critical.
After all, the Lakers don't rely on offensive firepower to win, and they can only win most games if they play an advantage on the defensive end.
So far in the new season, although the thick eyebrows with long arms still have good defensive ability, westbrook, Munch, Bradley, Ellington, and even James, Ariza and other players who have played a good defensive efficiency in the outside line, they are almost unable to provide high-quality defense for the team.
When the overall defensive strength of the team is weak, often misses defense, and is passed by one step, even if the defensive ability of the thick eyebrow is strong, one person cannot support the defense of a team, and even hit his enthusiasm. Therefore, if the defensive problems cannot be solved in time, it is difficult for the Lakers to have the opportunity for "qualitative change" in the new season.
2, too many mistakes, resulting in the Lakers always drop the chain at key moments. In the Lakers vs Trail Blazers game, in addition to the Lakers' poor defensive performance and the efficient 29 points for Simmons, too many mistakes are also one of the key reasons that restrict their difficulty in winning.
Originally, judging by the average of 4.1 mistakes per game in the season, the problem of too many mistakes on the part of the Lakers as a whole has always been his back. Who ever wanted to digest more of the ball in this game after Wei Shao's absence, James and Munch, who digested more balls, had 6 and 5 mistakes respectively, plus Bradley 3 times and Tucker 4 times, and finally the Lakers' overall total number of mistakes was 21 times.
After the Blazers did not have the blessing of Lillard and McClem, although the offensive firepower was far less than before, they only had 11 mistakes in this game, almost half of the Lakers' entire team. This has led to the Lakers, who were originally superior in firepower, because of too many overall mistakes, but fell behind.
3, the overall lineup lost its mood and did not have a little vitality. In order to build the "Zhan Weimei" big three lineup in the offseason last year, it eventually led to insufficient salary space for the team, and the Lakers management could only helplessly introduce some veteran players. So from the Lakers' current lineup: Anthony (37), James (37), Ariza (36), Howard (35), Jordan Jr. (33), Ellington (33), Bazemore (32), Westbrook (32), Thick Brow (28).
Their main lineup is almost the oldest in the league, and this also means that it is difficult for the Lakers to play a "vibrant, passionate" rhythm at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends of the new season.
In addition, the loss of most of the month seems to have made the Lakers lose the heart of the championship team. Nowadays, no matter whether it is facing a strong team or a weak team, as long as it is behind a certain number of points, even if there is still a possibility of winning, the Lakers seem to have no willingness to chase points.
In summary, from the perspective of Wei Shao's absence from the Lakers' still losing to the remnants of the Blazers, the reason why the Lakers have been unable to play dominance in the new season is not just because Wei Shao is alone.
If the follow-up Lakers still do not pay attention to their own flaws, blindly throw the "pot of loss" to Wei Shao, and let the "lack of defensive intensity", "the overall number of mistakes" and "no morale, no vitality" these defects are ignored, then the Lakers will not say that they still want to win the championship, and they may currently rank ninth in the West, and they can't even enter the playoffs...