The key battle between the Lakers and the Suns, the Purple and Gold Army, which fought backwater and away, actually only resisted half a game, and yibian and then after the battle, the Sun's 12-0 offensive climax directly pulled the score apart, making the game lose suspense. After being humiliated by Paul, one of the banana boat brothers, who was humiliated by seven consecutive defeats and kicked out of the play-offs, James's face was full of loneliness, and the act of embracing the old cannon to greet him was more like a helpless compromise at the moment.
From Russell Westbrook, who found a wanderer in the offseason, who once led the league in odds for winning the championship, to only 4 outrageous wins after the All-Star Game, and finally ended the 2021-22 season with an almost embarrassing posture, how did this Sunset Red Galaxy battleship, which gathered five Hall of Fame level players (counting 6 if you count Long's guidance), sink? This article will give the answer, a detailed count of the Lakers' seven deadly sins this season!
The First Crime: The Death of Sickness
This is also a major reason why it is generally believed that the Galactic Battleship is tiger-tailed and floating on the surface. The "360 combination" of James, Davis and Westbrook, which has high hopes, has played only 21 games together throughout the season. It looks only a little better than the Lakers' 2012-13 formation of Kobe, Nash, Howard, and Gasol 'second-generation F4' who were on the floor for just 286 minutes at the same time.
Under the lack of major generals, it is naturally impossible to speed up the new lineup, so until the end of the season, "if the big three remain healthy, what height can the Lakers reach" is still a false proposition. Don't forget that the Lakers gave the precious mini-midclass to Nunn, an important rotation who played well as a starting point guard for the Heat, who has not been on the court for even a minute this season. In order to cope with the ensuing injuries, the Lakers have lined up a total of 39 completely different starting lineups. For such an ending, there is only one sigh.
The second sin is a foreshadowing of bad reinforcements
Why is there such a serious injury? A big part of that is due to poor signings in the offseason. DeMar DeRozan, who had taken the initiative to show favor, withdrew from the situation that the deal negotiations with Barde Hield were almost finalized, and finally chose Westbrook, an expensive number one position that was incompatible with James.
Whether DeRozan and Hield can help the Lakers win the championship I don't know, but at least it won't be worse than it is now. At least Wei Shao did not play a role in sharing the pressure for Zhan Mei and the two of them, which indirectly led to the injuries of the two cores, even if Wei Shao only missed one game like an iron man, he still could not reverse the fact that he almost lost his own value.
Not to mention that the clear-eyed people can see that the Lakers need a front line that can be defended enough, and as a result, the team once signed 9 defenders, and there are more than two tables of mahjong, and such a reinforcement is really not enough to lose.
The third crime The locker room is constantly paced
As long as you can win, a lot of problems are not problems, but if you can't win, then a lot of problems will follow. The Lakers' off-court rhythm this season has been continuous, and the impact on the psychology and state of the players is obvious.
From the thick eyebrow brother and Howard on the bench to the Wargar and Wei Shao almost clearly fighting each other, in addition to the melon for Wei Shao to say good things, the result of the latter's "family first" directly angered melon and no longer talk about Wei Shao, a series of rhythms in the city of angels under the magnesium lamp was infinitely amplified. I believe that after the end of the season and the turmoil of the Lakers, more things will be exposed to the public.
The Fourth Deadly Sin Is Arrogance and Stubbornness
It is difficult to explain why Joe Vogel, who has previously been criticized for his unusual obsession with the twin towers, will become an epic five-squad obsessive enthusiast this season, even if the team always puts on the "Death Five" as if it is launching a suicide charge - is it not good to trust Howard early and give Master Huo more playing time?
The only explanation is that although the Lakers are good, the whole team exudes a kind of incredible self-confidence. They still see themselves as the winners of the 17th O'Brien Cup in franchise history in the Orlando campus in 2019-20, but they don't realize that they only made their first round last season and are struggling with a ticket to a play-off this season. Not long ago, the thick eyebrow brother also contemptuously said that "last season the sun was lucky, if I am healthy Lakers will definitely put them up", he also paid the price for his arrogance, riveted Booker and Ayton did not hesitate to take a break, recuperation to beat the Lakers, it is also considered to be benevolent.
Lakers star James Worthy said the Lakers have won at least 7-11 fewer games this season, in large part because they lack the belief that they must win, and the narrow road meets the brave to win. The Lakers lie on the 2020 credit book, their desire for victory is not as good as others, and they have finally paid a heavy price for it.
The Fifth Deadly Sins James's Changing Mindset
Mid-season and when the All-Star Weekend just returned, it was clear that James wanted to come up with the "all-out" model to carry the team. But in the game against the Timberwolves, after reducing the proportion of the conversion offense and putting more physical strength and energy into the defensive end, Zhan found himself based on defense, and he could not lead the team to win with only 19 points, and he was a bit self-indulgent.
After all, if you fight for the last train of the playoffs to fight for an illusory playoff ticket, where is the "4+1+1" plan that has left a strong mark in the history of the NBA? The attitude of the main player is like this, the brothers below naturally have a similar model, and the Lakers completely collapse on the defensive end.
The same is true on the offensive end, the starting lineup of Master Huo's range is limited, the thick eyebrow brother long-range shooting is seriously declining, wei shao's zombie jump shot is well-known, there are three space black holes in the starting lineup, there is also an "Iron King" small Tucker in the main rotation, one star and four shots have become one star and four iron, and the thirty-year-old man incarnates into a heavy 3D. As a refined egoist, James's mentality inevitably changes, which is also a common human feeling.
The sixth sin is the loss of the housepiece
Vogel, a defensive coach, did not understand and recognized the offensive end of the tuning, and as a result, he led the team to play the 22nd place in the league's defensive efficiency value. But vogel also has a reason, what kind of people did I bring with me in the year of winning the championship, it was Caruso, Pop, Danny Green, Kuzma, Big Morris, where are these old brothers now? Without exception, they were all sent away by management.
Defensive ends can contribute a little bit to Bradley, who is two years older than the championship season, and Stanley Johnson, who is on the bottom salary. The dying Ariza and Bazemore proved to be in a difficult position. The idea is very full, but the truth is very bone. Unfortunately, the Lakers realized it too late.
The Seventh Crime Nepotism
For the chaos of the Lakers management is not clear in three words, from the situation this season, Jenny Bass and her girlfriends are a faction, James and the coaching team, players are a faction, Pelinka is a faction of its own, between several factions on why the introduction of Wei Shao, the trade deadline before the military, different statements, it can be seen that the contradiction has been made public.
In fact, Jenny's girlfriend and friend, Mr. and Mrs. Lambis, have long been infamous, and have reached the point where everyone shouts and beats in New York. What level can a guy who can bring out 28.4% of the regular season record when he is a head coach? Jenny Bass treats her girlfriends as guests, and the result is the team's endless internal friction and chaos. In the 2019-20 season, there are still magicians who blew themselves up in exchange for the Lakers getting on the right track, and no celebrity is willing to go down this muddy water this season. The script of "Logo Man" Jerry West and the Lakers is still fresh in my mind, and I really don't know how many celebrities and purple and gold legions will draw a line in this way.
These seven deadly sins are like a sharp blade piercing the decaying skin of the Lakers, showing the internal festering in full view. In your opinion, which of the seven deadly sins is the original sin? What else is there that hasn't been mentioned?