This game is very critical for both teams, because they are currently competing for the play-off spots, so James and Davis will return to the line of fire today. Unfortunately, they failed to help the team win in the end.

Beijing time on April 2nd, the NBA regular season continued. Today the Lakers lost to the Pelicans 111-114 at home, suffering a five-game losing streak. This game is very crucial for these two teams, because they are currently competing for the play-off spots, so James and Davis will return to action today. Unfortunately, they still failed to help the team win in the end. victory.

James' performance in this campaign was still outstanding. He made 13 of 23 shots, 3 of 8 three-pointers, and scored 38 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. What's more worth mentioning is that in the third quarter, James scored 21 points on his own, breaking his single-quarter scoring record this season. But whether the game can be won or not ultimately depends on defense. There was no problem with the Lakers' offense today, but they also couldn't guard their opponents. Let's talk about it, the Pelicans' offensive ability can only be regarded as the league's mid-to-lower level (20th in the league in points per game), but the Lakers still allowed them to score 114 points in four quarters. This is the main reason for the loss.

In the post-game interview, James admitted that his ankle injury has not yet healed. If this game was not too important, he would not choose to come back at all. James said to the media: "The pain in my ankle is very strong now, and the start time of the next game is very close. I hope my ankle can be properly treated." According to the schedule, the Lakers will be in At 3:30 am on April 4th, Beijing time, they will face Nuggets at home.

Davis has just returned. Although his movement speed has not fully recovered, he still scored 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists today, with a plus-minus of +4, ranking second on the team. In the post-match interview, thick eyebrow also talked about his physical condition. He said: "I feel pretty good overall, but I still felt some pain in the last 4 minutes, but before that I felt very good. "Okay." This is actually reasonable. After all, today is Davis's first game back. Vogel made him fight fiercely for 36 minutes, and his body will inevitably feel a little uncomfortable.

As the third giant of the team, Westbrook's performance today was really unsatisfactory. Although he scored 8 points in a row in the final quarter, he only scored 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the whole game. In addition, there were 6 fouls, plus-minus value of -12, ranking last on the team. This game also proved one thing once again. Westbrook and James must be used separately. Once you let Westbrook play without the ball, it is better not to let him play.

In addition to the worrying physical conditions of James and Davis, the Lakers also received two pieces of bad news. First of all, after losing this game, the Lakers are one win away from the Spurs, who are tenth in the Western Conference, and three wins away from the Pelicans, who are ninth in the Western Conference. It is almost impossible to catch up. Secondly, 4 of the remaining 5 games of the Lakers need to face the top six teams in the Western Conference, namely the Nuggets, Suns , Warriors, Thunder , and Nuggets (two meetings). Looking back at the Spurs, although their schedule is not easy, they need to face the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Warriors, Mavericks, but you can't rule out the possibility that some teams want to play the Lakers. After all, compared to the Spurs, competitors are less willing to see the Lakers enter the playoffs.

In addition, Vogel’s employment in this game also caused a lot of controversy from the outside world, including the complete abandonment of Reeves and Tucker Jr. In response to this, Vogel responded in the post-game interview: "This is already a playoff game for us, so I have to field a lineup that I think can win." To be honest, We can still understand the abandonment of Tucker Jr., but why are even Reeves abandoned? You must know that his efficiency in partnering with James is quite high. He has been the team's surprise player many times this season. There is absolutely no reason to abandon him!