On July 28, Beijing time, after four quarters of fierce battle, the Lakers defeated the Wizards 123-116 without any danger, achieving two consecutive wins in the warm-up game. At this point, the team's three warm-up games ended, achieving a total of 2 wins and 1 loss, and their performance was pretty good.
Although the warm-up match is just a warm-up match, the victory or defeat is not important to the team, because the record will not be counted as the regular season record, but through the performance of the team in the game of these three warm-up matches, we can also see the team's status in recent times. Below, we will give a summary of the Lakers' three warm-up matches to see what aspects the team performed well and what aspects it needs to improve.
Depth lineup upgrade
When Bradley announced that it would not participate in the rematch stage, the outside world was somewhat worried about the depth of the Lakers' lineup. After all, without such an outside defensive core, the team will inevitably have an impact on their strength. However, in these three games, Waiters and JR Smith signed by the team before the rematch performed very well, filling the impact of Bradley's absence on the team. Although these two players cannot be compared with Bradley in their defensive performance, their singles and outside shooting provided great help to the team on the offensive end, especially in today's game against the Wizards, Waiters and JR Smith jointly scored 38 points. In the past two games, these two players also performed well.
Before the rematch, the Lakers' second team's weak offense has been plaguing the team. As Waiters and JR Smith gradually improve, the team's problems in this aspect have been solved, and the lineup depth has been greatly improved compared to before, which will help the team go further in playoffs .
James and Davis are in good shape this season, and the Lakers are incompetent in this season. They have become the team's most stable offensive and defensive strong points and defensive pillars. Although James and Davis only played 2 games in the three warm-up matches in the rematch stage, the team's overall offense will improve significantly when they are on the court, and they have always been in the lead in the score. Judging from their performance in the game, their condition is in good shape and gradually recovers to before withdrawing from the game, which is a very good signal for the team.
Cook is expected to play the playoff surprise
Cook. As a role player, he has not had a strong presence in the Lakers this season. He can only get 10.8 minutes of playing time per game, can score 4.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists, and his overall shooting percentage is only 43.9%. Compared with the performance of , the Warriors , he has not greatly helped the team in the game. However, in the three warm-up matches in the rematch stage, Cook was in very good shape. Today, facing the Wizards, he scored 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. In the previous two games, he scored 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists respectively. His overall shooting percentage was above 50%, and his condition was very good. Cook, who has 34 playoff experience in the past two seasons, is expected to be the surprise on the Lakers' bench this season, and his outside three-pointers and ball-holding breakthroughs can help the team when the team needs to score.
Kuzma's condition needs to be more stable
Kuzma is the third offensive core recognized by the Lakers. Vogel once expressed his hope that he can stand up in the playoffs and share the pressure from James and Davis on the offensive end. However, in the previous two warm-up games, Kuzma's condition fluctuated greatly, and his shooting feel was not stable enough. He made 4 three-pointers in a single quarter and scored 12 points, and he also missed consecutive shots.For the team, they need Kuzma to continue to provide the team with stable scores, and for Kuzma, he needs to make himself more stable and be able to perform continuously and efficiently in the game. If Kuzma can do it in the playoffs, then this will increase the team's probability of winning the championship.
