Opening match is about to begin, and the Lakers have another bad news. Lakers official announced that the team's other defender Dennis Schroder underwent right thumb surgery and was absent for 3-4 weeks.
Schroder is a player signed by the Lakers in the offseason with a one-year, $2.64 million contract. Unlike the last time he came to the Lakers, Schroder came with expectations. The outside world even hopes that he can replace Westbrook with Beverly .
In fact, Schroeder is not an incompetent defender. His poor performance in playing with the Lakers in the 21st season is because the Lakers gave him too heavy tasks. When James did not hold the ball, he ranked him the first pick-and-roll man with the ball. Although playoffs he could not end.
But there is no doubt that Schroder is still useful in the regular season, and the Lakers need him very much in the current situation, but it’s a pity that leaked and even he fell down. This time, the Lakers' opening game against Warriors' is even more "stretched".
Fortunately, Westbrook confirmed that he could play after passing the inspection. However, it is worth mentioning that there are still questions about whether Westbrook is still a substitute guard after Schroeder was injured.
In fact, because our lineup and the strength of the opponent are not matched, outside fans have no expectations for victory. As a result, the news that the fans "has ache" has come. The average static body measurement of the team in the new season of NBA has been released (weighted according to Pelton simulation playing time).
Obviously, this news has given Lakers fans a lot of impact.
Among them, the shortest average height belongs to the Lakers. The average height of the team is only 197.1cm, second to last in the league, second only to Trail Blazers .
This news gave Lakers fans a significant impact. You should know that the average height of the teams who successfully won the championship in the 20th season, especially the height of the ending lineup at critical moments, is definitely the forefront of the league, which also helps them always make contributions in defense at critical moments.
Results, in the past two years, after a series of continuous transactions, their average height has plummeted. The team's proud overall defense has also ranked among the low-level leagues. Even Vogel , which is best at coaching the defensive lineup, finds it difficult to train the "little guard" lineup last season.
After Vogel left the Lakers, no one expected that the Lakers, which suffered a big loss last season, had another "shortest" lineup after changing the head coach.
is even more serious in player rotation than this data, because many guards need to be played time and have a large rank, so there are often three small guards lineups. In the preseason, the Lakers have reproduced the lineup of "one James + four defenders".
can only be said that if you want to use this lineup to attack the defending champion Warriors, who have been "successful" recently, it is simply a rock-striking attack. If the Lakers really want to win, they can only find another way, such as re-adapting the tactics with Anthony Davis as the core, and the main advantage points will have a glimmer of hope. In the game against the Warriors, the Lakers can only use Anthony Davis as their absolute core.
As of now, many Lakers players, including LeBron James , have not performed particularly. Although the players' enthusiasm has increased, in fact, only Anthony Davis has truly played the advantage of the match. Dreaming of returning to his 20th season makes him very threatening to the offensive end.
Looking at the paper lineup between the Warriors and the Lakers and their preseason performance, it can be clearly seen that in the opening game against the Warriors, the Lakers' only reliance on Anthony Davis is.
However, fortunately, Davis himself was not concerned about this. Even though his performance in the preseason was average, he always had confidence in the team. He did not think that the team would be easily defeated when facing the Warriors and the Clippers . "We will face two strong contenders in the first two games. The Ring Night that can destroy the Warriors will be great. Our mentality is improving. We need to start the new season with several victories."
Let's not talk about whether Davis's words are "big talk". We can discuss whether the Lakers' advantage against the Warriors can lead the team to victory, such as whether Davis can completely break the Warriors' defense line, which is worth discussing.
In fact, Davis and the Warriors are also considered "old opponents". When the Lakers play against the Warriors, he will always become the most difficult position for the Warriors to deal with.
Judging from the use of Lakers Ham in preseason, Davis will become the main tactic on the court to initiate the central axis. He can use some of the weaknesses of Looney to create offensive opportunities through pick-and-roll. Davis can try mid- and long-distance jump shots, or assist teammates to shoot three-pointers.
Obviously, Davis' shooting level shown in the preseason has had a clear recovery twist.
In addition to shooting opportunities, Davis has other offensive methods. His back-to-body 1V1 singles can also be put into use in large quantities. Davis's back-to-body and face frame singles at the low post on the wing are very threatening. As long as he can block the offensive surface to form 1V1, for him, no matter whether the opponent is Looney or Wiseman , even Green is a good opportunity to decisively eat.
Of course, this kind of ball consumes more physical energy and will not become a conventional weapon of the Lakers. It will only be used when the team begins to fall into scoring difficulties.
So, since the Lakers already have points that the Warriors can hardly limit, they have a chance to win, not to mention that there is James in the team. Even though he is gradually getting old, his offensive experience is still sophisticated and his scoring ability cannot be underestimated.
For the Lakers, the most "headache" they face the Warriors is not offense, but defense. The Warriors are the best team in the league to attack. Over the years, they have directly beaten their opponents with super strong offenses countless times, and the team's core has also often "clocked in and got off work".
So, the opening game is undoubtedly a moment to test the Lakers' defense.
The Lakers' defense will change their strategy.
In fact, Ham is also a head coach who emphasizes the importance of defense very much.
Although at present, the Lakers' overall defense enthusiasm has increased, especially when the defense on the outside is removed, the awareness of assisting defense on the other side has increased (Beverley's strongest consciousness).
However, for a lineup like the Warriors with great space, they are the team that is least afraid of assisting defense. If the Lakers players complete assisting defense on the offensive breakthrough line, then the Warriors' pass will definitely be given an open position as soon as possible. With the Warriors' three-point accuracy, most of the chances are equivalent to scoring.
So, the Lakers' simple choice to use assisted defense to restrict their opponents is basically a "death of death" in the face of the Warriors.
As of now, the Lakers are short of manpower, insufficient height in the team, and numerous small defenders. Their solution must be simple and crude.
They must ensure that the players on the first line of defense have strong entanglement and cover ability, so as to ensure that the outside defense is at a very high level.
Even if the first line of defense is lost, it can limit the breaker to a smaller breakthrough range. In this way, Davis, who is in the inside, can play to his advantage of his defense coverage area, and while assisting in defense, he can use fast steps to move or height and wingspan to fill in time.
can only be said that the Lakers' current lineup has not reached such a perfect level, especially defense. Even if the rotation is emphasized, the disadvantage of the Lakers' team's insufficient average height is still difficult to hide.
Putting aside the Warriors' feel, the Lakers' strategy of wanting to win should be the most worth trying.
Now, the only thing I don’t know about Ham’s arrangement is that will Westbrook, who will lead the bench in the opening game? Or, can Westbrook, the substitute lineup, find himself back? The answers to these two questions
are obviously very important to the results of the competition.
In short, no matter how Ham arranges it, what the Lakers need to do is to win every game so as to leave a chance to enter the playoffs. In this process, Davis is obviously crucial and hopes that he can stay healthy for a long time.
