Lakers has a current record of 29 wins and 29 losses. James returned to 6 games with 3 wins and 3 losses, with a winning rate of just 50%. He is still 1 win away from the Kings of the Ninth in the West and 2.5 wins away from the eighth in the West. On February 22, the Kings made it clear that their goal this season is to compete for the playoffs . Team leader Buddy Hilder is even more joking about losing property if he does not enter the playoffs. On page 23, the Clippers officially stated that they will strive for the playoffs this season, and the main players will not rest. In other words, the Lakers are quite difficult to compete for the playoffs this season. The Lakers with James are likely to miss the playoffs. On February 23, Sports Illustrated interviewed David Griffin, the general manager of the Cavaliers team, and the Lakers management was even more disgraced from Griffin's interview.
According to an interview with Sports Illustrated reporter Michael Shapiro, former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin clearly stated in the interview: "With LeBron James team, if you don't win the NBA championship, you will fail." We all know that James has led the team to the finals in the past eight years and won three championships, which means that Griffin believes that 5 times are considered a failure. Last season, James He almost led the team to the finals with his own strength, and in the finals G1, he almost pulled out his teeth. If it weren't for the George Hill, , the key free throw, JR-Smith, , the Cavaliers might have hope of defeating the Warriors, because James would not smash the tactical board after the game, causing his hand to break. Griffin's remarks actually satirized the Cavaliers' operation last season. He believed that the traded Clarkson, , Hood, and Nance could not help James win the championship.
David Griffin said in an interview: LeBron James' pressure is not just the playoffs, his goal is to win the championship every year, which has nothing to do with whether he has dominance. It is normal for James to dominate the playoffs, but his goal is to win the championship. Later, Griffin used New York Yankees (baseball) to give an example to finally concluded that LeBron James's team failed if he didn't win the championship. Did David Griffin's words hit the hearts of the Lakers' management? The Cavaliers at least helped James form a lineup to enter the finals, and they can enter the finals with James's strength, and even have the hope of defeating the strongest Warriors in the finals, but what about the Lakers?
Lakers' team building ideas were once again pushed to the forefront. The operation of Magic Johnson is almost a failure. On the one hand, he wants to retain young players. Because James was 34 years old when he came to the Lakers, he was afraid that James would decline, so he was unwilling to use Ingram, Kuzma and others to stumble in the summer of 2018. As a result, after entering the season, he found that Ingram, Kuzma, Ball and others did not grow as fast as he imagined. He decided to use them to stumble Anthony Davis, but the Pelicans refused because these young people were not strong and it was difficult to compete with Green Kai's bargaining chips. After these two key transactions failed, James was already in a state of isolation.
James is almost 35 years old in 2019. He still averages 27+8+7+1.3+0.6 per game, but the Magicians did not configure James with stable pitchers in accordance with the Cavaliers. In the summer of 2018, they signed Rondo, Stephenson, Beasley , and McGee . Pope, who renewed his contract, is the only player who is good at three-pointers. He finally got Reggie Brockh before the transaction deadline. tml4 and Muscala are two players who can open up space, but it is obviously too late. In the summer of 2018, JJ-Redick was very close to the Lakers, but Magic Johnson gave up him. The most annoying thing is that Magic gave up Brock Lopez, a 7-foot-long man who can open up space and protect the frame. Simply put, if the Lakers replicate the Cavaliers' one-star multi-shooting lineup, the Lakers' lower limits are the top five or even the top three in the West, but Magic Johnson thought it too simply, which eventually led to the difficulties and dangers in entering the playoffs.
If a team with James cannot enter the finals is a failure, then if the Lakers fail to enter the playoffs this season, it will be a complete defeat. The Lakers' management and coaching staff should have blood exchanges, wasting James's peak for a year in vain. This is a huge loss to the league. Can fans imagine a playoff without James? Who will guarantee the league's ratings? Magic Johnson's operation president is likely to end this summer. It's better to let David Griffin do this position, after all, he is still James' close friend.
text/Yan Xiaobai
