Since the opening game of the regular season, Lakers lost five games in one go. The most embarrassing thing is that the Purple and Gold Legion was once the only team in the league that has never won the ball. Everyone is curious about when the Lakers will win the first season. The answer is - after a full 13 days, on the last game day in October, facing the powerful Denver Nuggets , the Lakers finally won!
In this game, the Lakers team played the performance they expected. Even in terms of three-point shooting, the 43.3% long shot shooting rate exceeded everyone's expectations. A total of 5 players in the team scored in double digits, James 26 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Davis 23 points and 15 rebounds, Lonnie Walker 18 points and 5 rebounds, Westbrook 218 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, Reeves hit 2 three-pointers, contributing 10 points. 121 points set the Lakers' single-game scoring record this season. In addition to the offensive end, their performance on the defensive end is also remarkable. They once defended , Nuggets, for 24 seconds to violate the rules. This performance is eye-catching.
Here I would like to highlight Russell Westbrook . This game is Westbrook's second regular season game as a substitute this season. Although he contributed 18 points like the previous game, his efficiency has improved by more than a little bit compared to the previous game with Timberwolves . In the last game, Westbrook used 17 shots, and only 12 shots were used in this game. Westbrook, who regained his shooting feeling, even played a three-pointer match on the court. After hitting a three-pointer, he also celebrated and talked to the Nuggets bench. It can be seen that this former MVP has regained his former confidence in this game.
data will not lie. In the game against the Nuggets, Westbrook hit all the free throw lines four times, with amazing efficiency; his personal positive and negative value is as high as +18, the highest in the game. When he left the court, the Lakers' positive and negative value on the court was only -16, which means he lost to the Nuggets by 16 points. Therefore, Westbrook's influence on this game can be seen.
Seeing Westbrook recovering his form and performing well, not only Lakers fans were happy for him, but even Westbrook seemed to have reached a settlement with him. If the corner of the mouth that celebrated the Nuggets' bench after hitting a three-pointer was just emotional restraint, deep constraint, deep merit and fame; then in the fourth quarter, facing the defense of Murray , forcing the middle to break through and cleverly pick a basket and hit a basket with one hand is a complete emotional vent. Faced with the cheers of home fans, Westbrook could finally laugh unscrupulously and proudly. The right hand of the hit basket greeted the fans on the scene to make the cheers more enthusiastic. He enjoyed the feeling of star-studded at that moment. How long has it been since Westbrook been so happy?
The Lakers' first victory was hard-won. More importantly, from this victory, they can find what successful experiences can be reproduced and bring these experiences to subsequent games. It is worthy of recognition that head coach Davin Ham seems to have found the instruction manual for James and Westbrook to play at the same time: that is, try to stagger the playing time of the two people to ensure that there is always on the court and only one big core holding the ball is most of the time. Even when Zhan Wei was on the court at the same time, he tried to increase Westbrook's possession ratio.
Previously, Westbrook was unwilling to serve as a substitute, and such a staggered trip could only be a delusion - now, Westbrook, who was proud in the past, is willing to accept reality and cooperate actively, and the Lakers have seen the possibility of the 360 combination exerting its true strength. In your opinion, is the Lakers' winning awesome or a flash in the pan? Can Westbrook's highlight performance last?
