Seriously, judging from the current performance of the teams, we are beginning to doubt whether Lakers can still be crushed to become a championship like last season's playoffs.
is not just a "Big Three threat" formed by the Nets. Judging from the results of the regular season to the present, the Warriors who have gradually demonstrated their strength and tenacity are also an opponent worthy of attention.
Of course, what is more anticipated is the Clippers team will play what role this season?
There is no doubt that as the status of "Leonard + George" has become more and more colorful, their coveting for the championship throne has become more "blatant".
However, with the strength of the Lakers, I dare not say that they will be able to reach the top, let alone the strength of the Clippers has not reached the peak.
At least, their bench lineup is not commendable compared to the Warriors and Lakers.
In fact, for the Clippers, the lack of talent on the bench is a problem.
When the Warriors reversed the Clippers by 20 points, we thought the Clippers were "returning to the old", but when we found that the Warriors had reversed the "weak team killer" Lakers, we had to admit the Warriors' tenacity.
They are indeed a worthy opponent.
In admiration, we also need to analyze why the Warriors can repeatedly turn back these strong teams?
Actually,The answer is that their bench is very strong.
and this is clearly the “pain point” of the Clippers-Kennard averaged 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists; small Morris averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 per game Assists; Lu Wei averaged 9.3 points, 2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Objectively speaking, as the three most important players on the bench for the Clippers, these are not excellent statistics, at least not as good as Pascal of the Warriors and Harrell of the Lakers.
In this case, the Clippers always have the starting lineup to come up with 100% of the state to attack the opponent, otherwise, they will not have the capital to stalemate with the opponent when they are behind.
Obviously, the Clippers are also ranked in the forefront of the league in luxury tax this season, which means that their bench should not be so poor.
-In fact, Kennard, Morris, Lu Wei, Zubac , Reggie, Patterson, Mann and other players have their own characteristics.
So what went wrong?
We can only say that the Clippers have great hopes for Kennard, hoping that this highly efficient pitcher who can hold the ball offensively can guarantee scoring and then join the bench.
However, from the current point of view, Kennard has obviously not adapted to his role, the feel is neither stable nor sustainable, and there is no organizational achievement.
So,It seems that the Clippers are similar to the Lakers last season, and the introduction of a substitute point guard is imminent.
The Clippers need to reinforce quickly, and the Lakers are not yet at their peak.
This season, the Lakers' lineup has increased unabated compared to last season, but the Lakers this season does not seem to be defending.
-LeBron James averaged 23.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. The scoring is the lowest of his career except for his rookie season.
Anthony Davis has averaged 21.3 points and 9 rebounds this season. Both rebounds and scoring are the worst performance in the past three years.
Of course, their playing time has been greatly compressed this season is also the reason for the ugly data.
However, there are still problems with the Lakers lineup. It is an indisputable fact that it has not reached the peak. For example, in the game against the Warriors, Schroder had excellent data, but he made many mistakes in the game and became a breakthrough.
So, where the Lakers will go in the future is still unknown.
Of course, from what happened during the offseason, the Clippers have always wanted a point guard, but they have never been able to do so.
This season, the starting lineup Tylen Lue used Batum, Leonard, and Paul George to play the forward position in turn. I have to say that this effect is indeed It is clear.
-Paul George played his best since joining the Clippers, averaging 24.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, and can hit 4.1 three-pointers with 51% three-pointers.
- Kawhi Leonard averaged 24.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, and the number of assists was a career high.
There is no doubt that this season, the Clippers' starting lineup can play back and forth against any team, and even quickly take the lead when it feels explosive.
This is undoubtedly a strong point.
However, the bench lineup has a shortcoming to organize or distribute the ball. From the perspective of game performance, Kennard is more suitable to be a pitcher than an organizer.
Furthermore, Lu Wei's recent performance has the meaning of a "double-edged sword", always holding the ball and playing singles after playing, ultimately hurting the team.
So, the Clippers themselves want to start a shift in personnel structure.
——The New Orleans Pelicans currently have a poor record, and the team's point guard Ronzo Ball has performed well, so the team has the idea of sending him away.
According to senior media person Brandon Robinson, many teams are interested in Ball and have asked the Pelicans about his trading offer. Currently, the Clippers, Knicks , Raptors, Mavericks, Magic and other five teams are interested in Ball.
In addition, it is reported that the Pelicans are not very satisfied with Ball's performance in the past more than a season and believe that he is not eligible to sign a maximum salary extension contract.
-Since the new season, Ball has averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. His performance is average, and his assists have reached a 4-year career low.
However,It's hard to say that this is not because Ingram started to transform. Nowadays, in the Pelicans, Ingram has a lot of the ball as the offensive initiator, and Zion has become the offensive terminator, and Ball's position is more embarrassing.
So, if the Clippers can use some bargaining chips to deal with Ball, who has a good overall view and is good at organizing series, it must be different.
Maybe, they will be like the Lakers last season. After getting a point guard series blessing, the starting lineup and the bench lineup will become easier to score.
At that time, they have the ability to chase the final championship trophy.
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