On February 20, one day before the trade deadline, the Lakers finally completed a final deal. They traded veteran Steve Blake to the Warriors for Kent Bazemore and Marshon Brooks.
The Warriors sent away Jack last year, so they need a point guard with certain organizational skills; and since the Lakers have Zhang Guan, Blake no longer has much value, so it is better to try their luck with two young people, and these two Everyone has a basic salary, which can reduce the Lakers' total salary.
This trade was a one-for-two, so the Lakers had more than 15 people. So before the trade deadline, the Lakers announced that they had waived striker Sean Williams. Sean Williams has been out of position this season. He was doing part-time work for the Lakers, but he also made a starting appearance, and was then waived by the Lakers. Not long ago, he just signed a 10-day short contract with the Lakers. According to NBA rules, if Sean Williams has not been waived by the Lakers before the trade deadline, he will be able to stay until the end of the season. However, this one-for-two deal allowed Sean Williams to return to the Development League again.
After the deal ended, the Lakers received another good news. Meeks and Farmar have recovered from their injuries and can play. The return of these two people has basically allowed the Lakers to survive this wave of injuries. Currently, the Lakers only have three injured players, Kobe, Nash and Nick Young.
The return of Meeks and Farmar has made the Lakers' perimeter look a bit bloated. The one who will be most affected is definitely Marshall. His playing time will inevitably be greatly reduced, and he needs to compete with Farmar for position.
Meeks returned to the starting lineup and formed the Lakers' backcourt with Zhang Guan.
Compared with last season, Meeks has made great progress this season, and all statistics have reached career highs. Since Kobe was injured, Meeks has replaced Kobe and became the Lakers' first choice. Starting shooting guard. With an average of 15 points per game and a three-point shooting percentage of over 40%, he became the second-leading scorer behind Gasol in the Lakers' starting lineup.
The current Lakers' starting lineup has become Kaman, Gasol, Wesley Johnson, Meeks and Zhang Guan. On the surface, although it is not as good as those so-called Big Three, in the entire league, It can be considered an upper mid-range level.
On the bench, Jordan Hill, Farmar, Marshall, Bazemore and Ryan Kelly are all available. If Nick Young returns, the Lakers can also gather a bunch of "bench bandits" ".
…
On February 21st, the Rockets defeated the Boston Celtics without a fight at home.
At the end of last season, the Celtics traded Garnett, Pierce and Terry to the Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace, Humphries, three first-round picks and two other players. role player.
Ken wants first-round picks, and there are three of them. This shows that the Celtics have officially ended the era of the Big Three and entered the stage of reconstruction. This season, the Celtics' leading scorer has become Jeff Green. As for Rondo, he has shown a glassy attitude. He has not played a full game for four consecutive seasons, and he has played fewer games each season. He only played 38 games last season and is also injured this season. Stop, it will be even worse next season.
At the same time, the Celtics are also suffering from injuries. The team's second-leading scorer Bradley and third-leading scorer Jordan Crawford are now injured.
The Celtics' current record is 19 wins and 36 losses, third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, only slightly better than the 76ers and Bucks. Such a team is used to losing, so when facing the Lakers on the road, they surrendered after a symbolic resistance.
Then on February 23, the Lakers defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
Before the start of the season, many teams had high hopes for the Nets, because the Nets' lineup looks very strong.
Center Brook Lopez, power forward Garnett, small forward Pierce, shooting guard Joe Johnson, and point guard Deron Williams are simply an All-Star lineup, and there are several All-Stars. ’s debut.
On the bench, the Nets also have Terry, Kirilenko, Thornton, Blatche, Livingston and others, all of whom are well-known outstanding players in the NBA.
But the Nets' current record is very disappointing, with only 25 wins and 28 losses, less than half the winning rate, and they are still in the Eastern Conference. A team with this kind of record in the Eastern Conference would definitely be at the bottom if placed in the more competitive Western Conference.
The Nets visited Los Angeles today, and the personnel was not uniform. Lopez, Garnett and Terry all stayed in Boston due to injuries. The Celtics could only use first-year freshman Plumlee and aging base. Lilenko, the starting partner inside.
As a result, the combination of Gasol and Kaman easily destroyed the Nets' inside line. Although Deron Williams scored 30 points and Paul Pierce also scored 25 points, they ultimately lost the game.
Zhang Guan led the Lakers to a six-game winning streak at home, and immediately afterwards, the Lakers flew to Indianapolis to challenge the Indiana Pacers, who were in the spotlight in the East.
The current Pacers have 42 wins and 13 losses, beating the Miami Heat, which has the Big Three, and are first in the Eastern Conference. In the entire league, this record is second only to the Thunder.
Last season, the Pacers already showed the strength of a championship team. In the playoffs, the Pacers lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. This year, the Pacers' lineup has been slightly strengthened compared to last season. Paul George and second-rate Stephenson also played the best data. At least in the regular season, the Pacers are better than last season.
On February 25th local time in the United States, the Pacers faced the Rockets at home.
Pacers head coach Frank Korver stood on the sidelines with helplessness on his face.
The game has entered the last five minutes. The current score between the two sides is 114 to 109, with the Pacers lagging behind.
A 5-point gap is nothing in the NBA. Not to mention the five minutes left in the game, even the last minute of the game, there is a chance to catch up. But what worries Coach Korver is the Lakers' current scoring ability.
Zhang Guan has scored 30 points, which is not a high number for Zhang Guan. Gasol scored 15 points and Meeks 13 points. This was considered a relatively standard performance by the two.
But a guy named Bazemore on the Lakers bench scored 25 points. What's going on? The key Bazemore also grabbed five rebounds, sent three steals, and added four assists.
The Lakers already had Zhang Guan and Gasol, but here comes another guy who scores 20+ points, can defend and assist, and this suddenly becomes the "Big Three" model! And the balance of victory began to tilt toward the Lakers.
As a coach, the last thing Korver wants to see is this kind of situation. A player who looks at the water cooler suddenly appears out of nowhere, but plays at a star level. The entire team's offensive and defensive deployment also changes. will change as a result.
Bazemore participated in the 2012 NBA draft, but was not selected. Later, he signed a two-year minimum salary with the Warriors, then watched the water cooler for two years, and was traded to the Lakers not long ago.
The Warriors have a good eye for selecting rookies. Curry, Thompson, and Green all later became superstars. It's just that in the Warriors, it's very difficult for newcomers, especially outside players, to get promoted. The Warriors have never been short of outside players, and the team won't have many opportunities for newcomers. Just like Jeremy Lin back then, although he had The ability to play, but not the playing time.
Bazemore is also such a player. He is good enough to play in the game, but in the Warriors, he has too many competitors, so he can only get limited playing time. Naturally, he can't play. Not good data. In the Warriors, he was even called the cheerleader. After coming to the Lakers, he was once considered to compete with Sacre for the title of "Towel Man."
When he came to the Lakers, Bazemore seized the opportunity. Before Nick Young came back, Bazemore was the second choice as a substitute at the back, second only to Farmar. He averaged at least ten points per game. A few minutes of screen time. For a capable player, ten minutes is enough for them to prove themselves.
In this game against the Pacers, Bazemore proved himself with his strength. He came off the bench and made continuous wing breakthroughs to draw fouls, which achieved very good results. The Pacers' substitute center Mahinmi, As a result, he sat on the bench for a long time, which relieved a lot of pressure on the Lakers' bench.
Historically, Bazemore also made his mark with the Lakers. At least he went from a fringe player who could be waived at any time to a guaranteed rotation player, and even later became a starter for the Hawks. After receiving a four-year, $70 million contract, he became a model of counterattack for losers in the NBA.
In this game, Bazemore became the Lakers' surprise player. His sudden burst caught the Pacers off guard. The Lakers defeated the Pacers 127-118. Bazemore became famous in one battle.
…
The Lakers' next game will be in Memphis, where they will challenge the Grizzlies away from home.
The Grizzlies have been a strong team in the Western Conference since the Black Eight Miracle, and they even reached the Western Conference Finals last year. The current Grizzlies have a record of 31 wins and 24 losses, which is considered relatively good, but in the fiercely competitive Western Conference, they can only rank seventh.
The Grizzlies are one of the best defensive teams in the league and one of the worst at shooting three-pointers. The Grizzlies have only attempted a measly 14 three-pointers this season, ranking last in the league. In comparison, the Warriors, who are good at three-pointers, average 24.8 three-pointers per game, while the Rockets average 26.6 three-pointers per game. The Lakers under D'Antoni's coaching also averaged 24.8 three-pointers per game, which is the same as the Warriors.
Therefore, the Grizzlies are the kind of team that is very afraid of confrontation with the opponent, because the three-point shooting is so bad, they will definitely lose in the confrontation. And as long as the opponent's touch gets better and the three-pointers fly, the Grizzlies will definitely lose. For the Grizzlies, it is very important to limit the opponent's score to less than 100 points.
In the games the Grizzlies have lost this season, the Grizzlies have basically scored less than 100 points, while their opponents have scored more than 100 points. It's normal to not score 100 points in a game. They averaged only 96.1 points per game. But if you allow your opponent to score more than 100 points, you are not far away from losing.
The Lakers obviously started on offense. D'Antoni is a master of running and gunning, and his requirements for defense are not very demanding. The arrival of Zhang Guan has greatly strengthened the Lakers' offense. The current Lakers are like a sharp spear.
The Grizzlies are obviously a strong shield, and the contest between the Lakers and the Grizzlies has also become a competition between spears and shields.
…
Facing the Grizzlies, the Lakers were determined to score the first three points. Except for Gasol, the starting players can basically shoot three-pointers and never two-pointers.
Under the leadership of Zhang Guan, Meeks, Wesley Johnson and Bazemore, who was just mentioned as a starter, all scored three-pointers. On the bench, Farmar and Marshon Brooks also made several three-pointers.
Marshon Brooks was traded together with Bazemore. He once had the nickname "Little Kobe". However, this kid only learned the superstar's style of play, but not the superstar's strength. In terms of independent offense, Marshon Brooks is indeed very good, but his assist ability is almost zero, his shot selection is also extremely poor, and his defense is completely lacking. Compared to Nick Young, Marshon Brooks is less efficient and less athletic.
However, Marshon Brooks' three-point shooting is still good. As long as you don't give him the ball and let him be a fixed-point shooter and shoot immediately after receiving the ball, Brooks can also provide some outside firepower.
As for the Grizzlies, Mike Conley was completely locked up by Zhang Guan today. In the first half, he made 1 of 6 shots and had only one assist, steals, blocks and rebounds.
Therefore, the Grizzlies are still the "Black and White Bears" who focus on the inside, especially Randolph, who has gained more shooting opportunities.
Conley is not as good as Zhang Guan in terms of body and athletic ability, so it is very difficult to defend Zhang Guan, so the Grizzlies promptly used their defensive weapon Tony Allen to deal with Zhang Guan.
Tony Allen's defensive ability is among the best in the league. He has strong upper body strength and stable enough lower body. He can engage in physical confrontation, has outstanding defensive awareness, is willing to fight hard, and is good at grabbing the ball on the floor. Even if he is as strong as Durant, in Tony - Allen's defense is also quite a headache.
Tony Allen is best at defending people without the ball. He often creates opportunities for himself to steal, such as giving the opponent without the ball a certain amount of space and creating a gap. When the opponent passes the ball, Tony Allen will steal the ball with lightning speed. When facing players who are taller and stronger than him, Tony Allen's forward defense can always make the opponent exhausted.
However, Tony Allen's ability to defend the ball holder is a level lower than that of defending the ball holder. Especially when the ball holder's personal ability is outstanding, Tony Allen cannot reflect much value. Just like LeBron James, Tony Allen can never be guarded. With James' physical strength, he is willing to go head-to-head with Tony Allen.
Today, Tony Allen also encountered a tough opponent, and that was Zhang Guan.
…
"Zhang Guan! Facing Tony Allen, he threw the ball high and scored! It was a beautiful shot! Even facing Tony Allen's defense, he was able to score the ball." The commentator exclaimed.
Tony Allen rubbed his chest, he had been hit hard just now.
"Is this guy Zhang Guan a monster? He just pushed me into the three-second zone! It was the first time I met such a guard. I felt like he was more powerful than LeBron!"
Tony Allen is confident that his body can stop any defender in the world, but today he discovered that there are defenders in this world that he cannot handle.
Zhang Guan's breakthrough was nothing fancy, it was just a head-on confrontation, simply using strength and body to overpower Tony Allen. Both of them were about the same size, but Tony Allen was pushed away by Zhang Guan time and time again.
The referee has not blown the whistle. Among the defensive players, Tony Allen's movements are relatively clean. He does not make many small moves, and he does not "stick to his clothes and fall down" like many "Actors". Tony Allen's movements are relatively clean. Lun is the kind of player who relies purely on strength to defend.
Tony Allen's offensive ability is relatively average. The main role of his appearance is to limit the opponent's main scorer. If he is restricted, both sides will lose one scoring point on the offensive end. This will not be a disadvantage for the Grizzlies; and once restricted, Failure to do so means that the Grizzlies lost one scoring point, but their opponents did not. So in many cases, Tony Allen is more like a seven-injury punch, killing one thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred.
But now, Tony Allen cannot limit Zhang Guan's scoring, which is equivalent to using the seven-injury punch but not hitting the enemy. The Grizzlies are also being eroded by the Lakers in the score.
Randolph and Gasol have been scoring goals, Courtney Lee also scored two points in succession, and Mike Miller, Koufos and James Johnson also scored on the bench, but The Grizzlies slowly began to fall behind, falling further and further behind.
There is nothing that can be done about it. A goal scored by the Grizzlies is two points, but the Lakers have been fighting for three-pointers.
In the whole game, the Lakers shot a total of 35 three-pointers and hit 17. Nearly 50% of the three-pointers were hit. It can be said that they performed at a superb level. The Grizzlies only shot a total of 8 three-pointers, less than a quarter of the Lakers, hitting 3. Although the shooting rate was acceptable, the difference was 14 three-pointers, which was a difference of 14. point.
The final score between the two sides was that the Lakers won 107 to 98. They did not score more than 100 points but their opponents scored more than 100 points. It was a typical "Grizzly style" losing pattern.
The Lakers also returned to Los Angeles with two away victories.
Since Zhang Guan joined the Lakers, he has won 8 consecutive games. If you include the two consecutive wins before Zhang Guan came, the Lakers have achieved a 10-game winning streak at this time.
In the NBA, any team that can achieve 10 consecutive victories is a record that cannot be underestimated. What's more, the Lakers are still in the fiercely competitive Western Conference, and 10 consecutive victories are even more valuable.
Although the Lakers' current record is 26 wins and 32 losses, the winning rate is still less than half, and they are still far from the threshold of the playoffs, but this ten-game winning streak has made all teams in the league start to take the Lakers seriously.
The entire NBA knows that the current Lakers are no longer the last-place team before!
Two chapters in one, thanks to Fatty h, Duo Cai Ni, xsf9800, Thai-style old man Zhang, Bubble 2016, Lao Amu, Watching Marshmallows on a Plane, God Killing Demon Road, Lao Guo 003 for the reward!
(End of chapter)