James slashed 34 5 8 The Lakers lost by 20 points, Zion hit 26 6 efficiently, and the Lakers were in trouble
Beijing time: January 1, 2022, the first one wishes you a happy New Year, good health and smooth work. The NBA's normal game is still going on, and the Lakers will be visiting the Pelicans. Yesterday at James' birthday party, the Lakers lost to Nottingham Forest with a score of 2-2, and James made a reasonable judgment at the last minute on whether James had a foul, but the fact is that there is still a certain gap in the strength of the two teams.
Currently, the Lakers sit in ninth place in the East with a 17-16 record, and they have two glaring problems this season: a lack of shooters who can stretch the distance from the perimeter and players who can break through the basket. So these two tasks fell on Lao Zhan, Lao Zhan's physical strength also had problems, and his performance was not very good, and the current Lakers team had reached the time when they had to be traded, Russell, Hachimura, Hayes.
Ham has been in the No. 5 position, but it takes three people to shoot, and to be honest, Vanderbilt's attack is not very strong, and if there are two people who don't have the ability to shoot, then the game is going to be very tough and there are very few turnovers.
The Pelicans lost 18-14 this season, 7th in the East, the three superstars still maintain a 55+7 shooting rate, and with the 7th defense in the league, as long as they are in good health, they can enter the ranks of the sixth in the East, their configuration is somewhat similar to the Timberwolves, coupled with the existence of double strong forwards, they will appear stronger in the face of strong opponents.
Both teams met once in the midseason, when the Lakers defeated the Pelicans 133-89. And the Lakers have Vincent, Russell, Reddish, none of them can play. The Lakers' starting lineup is: James, Prince, Hachimura Quarterfinals, Vanderbilt, Thick Eyebrows;Pelicans: Macklem, Herbert Jones, Ingram, Zion, Wolan four.
At the start of the game, McCollum and Ingram rained down on three-pointers, Varan hit a mid-range shot, and so did Zion's layup. Thick eyebrows ate three in a row, and Prince was also a three-pointer, but the Pelicans' defense was really a little weak, and Varland with three people, Ingram's jump shot, and Zion's jump shot, let them always occupy a 5-point advantage.
James and Hachimura continued to cause damage, and in the second half, Prince hit a three-pointer, James's follow-up knife, and McCollum hit four more three-pointers, once again widening the gap between the two teams. At the end of the quarter, Bushy Eyebrows and Wood scored back-to-back, but Zion and Nance played beautifully. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Pelicans 42-33.
In the second quarter, Marshall and Zion continued to attack and pull the score away, but James made a move at this time, he made a foul under the basket, and Varland was also scored 2+1, and there were two three-pointers!But James' play coincided with the Pelicans' offense: Herbert Jones made a three-pointer, Marshall and Zion scored too easily. In the second half, Varland hit 2+1 shots, plus Jones' three three-pointers, and they pulled the score to 19 points!It wasn't until James rushed to the basket and Prince also made a three-pointer that stopped the gap between the two sides. In the first half, the Pelicans led the Lakers 74-57.
To make matters worse, Hachimura also had problems with his thigh muscles, which led to his early retirement. James scored 21 points, Bush 13 and Prince nine. Zion had 18 rebounds while McCollum had 17 rebounds.
With the help of Reaves and Vanderbilt, James hit another difficult three-pointer after the game. When the Lakers caught up, Varland and Jones were both giving them a big cake, Zion's pull-up layup, which made the Lakers players helpless, and then, Zion continued to cause damage, so that the Lakers lost the opportunity to chase points.
If the Lakers want to tie the score, they can only rely on James and Reaves, they are too dependent on three-pointers, and their shooting percentage is not as good as the other party, it is rare that James suddenly shot, but Nance Jr. and Ingram both scored 4 points. After Daniels' match against Alvarado, we had a three-game rain!Then Ingram hit a three-pointer, and after three quarters, the Pelicans outscored the Lakers with a score of 104-89.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Alvarado rushed inside, James followed up with a layup to score, and Ingram's three-pointer brought the Lakers to a standstill. Prince and Reaves were able to hold on to some advantage with five minutes left in the game, but McCollum and Ingram played well on the court, making the Lakers' offense pointless. Finally, on the road, the Pelicans beat the Lakers 129-109 to end their two-game losing streak, while the Pelicans picked up two wins.
For the Lakers, James 34, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Bushy 20, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 caps, Prince 15 4 assists, 20 9 assists, Reaves 20 9 assists. And in today's game, for the Pelicans, McCollum had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Zion 26 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Ingram 26, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Valanciunas 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Nance 11 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
The players of the Lakers, both offensive and defensive, have lost their fighting spirit, they have not defended at all, and they have to admire Lao Zhan for being able to show such a performance in two consecutive games, however, it is time for the Lakers to sell them.