The NBA's most arrogant team is back, what is the real reason for the decline of the Lakers Suns?
The NBA regular season has been going on for more than two months, and in the past two months, the situation in the East has been very chaotic, and Nottingham Forest is far ahead, from the Thunder in second place, all the way to the Pelicans in seventh place, and also includes the Nuggets, Kings, Clippers and Mavericks in the middle. And in these three echelons, there are the Rockets, the Suns, the Lakers, and the Warriors. Truth be told, the Rockets could have had a better record, but their record on the road was so poor that they faced a very strict penalty on the road, so they had a record of 11 to 2 at home and 10 to 1 on the road. There are six spots in the West that can go straight to the playoffs, with all four teams vying for two spots.
After the Warriors, Portland and Utah both wanted to rebuild their teams, while the Spurs have not improved since acquiring Wembanyama and have been bullied by other opponents, and the only way to do that is to beat the Suns and end their 18-game game. However, it's hard to ignore one team: the Memphis Grizzlies. The team went 6-19 in 25 league games in their opening 25 games, and they ranked last in the league in offensive efficiency, average points per game and assists per game. For the past two years, the Grizzlies have been the third-ranked team in the East with a 56-26 record and a 51-31 record, and it is time for them to show their talents. With an average of 27 rebounds and 8 rebounds per game, the league's most arrogant team is back!This is the Lakers, the decline of the Suns.
At the end of the season, they signed a new contract with Dillon Brooks, and finally, the Rockets signed Dillon to a four-year, $90 million contract to help the Rockets' young players improve. After the Grizzlies traded for Smart and Rose in the summer, the overall structure of the team has not changed much, and even increased the overall strength of the team. But embarrassingly, due to Adams' knee injury, Smart, Kennard, Rose and other players have all suffered. But since Morant returned, although understaffed, the team is full of energy, Morant scored 34 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in the game against the Pelicans, and in the 24-point disadvantage, Morant completed the comeback;Against the Pacers, the strongest player in the league, Morant scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, while his opponent was only scored 103 points, which was also a great victory!
For the past two years, the Grizzlies have been arrogant!Last season, when Morant said that "in the entire league, we can't find anyone else to compete with other than the Celtics." "Even Brooks, Bane, and Morant's dad are at odds with the Warriors. When he faced the Lakers in the playoffs last season, Brooks even let out a message that he wanted to send James back and let him go fishing. Of course, the Grizzlies can completely abandon Brooks and keep a low profile, but the pride in their bones will not disappear, and after two consecutive wins, Morant announced in public that he would use "happy basketball" to make up for past losses!On top of that, the Grizzlies still have some characteristics: Morant is more mature, averaging 27 points and 8 assists, can help the team move forward, and when it matters most, he doesn't lack opportunities to break through!
This team continues to maintain a tenacious spirit, with Bane and Jaren Jackson both offensive and defensive players, with Bane averaging 247 points 52 assists, Jaren Jackson 215 points 58 rebounds 1With 8 blocks, Hanssmart is back to normal after more than a month of rest, and although Adams is not there, the team will soon be back on track, and this season, they are still the eighth ranked player in the NBA!Like the Timberwolves, Celtics, Magic and Thunder, as long as there is defense, there is a bottom line, and when Morant returns, their results will definitely skyrocket!What's more, the gap between them and the Rockets is only a six-game winning streak.
On the contrary, this season, the ups and downs of the Lakers and Suns have been unexpected. The Lakers' previous record of 15-14, in the playoffs, their performance was also 1-5, even with thick eyebrows, it was 325 points, 128 rebounds, 22 blocks, but with the efforts of Bushy Eyebrows and Reaves, their performance is average, even James!The NBA has been champions for 20 years, and there are tough guys like Rondo and Danny Green, but in recent years, only Beverley is left, and they also need a player who can contain the opposing team on the inside, Thunder Dort, Rockets have Brooks, Minnesota has Gobert, Daniels, so what does the Lakers have?Vanderbilt's chances of playing are getting fewer and fewer.
The situation of the Suns is even worse, they don't have any defense system at all, their defense is only in the top 20, although Aaron and Nurkic are working hard, but they are also more or less injured, including Okogie and Gordon. On offense, the Suns are played by Booker and Durant in turns, just like the combination of Durant and Irving when they were with the Nets, it is impossible for them to become a unit!Many teams rely on their own defensive capabilities to achieve such great results this season, which is the main reason why the Lakers and Suns are so down.