What happened to Lee Kyle?
China's Li Kaier's 2023 '24 season has not been smooth. Although the team finished first in the West, his personal performance took a sharp turn for the worse. It is in stark contrast to the team's record.
A number of numbers have slipped this season.
At present, Lee Kyle is averaging only 65 points, 36 rebounds 38 assists. Shooting percentage is 457%, and the three-point difference is 125%。Compared with last season, Li Kaier's various statistics have declined across the board. He averaged 3 points per game and shot 5 percent less from the field. Rebounds less than 17, 1 less assist1 pc.
The most puzzling thing is that Li Kaier's three-point shot is like a different person. He didn't take many shots last season, but at least he was able to take some chances. Lee Kyle is simply Simmons possessed 12The 5 percent three-point shooting percentage is at the bottom of the league.
Last year, he shot a staggering 41 percent from three-point range. After more than three months of the season, Li Kaier hit a total of 3 three-pointers, and the production was unimaginably low.
Lee Kyle's offense hasn't improved recently, and the last time he scored in double figures was on December 24. So far this season, Lee has only scored in double figures in four games. The last two Timberwolves lost to the Knicks and Pelicans, respectively, and Lee Kyle scored a total of three points in both games.
Especially in today's loss to the Pelicans, Li Kaier only scored 1 point in the whole game, and his playing time was reduced to 14 minutes.
Last summer, Li Kaier represented the Chinese men's basketball team in the World Cup, and Li Kaier worked hard in the World Cup, ranking among the top of the Chinese team in a number of statistics. In the game, Li Kaier also showed his all-round side. However, Li Kaier's offensive ability with the ball is not strong, and to some extent, it does not solve the problem of independent attack that the Chinese team needs most.
The Chinese men's basketball team has been shooting poorly in recent years, especially three-point shooting and free throws. I don't know if it was due to the influence of the Chinese team, Li Kaier's projection regressed significantly.
At the Timberwolves, Kyle Lee's poor shooting ability didn't affect the team. The Timberwolves have no shortage of offensive points, and Lee Kyle has a beautiful passing hand and excellent defensive anticipation that can still make a difference on the court.
But both Lee Kyle and the Timberwolves should be aware of how much trouble a player can cause if he doesn't shoot in today's small-ball era.
The law of projection in the age of small balls.
In 2016, after small-ball play swept the league, there was a rule: any player who didn't have the ability to shoot was either marginalized or faded out of the league. It doesn't matter if the player is a talented star or an ordinary rotation, there is no escaping this law.
For example, the talented Ben Simmons has become more and more marginalized after he didn't shoot. Coupled with injuries, his performance is getting worse and worse, and people seem to be about to forget about him.
Fultz, who is also the champion, has been unable to practice shooting because of a strange disease, and his performance is very mediocre in his playing years, and he has no advantage in the highly competitive Magic team.
Former Thunder player Robertson was selected to the All-Defensive Team at his peak, and in terms of individual defense, Roberson is a top-5 presence in the league. However, such a good defender has long since run out of balls. Because he doesn't have any shooting ability, being on the floor will drag down the team's space.
This characteristic also applies to the Chinese men's basketball team, which is one of the strongest in Asia in terms of physical talent. Not to mention the World Cup, the loss of the Chinese men's basketball team in the Asian Games also reflects the huge impact of no projection.
Speaking of Li Kaier, Li Kaier this season is not only a decline in offensive ability, but also a decline in offensive willingness.
Due to the delay in shooting three-pointers, Lee Kyle turned a blind eye to some big open three-point shooting opportunities and chose to continue passing, like Dream Green and Simmons. This also leads to the opponent very good anticipation of Li Kaier's attack.
The opponent knew that Li Kaier was not a threat from the outside, and when he attacked, Li Kaier only had some piecemeal inside cuts and throws. At the same time, Li Kaier's shooting speed is very slow, and the opponent is relatively easy to interfere, which also affects Li Kaier's offensive performance to a certain extent.
The Timberwolves have offensive containment points such as Edwards, Towns, and Gobert, and Lee Kyle, who partners with these people, has no chance to make a move. If Kyle Lee is not with the Timberwolves one day or these people are injured, Kyle Lee's offensive holes will be infinitely magnified.
Influence of psychological factors?
Lee Kyle has not suffered a major injury in recent years, and aside from this season, Lee Kyle's three-point shooting in previous seasons has reached the league's average level. This season's cliff may be more due to psychological factors.
With a long time left in the season, Kyle Lee can try to slowly adjust his three-point shot, and although the Timberwolves need his defense and passing, they would prefer him to be able to shoot from the outside. The same is true for the Chinese men's basketball team, after all, the Chinese men's basketball team needs Li Kaier's ability to hold the ball and attack strongly.
Dear fans and friends, why do you think Li Kaier's offense has dropped so much?Welcome to leave a message in the comment area below the article.