Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

After the game with the Jazz, the Lakers boarded a plane back to Los Angeles, and their next game will be at home.

One day later.

The Lakers played at home and welcomed the second regular season game of the 2019-20 season.

Their opponent in this game is the Hornets.

The Hornets' lineup has changed a lot this season. After Kemba Walker left, the Hornets basically entered a rebuilding phase.

However, even when Kemba Walker was there last season, the Hornets failed to make the playoffs and only hovered on the edge of eighth place.

Without Kemba Walker this season, the Hornets have entered a rebuilding phase. Their strength has declined compared to last season, and there is a big gap compared to the Lakers.

So there is no suspense in this game.

The Lakers had the upper hand from the beginning, at one point widening the gap to more than ten points, and maintained the lead until the end.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the Hornets 119:110 and won another game.

After this game, the Lakers had games against the Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Spurs in succession, two home games and one away. Among the three games, only the game against the Mavericks had some twists and turns, but in the end, the Lakers won all of them.

In other words, after several games, the Lakers have won five consecutive games. Their record is currently ranked first in the Western Conference. They are one of only two teams in the Western Conference that still maintain a winning streak.

The only other Western Conference team still on a winning streak is not the Warriors or the Rockets, but surprisingly, the Clippers.

Everyone knows that Anthony Davis joining the Clippers will inevitably greatly enhance the Clippers' strength. The combination of him and James was highly anticipated before the start of this season. It is believed that the combination of the two will transform the Clippers from a playoff team into a team with the potential to compete for the championship.

But no one expected that the chemistry between the two would be so good.

How good is it?

In the Clippers' current games, the pick-and-roll cooperation between James and Anthony Davis has become their main tactic.

During the game, we can often see James and Davis completing wonderful pick-and-roll cooperation. For example, after Davis screens for James, James makes a ground pass accurately to Davis' hands, assisting Davis with a dunk.

There is no doubt that Davis is an excellent player and one of the top inside players in the league. He has excellent scoring ability.

A player like this needs a teammate who can pass the ball, pass it well, and preferably help him to contain the defense.

When he was on the Pelicans, the Pelicans specifically brought Rondo to him.

The purpose is obvious, which is to let Rondo pass the ball to Davis.

Rondo's passing ability is naturally no problem, but his scoring ability is relatively weak, especially at this age, he is already at the end of his career. He does not have enough scoring threat after the pick-and-roll with Davis, so the effect of the pick-and-roll cooperation will be discounted.

And James made up for it perfectly.

James not only has top-notch passing ability, but also top-notch scoring threat, and his breakthrough is unstoppable. After a pick-and-roll, he can rush directly to the basket. Davis can not only score in the low post, but also shoot from the outside.

When James' breakthrough is blocked, he can pass the ball and shoot...

A low-post killer + a guard who can pass the ball can make the pick-and-roll cooperation play a powerful role.

So what will be the effect of a super inside player who has both low-post killer and outside shooting ability + a small forward who is unstoppable in breakthroughs and top-notch passing?

Just look at the combination of James and Davis.

The Clippers have played several games, and in the past few games, James and Davis have performed very well.

After several games, Davis averaged 27+10+3, while James averaged 26+11+8. Under the leadership of the two, the Clippers won five consecutive games, which surprised many people.

In addition to the Lakers and Clippers, the Nuggets are also performing well. They had a very good record last season and continued that record this season. They currently have 4 wins and 1 loss, ranking third.

Following them are the Jazz, Mavericks, Thunder, Rockets, Grizzlies and other teams.

What surprised many fans is that the Thunder played well without Westbrook and Paul George, and their current record is even better than that of the Rockets.

Of course, the most disappointing team so far would have to be the Rockets.

With the combination of Westbrook + Harden, many fans thought they would be stronger than last season, but they played so badly.

It's really a mess.

The reason why the Rockets can still rank among the top eight in the Western Conference is entirely due to the personal strength of Harden and Westbrook. After all, the personal abilities of the two super guards are there, but the chemistry between the two can be said to be quite poor.

Especially when compared with the combination of James + Davis, they are really two extremes, which is shocking.

Isn't this the brother we used to be?

Didn’t we have a tacit understanding? Why did it turn out like this?

In fact, when it comes to Harden and Westbrook's personal performance and statistics, they are still very impressive. Currently, Harden averages 34+6+7 per game, which is only slightly lower than last season, but still the top statistics in the league, especially his personal scoring statistics.

Westbrook also played 27+7+8. His rebounds and assists decreased, but his personal scoring improved compared to last season.

One has 34+6+7, the other has 27+7+8. Just looking at the statistics, they are absolutely awesome, not to mention they are on the same team. But the problem is that the team just can't win.

Why do you say that?

One reason is that they are all excellent point guards, good at leading the offensive rhythm, and their positions and styles on the field overlap too much, which limits the team's tactical performance.

Especially when two of them are on the court at the same time.

The second is personal honor and status. Both of them are MVP-level players. They both want to occupy a dominant position in the team, and no one is willing to be inferior to others.

At critical moments, the two sides often quarrel over the ball.

And it’s because of Love.

Westbrook really wanted the team to trade for Love, but Harden was unwilling to do so. The two had disagreements and were not very willing to work together.

However, Zhuang Yu is looking forward to playing against the Rockets.

What is it like facing Westbrook and Harden at the same time?

Interesting for sure.

However, according to the schedule, the Lakers and Rockets will not face each other in the short term, but the Lakers will soon face the Clippers.

Zhuang Yu is also looking forward to facing the combination of James and Davis...