Lakers Preview Team Chapter: Repairing the lineup around Doncic and making a smooth transition to the backward James era

After watching the overall prospect of the team, let's take a look at the players that the Lakers deserve to pay attention to in the new season.

Doncic supported the basic set

After being traded to the Lakers last season, Doncic played 28 regular season games, averaging 28.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, with three shooting percentages of 43.8/37.9/79.1%, and also had 3.7 turnovers. In the five-game game between the playoffs and the Timberwolves, he averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game, with three shooting percentages of 45.2/34.8/89.1%, and 4.0 turnovers.

Obviously, this is not the best version of Doncic, even a far cry from it. On the one hand, he had just recovered from injury and joined a brand new team. The recovery of his condition and lineup run-in affected his performance; on the other hand, he was deeply hit by the Mavericks trade. It was not until the offseason that Doncic finally re-tied his mindset and cheered up. He formulated a strict training and diet plan in the summer and successfully lost weight. In the European Championship, he averaged 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game to warm up the new season.

In addition, Doncic has done better as the team leader. The early contract renewal of the team established Doncic's absolute core position. He and his teammates also revealed many times in interviews on the Media Day that he was more comfortable in speaking out this season and realized that this is his team. All signs indicate that Doncic will return to the top five of the All-Squad team and MVP in the new season.

The last season of the Lakers' career?

Last season, 40-year-old James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.0 steals in the regular season, with a shooting percentage of 51.3/37.6/78.2% in three events, and 3.7 turnovers at the same time; in the playoffs, he averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 48.9/35.7/77.5%, and his turnovers dropped to 2.6. James led the Lakers to 50 wins in the regular season and finally ranked third in the Western Conference. He personally entered the second team of the All-Squad. He still performed well in the playoffs and became the defensive gate of the team's small lineup.

The new season is James' eighth season with the Lakers and is likely to be his last season. This is the first time that James has started a new season as the team's No. 2 character. He has been trying to give up his boss' status to Than Brow in the past few years, but the latter has never been able to fully take on the role of this due to frequent injuries. In the 23 games he partnered with Doncic last season, James's data was 23.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists, and his data in the new season may be closer to this sample. In the uncertain future, playing this season healthy may be a safer choice for James. Of course, if the old lion king smells the smell of blood (hope to compete for the championship), he can show his fangs and sharp claws at any time. Reeves, who refused to renew his contract, performed well in the regular season last season, showing significant progress for the fourth consecutive year, averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.0/37.7/87.7%. After Doncic came, many people believed that Reeves' data would shrink significantly, but Reeves played better and better, pulling his average score to 20+, which also proved that even if the team had two big cores in the ball, he could still play like a fish.

In the playoffs, Reeves' shortcomings were undoubtedly revealed again. Facing the taller, faster and more fierce Timberwolves, he was quite lost throughout the series, with only 16.2 points per game and a shooting percentage of 41.1% being a career low, and 2.8 turnovers and 3.6 blunders are both highs.

After the end of such a season with a start and abrupt end, Reeves still refused the team's highest contract of 4 years, 89.2 million, hoping to seek an annual salary of 35-40 million in the free market next year. This choice is understandable. He was also mentally prepared for the possible consequences: "After about a week after I refused to renew my contract early, I think I could be traded. Of course, this possibility still exists." Ayton, who is eager to save his career, played 40 games at the Trail Blazers last season, averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, and shot 56.6%. The data seems to be OK, but the attendance rate and influence on the game are really worrying. His plus-minus values ​​of -6.8 and net efficiency -5.1 are both ranked last in the team.

Of course, the above is about Ayton, who has an annual salary of 34 million yuan and no good defender partner, rather than Ayton, who has signed with the Lakers, partners Doncic, Reeves and James for 16 million yuan in two years. Ayton's arrival strengthened the shortest piece of wood for the Lakers. Last season they could only rely on Hayes to support the inside, and in the playoffs, the team could only rely on 40-year-old James and 2.01-meter Finney Smith to fight Gobert. Ayton's best season in his career is Paul, and now Doncic is expected to save his career again.

The choice of the last starter

Dong Zhanli and Ayton should be the fixed choices in the starting lineup in the new season, and the remaining one is Redick's debugging space. Hachimura Shizuo is definitely the first choice. He averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, with a three-point shooting percentage of 41.3%, and started 57 of the 59 games, which is the option of "no mistakes". But from the defensive perspective, it may be more reasonable to start with Vanderbilt, who recovers from health. His defense and sweeping ability are very suitable for Doncic and Reeves. He also has a small hand in hand to serve as a supporter and a second-hand set when Doncic is double-teamed. If he can hit those open three-pointers in the bottom corner, he will have a lot of role in this lineup..

It is reported that Smart may also be a potential starter. His defensive ability and basketball IQ are both online, but he has only played 54 games in the past two seasons. His physical condition is questioned. From the rationality of the lineup, he is very suitable to partner Doncic, but unless Redick can persuade Reeves to play the sixth man, there is little chance that Smart will enter the starter.

Whether the bench can make a contribution

In the second half of last season, Vincent, who has recovered his health, became the most reliable firepower point for the bench. He also played above average on the defensive end, and his role will be equally important in the new season. As the first signing in the offseason, the Lakers have high expectations for Laravia. The white shooter shot 42.3% from three-pointers last season, higher than any player on the Lakers. With Smart, Van derbiao, Kleber and other players, the Lakers' lineup depth is much better than last season. If young players such as Kneckett, Brownie, Krock, and Tiero can hardly get many opportunities to play if they can stay healthy and not make big deals.

Overall, the Lakers' lineup in the new season is significantly better than last season in terms of the rationality of the matching and the depth of each position.