5 points, 6 points, 11 points, 3 points! After Knecht, is he another useless player for the Lakers?

In four games against the Warriors, Timberwolves, Kings, and Trail Blazers, Knecht averaged only 4.8 points per game. What needs to be explained about the data is:

1. 50% of the shots were played in the third position, and the value last season was 55%;

2. 75% of the three-point shots were taken, and the value last season was 61%.

In other words, Knecht has significantly regressed in finishing where he is good at a familiar position. Subtext, the latter's regression was not caused by Redick's deliberate change of role on the field.

As for Knect, I think it is the tasteless taste of the Lakers at this stage-it is a pity to abandon it if it is tasteless.

First, shooting, especially three-pointers, is the foundation for Knecter to gain a foothold in the league, but like Hield, Beasley and other shooters, it is of little use if he cannot shoot - so far this season, the Lakers have a net loss of 32.8 points per 100 possessions when Knecter is on the court, ranking last among the 10 Lakers players with a total playing time of no less than 20 minutes.

Second, to be honest, like Curry, Doncic and others, Knecht also has three-point "explosive power." I mean, when the hand is hot, he can shoot three-pointers in a row, such as in the games against the Jazz and Pelicans in his rookie season.

Secondly, even excluding this season, Knect still has a rookie contract of about 10 million for two years.

To sum up, it can be understood that although Knect is a side effect to the Lakers' winning at this stage, he does have the ability to change the trend of the game with a three-pointer at a certain moment in the game. Moreover, he is on a rookie contract and his annual salary is not high. It has little impact on the team's salary space.

Like Knect, Laravia also performed poorly in the first four games of the season. In terms of data, the scores in the first four games were 5 points, 6 points, 11 points and 3 points respectively.

In fact, for Laravia, I think he is the most useless player for the Lakers after Knecht.

Reason 1: The effect is not in line with management expectations. So far this season, Laravia has averaged 25.3 minutes per game, second only to Doncic, Reeves, Rui Hachimura and Ayton on the Lakers. Judging from the data, the management regards him as one of the main rotations.

It’s just that the real offensive and defensive plus-minus values ​​of -1.9 and -2.3 are not compatible with the main rotation. To be precise, neither offense nor defense. Taking the defensive real plus-minus as an example, the NBA career average per game is 0.2, and the data so far this season is -2.3.

However, 52.9% of three-point shots and 44.4% of three-pointers are what the Lakers need.

First, the Lakers' overall three-point shots have accounted for 36.9% so far this season. Obviously, like the Clippers, Warriors and other shooting teams, three-pointers are the Lakers' main finishing method.

Secondly, so far this season, only Reeves, Rui Hachimura and Laravia have a three-point rate of over 40% among the Lakers. If the first two are starters, then the latter is a substitute.

To sum up the above two points, Laravia's presence can fill the team's shortage of three-point substitutes.

Reason 2: Contract. Laravia signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Lakers this summer. The average salary is only 6 million. For comparison, the minimum salary contracts signed by Paul and the Clippers, Westbrook and the Kings are all 3.6 million US dollars. In other words, Laravia's contract is only slightly higher than the minimum salary contract. In other words, even continued poor performance will not have a great impact on the Lakers' salary space.

To sum up, the reason why Laravia is a useless player for the Lakers mainly reflects two points:

1. The role is not in line with the management's expectations;

2. The contract is relatively small.

Regarding these two points, I think both are indispensable.

First of all, if Laravia's contract is very large, such as Hachimura's annual salary is close to 20 million U.S. dollars, then it will be a burden and side effect for the team to complete the contract without performing as expected.

Secondly, if the contract is relatively small but useless in the game, like Kroc and Nick Smith Jr., the Lakers will give up at some point no matter how small the contract is. But the problem is that Laravia's three-pointer is still helpful to the team.

Finally, I hope Laravia can regain its form in subsequent games, especially its above-average defense.