After winning 6 games in 7 games, they were defeated by 29 points! The dialogue between strong players turned into a jumble of eggs and rocks. The Lakers should recognize the three realities of the ch

After losing weight, Doncic misfired for the first time in the new season, and the 40-year-old James continues to be absent! The Lakers surged forward and won 6 out of 7 games before losing miserably by 29 points. A much-anticipated strong-power dialogue turned into a one-sided affair. This basin of cold water should make the Purple and Gold Legion recognize the reality of the three championships.

The Lakers lost a disastrous 29 points

In the rare case of no major reinforcements in the offseason, the Lakers, who were short of major generals, unexpectedly performed surprisingly well at the beginning of the season and seemed to have completely transformed.

Before facing the defending champion Thunder, the Lakers once ranked among the top five in the Western Conference with 6 wins from 7 games. Considering that James has not returned since the beginning of the season, and the two core players Doncic and Reeves have also missed many games, the Purple and Gold Army, with everyone working hard, has great momentum to compete for the championship.

As a result, the defending champion Thunder shattered the Lakers' beautiful dream in just halftime. They fell behind by 32 points at halftime and were defeated by 29 points in the game. They were completely one-sided and beaten. The Lakers and the Thunder, which had won 6 games in 7 games and were advancing in a head-to-head showdown, turned out to be a head-to-head confrontation. The Purple and Gold Army should recognize the three realities of the championship.

Reality 1: The Thunder are too strong

The Lakers' defeat was not that they were too weak, but that the defending champion Thunder was too strong. In the absence of four generals including Jaylen Williams, the Thunder still scored a 29-point victory.

This is also the epitome of the Thunder's impressive performance since the beginning of the season. With the battalion full of injured players, except for the two-point victory by the Trail Blazers, a running and jumping team with a hot outside touch, in the second back-to-back game, the defending champion won all the duels and ranked first in the league with an absolute record advantage.

Compared with SGA's continued brilliance on the offensive end and the emergence of a number of extraordinary players, the Thunder's top defensive performance is their real confidence in winning the league's first place.

Faced with Doncic and Reeves, who have been in hot form since the beginning of the season, the Thunder came up with a perfect defensive strategy. One of them made 7 of 20 and the other 4 of 12. They were completely useless.

The Thunder's strategy is also very clear. With sufficient defensive resources in regular matchups, the Thunder resolutely do not give Doncic a chance to play through the pick-and-roll. Whenever Doncic tries to name the center through the pick-and-roll, the Thunder will not hesitate to flank him.

When naming the players in other positions, the Thunder resolutely rotated defense, and at the same time the help defenders continued to harass Doncic. This made Doncic unable to find a familiar rhythm and played miserable. The same was true for Reeves. When the two engines in the backcourt were all restricted, the game naturally became one-sided and lost suspense early on.

Reality 2: The Lakers' defense is too weak

The Lakers also tried to restrict Alexander by replicating the Thunder's defensive methods during the game, but it exposed the essential gap between the Lakers and the Thunder on the defensive end, that is, the huge difference in the players' own defensive abilities.

This gap cannot be made up by enthusiasm and on-the-spot execution. Therefore, facing the efficient Thunder team, the Lakers' defensive rotations continued to have problems.

This is also the reality that the Lakers have to face. The defensive system and rotation can certainly cover up single-point defensive weaknesses, but when 2 or even 3 of the 5 people on the field are weak links that need to be protected, trying to rely on the defensive system to solve the problem is tantamount to wishful thinking.

This is the current situation of the Lakers. The roles of Doncic and Reeves in the backcourt are too overlapping and homogeneous, and neither is trustworthy on the defensive end.

In addition, new aid Laravia's defense is not outstanding, and even Hachimura's defense is weak in the starting lineup. As a result, the Lakers rely heavily on offensive touch in the strong dialogue. Once the offensive touch is not good, they are completely unable to match the intensity of the game.

Reality 3: James is too old

If the Lakers want to improve the current situation without a trade, they can only hope that James will perform a miracle after returning and dream of returning to the top. But the problem is that he is already 40 years old.

From the absence from the beginning of the season to the present, as well as his performance in the past two seasons, it is not difficult to see that the 40-year-old James is really old. Not only has he lost his proud durability, but his dominance and concentration on both offense and defense have also declined.

Especially in strong dialogue and playoff series, James cannot maintain offensive and defensive dominance for a long time. Even if he focuses on one end, his performance will continue to decline as the schedule and intensity of confrontation increase.

Therefore, the reality before the Lakers is very clear. If they want to truly compete for the championship, this current lineup will definitely be difficult to achieve.

With the positions of Doncic and Reeves obviously overlapping, if a deal can be completed around Reeves in the middle of the season to introduce another offensive and defensive forward star, there will be a glimmer of hope for the championship.

Of course, considering that James holds the power to veto trades, a more realistic choice for the Lakers is to enjoy every game when he is on the court, rather than worrying about the goal of winning the championship this season. Everything will turn around next summer. After all, Doncic is only 26 years old.