James comes back as a substitute? Pierce gave two reasons, and Garnett retorted: You can t do this to the greatest player

Although in the game against the remnant Hawks, the Lakers were not online, and finally suffered a 20-point defeat, ending the team's winning streak. But since the beginning of the season, the Lakers' overall performance has exceeded many people's expectations. They have had a perfect start.

The Lakers currently have a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, ranking fourth in the Western Conference. Without James and Doncic missing several games, the Lakers still showed enough competitiveness. Now this Lakers team can be said to be fully functioning, and even Bronny, who has been criticized, has contributed a very good performance.

So now a key topic of discussion is the Lakers, which are currently operating well as a whole. What changes will James make in terms of tactics if he comes back? And can the team's status and record continue? Regarding this topic, the two famous stars Pierce and Garnett gave two completely different answers!

Pierce: He had better come off the bench, otherwise it will affect Doncic.

As for James' positioning after his return, Pierce believes that he can play the same role and effect on the bench as he did in the starting lineup. He gave two reasons for this.

1. James will disrupt the current balance. In Pierce's view, with James' strong influence, he will definitely continue to play the core role of the Lakers after his comeback. He needs to have more roles on the offensive end. In the case of seizing a large amount of ball rights and shots, the Lakers' overall tactics will be completely broken.

Judging from the current situation of the Lakers, Doncic and Reeves have performed very stably, and Reeves even achieved luxurious statistics of 40+ and 50+ while leading the team alone. In addition to the two, players such as Ayton and Hachimura also performed brilliantly. It can be said that the Lakers now have the third or even fourth stable scoring point besides the two.

Once James returns, he will need to sacrifice the time and shots of at least one or two of them. The feel and state that he has finally cultivated may be problematic due to such changes.

2. Doncic and James are not compatible. This is the most critical reason why Pierce believes that James needs to be on the bench. He said: James and Doncic's styles of play are completely inconsistent. When the two played at the same time, it did not make the Lakers more impactful.

Both James and Doncic are players who need to hold the ball to organize and score, but there is only one basketball on the court. This means that when the two are on the court at the same time, someone needs to make certain sacrifices and concessions for the ball. Therefore, Pierce believes that James can be on standby on the bench. He and Doncic will play at staggered times, which will not affect his data.

Garnett: You can't do this to the greatest player.

Garnett holds objections to the views of his old teammates. He said: Just because the Lakers' third or fourth player is playing well, it doesn't mean that James should not return to the starting position. With his current ability and performance, if you ask him to be on the bench, not only himself, I believe many people will not agree. For no reason could this be done to the greatest player.

Multiple factors, Lao Zhan must start

In fact, we can see from the defeat of the Hawks that the Lakers' current performance is not stable. Ayton and other players are more of a flash of inspiration, and they cannot be expected to maintain an average of 10+ per game throughout the season. In a long season, Doncic also needs more time to rest. Otherwise, even if he can average 40+ per game to help the Lakers reach the playoffs, he may not have the physical fitness to cope with the game in the playoffs.

Putting aside the factors of the game itself, for business considerations, both the league and the Lakers must let James continue to start. After all, he has huge commercial value and fan traffic. Putting him on the bench will undoubtedly cut off his own financial resources.