【2020/8/21】
- season：2019-20 R1G2
- result:Lakers 111-88 Trail Blazers
- data:31 points, 3 assists, 11 rebounds, 3PT 3-4
Although the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers in this game, both teams actually exposed many shortcomings.
Saying goodbye to the miserable performance in the last game, this time Anthony Davis started to play from the inside out. Thanks to the Trail Blazers' too deep retreat and leaky defense, Davis had a lot of space to cut in. As soon as he hit He can use his body to beat defenders in the penalty area. In this game, the Lakers' long men grabbed the board and took advantage of it. JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard and Davis shot nearly 70% from the field. McGee and Howard only missed one goal each.
Further reading: Modern mythical beast! Top 5 of Anthony Davis’ peak moments during the Pelicans era
In this game, Davis also took advantage of the wide open space given to him by the Trail Blazers and scored 31 points in just three quarters. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who only scored 1 point in the previous game, also made 4 of 6 three-pointers in this game. Scored 18 points, exposing the Blazers' lack of mobile forwards (Trevor Ariza).
The Trail Blazers didn't feel good offensively, but the biggest problem was their lack of control on defense. In this game, the Lakers were left with a lot of big gaps on the outside. In terms of defensive space, facing a team like the Lakers with many tall forwards, this kind of positioning and inactive peripheral defense is just right to be beaten.
However, although the Lakers won this game, they were actually not in good shape. Excluding Davis and KCP, the team's three-point shooting percentage was only 25 %, and this was with the Trail Blazers giving them a huge gap. And LBJ doesn't know whether it's because he hasn't used his full strength yet or because his condition is really bad. He feels like a taller bean on the court. If we continue to advance according to this style of play, it's hard to say whether we can pass the Rockets, let alone the Clippers.
