The Lakers players brought the same state they had against the Warriors to the Jazz. Only Li Hao and Williams performed normally throughout the game, while the others were really sleepwalking.
Especially Randall, Randall's performance during the season is actually quite good, and he can often achieve double-doubles. However, recently, Randall has hit the rookie wall, with his scoring basically hovering in single digits, and even his main position has been replaced. Little Nance was snatched away.
Randall's height does not have any advantage at power forward. In addition, he does not have the ability to attack with the ball, and his long-range is not well developed, making him easy to be targeted.
Although Nance Jr. doesn't have the ability to hold the ball or fire from long range, he has good pick-and-roll skills and his defense is better than Randle. What's more, he cooperates with Russell.
Russell's technical characteristic is that he needs the cooperation of his teammates to truly show his strength. For the Lakers' starting lineup, it is unrealistic for Li Hao and Kobe to cooperate with Russell. Hibbert has completely flattened, and Randall's pick-and-roll quality generally.
Besides, Randall may not be willing to set up a pick-and-roll for Russell. With Kobe retiring, the Lakers will inevitably reshuffle their roster. Li Hao’s position as the team’s boss is unshakable, but he can still compete for the second spot.
However, these two people don't know that in Li Hao's heart, neither of them is the most suitable candidate to be the team's second leader, especially Russell. Although Li Hao is reporting for the third position this season, Li Hao still prefers the first position. .
Randall, who develops ball-handling and long-range skills, is actually a good second-in-command, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
The fact that Nance Jr. is more suitable for Russell is also reflected in the data. After Nance Jr. started, Russell's data immediately became more beautiful.
In today's game against the Jazz, Russell scored the third highest score on the team and was the last player besides Li Hao and Williams to score in double figures.
Compared to the Lakers, who only scored in double figures after three players, the Jazz had six players who scored in double figures. In the end, with these six players, the Jazz defeated the Lakers with a score of 109:92.
Li Hao was still the best player in the game, making 10 of 19 shots, 4 of 8 three-pointers, and 7 of 7 free throws. He had a steady output of 31 points, 9 assists, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.
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"Li, you have scored 30+ points in four consecutive games." Reporters surrounded Li Hao after the game.
"Please call me the master of point control." After 24 points in 4 consecutive games, Li Hao scored 31 points in 4 consecutive games this time.
"No, no, no, it's the essence of human beings," the reporter corrected.
"Okay, okay, whatever you say is what it is." It doesn't make any sense to lose the game.
With a two-game losing streak on the road, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles. The next three games of the Lakers were all in Los Angeles, and their opponents were the Rockets, Kings and Spurs.
None of them are weaklings. As for the Rockets, Harden has reached his peak and Capela has gradually grown. It is precisely because of Capela's growth that the Rockets will let go of Howard in the next summer.
Howard is no longer at his peak, and compared to Howard, Capela, who only eats pie and is willing to be his little brother, is more suitable to partner with Harden.
Capela cannot be compared with Howard in some aspects, but in terms of cost performance and adaptability, Capela is more suitable than Howard.
To be honest, if Li Hao was given a choice, he would choose Capela instead of Howard, but unfortunately, Li Hao had no choice, so by this summer, Howard will be one of Li Hao's recruitment targets.
The Lakers need a rim-protecting center. I originally thought Hibbert would be a good choice, but based on Hibbert's performance in the team, the Lakers will definitely not keep him.
In this summer's market, there are only three people that Li Hao can really like, namely Howard, Drummond and Whiteside.
Drummond is a restricted player, and the Pistons have always valued Drummond. It is basically impossible for him to join the Lakers. So the only ones the Lakers can compete for are Howard and Whiteside.
With his outstanding performance this season, Whiteside will receive a four-year, $98 million contract with the Heat, which has also caused the biggest controversy in the summer.
Because the Heat would rather give Whiteside a big contract than give Wade a decent pension contract.
However, Whiteside himself is not an ambitious player. He desires money more than honor, but this is normal. Everyone's pursuit is different.
Different pursuits have different impacts. Dabaibian's mentality changed dramatically after he won the big contract. Although Dabaibian's data looked good, in fact, his aggressiveness was gone.
It is precisely because of this that the Heat gave away Dabai Bian, but Howard is different. Happy Beast's problems are not small, but you can't deny one thing, that is his most honorable pursuit.
If it weren't for the pursuit of honor, he would have just stayed with the Magic. At that time, the Magic directly drove away the head coach and general manager who had conflicts with Warcraft for Howard.
The same goes for choosing the Hawks. The Hawks have been a strong team in the Eastern Conference for the past two years. Howard joined the Hawks with the goal of winning the championship. As for the result?
He was abandoned after the season, was traded in the new season, was traded again after playing one with the Hornets, and then was bought out, and finally returned to the Lakers, smiled away his grudges with Kobe, and finally completed his redemption.
So for you, Da Baibian, Li Hao actually values Howard more, but that has a prerequisite. Howard is willing to be a "blue-collar center", and he needs to lose weight to complete his transformation in advance.
But this is not an easy thing. The reason why Howard was able to wake up was through a series of events that followed, which made him let go of his pride and reflect on everything in the past.
But can Howard change this summer?
No one knows this, but even if he can't be sure, Li Hao is still going to give it a try this summer because he needs help.
Of course, Howard is just one of them, Li Hao has several goals.
Kobe Bryant retires this summer, Hibbert's contract expires, and the salary cap increases significantly. The Lakers can make a difference.
Although Li Hao will sign a maximum-salary contract, even so, the Lakers still have sufficient salary space. Besides, it is easier to recruit with Li Hao.
Why did the Lakers sign a somewhat rubbish contract in history? Wasn't it because no one on the team could attract players?
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For the coming summer and next season, Li Hao has clear goals and detailed plans. In the third year of his career and his first year as the team leader, Li Hao must do something.
But that's all for later, after the end of this season, so at this moment, Li Hao's focus must be on the present. Besides, you still need to be strong yourself. If you are not strong enough, then everything you say will be in vain.
So in this game against the Rockets, Li Hao had only one idea, and that was to win the game.
