The NBA is about to restart, and the East and West will merge in the playoffs. What are the advantages and disadvantages for James' Lakers?

On May 27th, Beijing time, after the suspension, the NBA league seemed a little hungry. In order to get the economy running as soon as possible, both the team executives and the players themselves hoped that the schedule could be resumed as soon as possible. However, the alliance has to face new problems. One is that the epidemic situation in the United States is still grim, and the number of confirmed cases has not been effectively controlled. Therefore, it is necessary to take the best and absolute prevention and control measures. Once a player or staff member is diagnosed, it may lead to a long suspension.

The other is to change the rules. Shortening the schedule is the way to minimize the risk of infectious diseases. However, this will also lead to the disagreement of some teams, because there are still many teams that can have the hope of entering the playoffs before the end of the schedule. Among them, Lillard, the star of the Trailblazers, said in a recent interview that if he didn't finish the next schedule, he wouldn't play in the game. And coax the audience, willing to see the Blazers play the playoffs with the Lakers.

In contrast, the rule of canceling the regular season and going directly to the playoffs has been supported by many people and has changed a lot compared with before. The top eight teams in the East and West merged, but the situation of 1-16 and 2-15 competed for the playoffs. Then the question is, is this playoff method more beneficial to James' Lakers? The answer is beyond doubt.

First, today's league has always been strong in the west and weak in the east. When James was in the east, no team could hold its head. Therefore, it is much less difficult to play the playoffs with the top teams in the East. Second, avoid meeting bucks and clippers at the same time. According to the previous rules, the West will definitely play the Clippers and the Bucks, all of which are tough battles. It is very difficult for the Lakers to win eight games on the heads of these two teams. In the new rules, the Clippers and the Bucks are in the same half, that is, the Lakers only have to face the winner of the two teams.

But if the East and the West merge to play, the schedule will be quite beneficial to the Lakers.

It can be seen that the Lakers' first opponent is the Nets. In the playoffs, Owen and Durant have a high probability of not being able to play, and the Lakers have absolute strength to easily win this series.

The Lakers' second-round opponent is the Rockets. This season, the Rockets trade away from cappella, and the inside is empty. The biggest advantage of the Lakers lies in the inside, with players such as Davis, Howard, McKee and Cousins in the inside. Basically, the rebound gap in this series is huge. If the Rockets want to win a game, they must maintain a super high three-point shooting percentage from the outside, but they have been losing offensive rebounds, and it is difficult to maintain the three-point shooting percentage for the whole series. So it is not difficult for the Lakers to win the series with the Rockets.

The Lakers' opponents in the third round may be the Nuggets and Raptors. Both teams have a problem that there are no superstars, that is, the upper limit of the teams is limited. Raptors and Nuggets can make a very beautiful record in the regular season, but in the playoffs, various problems will be exposed thoroughly, such as: anti-pick-and-roll has always been Jokic's weakness, and some key players of Raptors are older. In the third round, the Lakers have an absolute advantage no matter which team they play against.

As can be seen from this game chart, the Lakers have great hopes of reaching the finals, and their strength is equal to that of the Clippers and Bucks. Therefore, the probability of the Lakers winning the championship is basically above 5%, and the form is quite optimistic about the Lakers. And for now, the probability of canceling the game between the East and the West is still very high, and the Lakers should seize this opportunity.

Let's take a look at the chart after the restart:

From this chart, we can see that the Lakers are in the lower half as the second place. The opponents in this area face the Nets in the first round. If they pass the first round, they will face the winners of Jazz and Mosaic in the second round. If they pass the second round, they will face the winners of Raptors versus Grizzlies and Nuggets versus Pacers.

From this group, it seems that the Lakers are a bit prone to win (regardless of the return of some stars). The only things that can threaten the Lakers in this group are Mosaic, Raptors and Nuggets.

Before the Jazz played against Mosaic, there was a great doubt whether Mitchell and Gaubert could join forces because of the "infighting" in the team caused by Gobe infection. As a result, Mosaic's winning probability increased. Mosaic was in name only in recent seasons, and it continued to decline until the Western Conference or the Western Conference semi-final. Moreover, after sending off cappella, the pie king, the inside line was completely empty this season, which can be called an empty team. When the Lakers play mosaic, they can basically get whatever they want from the inside. As long as the outside mosaic of the mosaic is prevented, it will not pose a fatal threat to the Lakers. Their extreme death is a bit suspicious, but this extreme play can't gain sustainability. Mosaic death is different from the death of warriors, and its death is basically going to die.

In the third round, the Lakers face the winners of the Raptors, Grizzlies, Nuggets and Pacers. From the perspective of the match, the Raptors have a higher probability of winning, and the Nuggets have a higher probability of winning. The contest between the Raptors and Nuggets is really close, but no matter whether the Lakers face the Raptors or Nuggets, there is a 6% chance of winning. After the Raptors left leonard this season, the dual-core of Siakam and Lori can't compete with the dual-core of James and Davis. The Lakers lost in the regular season, but at that time, the running-in between James and Davis had just begun. Now it's different. The pick-and-roll tactics between James and Davis have become a curse that many teams can't break, so it's difficult for the defending champion Raptors to beat the Lakers. After all, they don't have a top core. Last season, leonard won the playoffs with 3.5 points, so the chances of losing such a core Raptors are really slim.

What about another potential rival, Nuggets? Teacher Yue does have his ability, but he always feels that the Nuggets lack something. For example, against the Clippers, the Nuggets' defense is useless, and the Lakers' defense 15.5 ranks third in the league this season. The strength of the Lakers lies in the balance between the offensive and defensive ends, while the Nuggets' problem is defense. This season, the Lakers have won two games away from the Nuggets, and it is difficult for them to pose a threat to the Lakers in terms of the Nuggets' playoff performance last season. The winning percentage at home in the regular season dropped from 82.9% to 62.5% in the playoffs, which shows that the Nuggets are a regular season team and not a really strong team in the playoffs, so the probability of the Lakers beating the possible opponent Nuggets is more than 6%.

This grouping allows the Lakers to avoid the Clippers, their arch-enemy in the same city. If we follow the east-west division, the Lakers must crash the Clippers, and it's hard to say who can win the two teams. I think the two teams are evenly matched, and the chances of the Lakers successfully avoiding the Clippers and entering the finals are greatly increased after this mixing.

In fact, everything has advantages and disadvantages, which are complementary and dialectical at the same time. God is fair to everyone. You may feel that you have taken advantage for a while, but it may not be so smooth.

so what are the disadvantages of the Lakers?

① The first one is the threat of "death"

Judging from the current situation, the NBA will restart in July, and during this time period, Durant and Owen are likely to come back, because Durant was able to play 3-on-3 in the team before the league stopped. It has been two months, and there is still one month, that is, three months, when Durant is fully capable of playing. Similarly, the probability of Owen's recovery and comeback is greatly increased. If the Lakers face "Death" and Owen's comeback in the first round, the Nets are definitely the most difficult bone to chew, and the outcome is really not certain. The Lakers have the advantages of James and Davis. The Lakers don't have the third strongest point, but the Nets are different.

Let's look at the Nets' lineup Durant, Owen, Dinwiddie, Levaire, Joe Harris, Prince, Allen, Temple and Jordan Jr. It is not easy for the Lakers to win the Nets without Durant and Owen. If Durant and Owen return, the Nets will immediately enter the championship array.

Many fans think that Durant has not played for a long time and can't stop the Lakers at all. I totally disagree with this view. Durant's previous 3-on-3 ability means that Durant has fully recovered, and with the three-month adjustment period, it can be said that Durant is completely in a state of return. Durant's ability to join forces with Owen is not lost to James and Davis, and at this time, the thickness of the Nets lineup is far better than that of the Lakers. Except for James and Davis, no one in the Lakers can surpass 15 points, all of which are 6/7, 7/8 and 8/9. Look at the Nets, Dinwiddie, 2.6, Levaire, 17.7, Harris, Prince, Allen and Temple, all of which exceed 1 points. Although there is a gap between the east and the west, how big can the gap be?

At least the Nets are better than the Lakers in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and even seventh points, and such nets are even more difficult to deal with than the Clippers and Bucks. So if Durant and Owen return, the Lakers are not the best group, so it depends on whether Durant and Owen can both return. It's definitely more difficult for the Lakers to win the championship when they meet the strongest opponent in the first round. I don't think it's necessarily the winner.

② James' physical fitness

The intensity of confrontation in the playoffs has been upgraded. Old Zhan is 36 years old. Even if his physical fitness can't hold up, he is the strongest point of the Lakers, that is, it is difficult for other players except Davis to help James to a certain extent at critical times, that is, the Lakers will eventually rely on James' singles mode, which is very costly for James.

Some fans asked why there are no other players in the Lakers. Many players can help James, such as caruso, Kuzma, Rondo, Bradley, Danny Green, etc. In the regular season, James was absent, and the Lakers won .2 points in the 1 rounds. James won 8.1 points in the game. According to his own analysis, James and Davis are bound to play longer in the playoffs because there is no third finishing point, and the two men can't hold up the group fight of Warcraft! This must be taken into account, because this season, the Lakers have no effective small forward, no second organizational core, weak outside finishing ability and weak organizational ability, so James and Davis can only end the game in the star mode. This regular season is ok, but there is no weak team in the playoffs. If Durant and Owen really come back in full form, the Lakers have a 4-5 chance of losing the first round.

It seems that this group is beneficial to the Lakers, but the undercurrent is surging. Two days ago, Dinwiddie also claimed that Durant could achieve Nowitzki's ability by restoring his 8% success. Although it is a boast, Durant's ability is definitely not put on display. This fan knows all about it, and it is not a death group for the Clippers in another half-zone, especially when he meets the Bucks. I think the Lakers are more difficult opponents than the Bucks, and it is very likely that they should respond to that sentence.

If this is the way to restart the league, then the four teams have the ability to win the championship, namely Bucks, Lakers, Clippers and Nets. It's really not necessarily who can laugh at the end of these four teams. Lakers fans must not be happy too early, which has advantages and disadvantages. It seems that there is a smooth road, but I'm afraid it's not the case.

Wen/Zuiyan Watching the Ball

Recently, the NBA is actively preparing to restart the season, and it is in a special form: except for empty games, not all 3 NBA teams will participate, and it is very likely that only about 2 teams will participate in the game, and finally 16 teams will enter the playoffs.

No matter how the game system changes, the Los Angeles Lakers are a team that is firmly in the playoffs, and they also have the opportunity to continue to pursue the NBA championship this season. Faced with this situation, James is ready, but a recent incident has distracted him.

It is reported that an ordinary black youth was recently arrested by four white law enforcement officers while taking part in street activities in the United States. During the arrest, the young black man was kneed by a white law enforcement officer and died unfortunately. As soon as this incident came out, public opinion immediately fluctuated.

James, who was also born in a slum, was very dissatisfied with this matter. Together with another NBA superstar Curry, he took the initiative to speak for the black youth on the social media platform and expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation, hoping to get an explanation.

I have to say that James is the most socially responsible person in the NBA today, and Curry is the same. They are all representatives of NBA active stars. However, in the representative figure of basketball history, Michael Jordan, fans can't see any indication from him.

Actually, this is not Jordan's sudden behavior, but his usual style. Jordan has never been involved in such incidents, and he has always refused to comment on any related topics. In the previous personal documentary "The Last Dance", Jordan also made it clear that he would not participate in all controversial topics. It's not that Jordan doesn't care about such things, but he doesn't want to speak out in public because he knows that his position is too influential.

Hello, let me answer this question.

affected by the epidemic, the NBA has been suspended for more than two months. Due to the suspension, many teams have lost important income, and now the NBA can't stand it and is ready to start. According to the news recently exposed, it is possible for NBA to cancel the remaining regular season and enter the playoffs directly, and it will also adopt a new form of playoffs, in which the top 16 teams in the league will compete in the form of first vs sixteenth, second vs fifteenth. If this model is really adopted, I think this is good news for James' Lakers!

If the playoffs are played according to the current system, the first round opponent of the Lakers is the Nets, and there is no doubt that the Lakers will easily beat the Nets without Durant. The second round of the Lakers will be one of the Jazz and the Rockets. According to the playoff match between the two sides in previous years, the Rockets should be able to beat the Jazz. Although the Rockets are a tough nut to crack, the Lakers can still win, and the score is expected to be 4-2. Among the other four opponents in the same group, the Nuggets are the strongest, and the Nuggets will probably be the opponents of the Lakers in the third round. The Lakers vs the Nuggets are expected to solve the Nuggets in six games.

Let's take a look at the other group. Bucks, Celtics, Clippers and 76ers are all very strong playoff teams, but Clippers should dismantle magic first, then kill Celtics, then capture Bucks, advance to the finals and join forces with Lakers. The finals will become the Los Angeles Derby, which will be the first time in NBA history. The strength of the two sides is very close, and every game is very difficult. It is expected that the two sides will hit the tiebreak, but it is hard to say who will win the final victory.

According to the previous playoff model, the first round opponent of the Lakers will be Grizzlies. Of course, Grizzlies are weak, and the Lakers can win 4-1. The second round opponent will be Jazz, and the Lakers can solve it within six games. The opponent of the Lakers' Western Conference finals is probably the Clippers. As mentioned above, it is difficult to win or lose the Lakers Clippers game.