Behind LeBron’s incredible skills, an observation of the Lakers’ defense, design and offense

LeBron made his first appearance of the season. His 23rd season.

Although LeBron said in training yesterday: "There is no team or club in the world that I cannot integrate into and play for. I can do anything."

But when he really quickly integrated into the team after being away from the game for 7 months and helped the Lakers play a 140-point game, scoring 11 points, 12 assists and 1 turnover, we were still amazed.

"The last weapon of an old swordsman is no longer agility, but proficiency."

In this game, LeBron's adaptability and the adaptability and performance of most of the players on the team can be scored full marks.

But in terms of game content, why did the Lakers fall behind by double digits in the first quarter? What adjustments did they make subsequently? Where did LeBron's 12 assists come from? What are the "overlooked" details of the three-core run-in in the first game of this season?

Next, let’s talk about this game, which actually has a lot of content.

First of all, let’s start with the four elements of the game:

pts/Poss is the team’s score per 100 rounds—that is, offensive efficiency.

Obviously, the Lakers' defense in this game was not good. They allowed the Jazz to achieve an offensive efficiency of close to 120, and their eFG%, which represents scoring ability, was also quite high.

Then let’s start with the starting lineup and offense and defense:

The Lakers adopted Hachimura’s starting lineup in this game. This means that the team must defend through a mixed defense system-it makes no sense to spray "infinite defense changes".

This lineup is a mismatch trap. There are many people in the lineup who are not equipped to deal with complex screens. Asking Luka, Reeves, and LeBron to squeeze through the screens is a great challenge for them.

As for delay, this is a method that everyone can think of, but the reality is that the Lakers have never used it - I can only think that this defensive strategy during training did not achieve satisfactory results. We can look forward to it later.

Moreover, the reason why the Lakers lost 36 points in the first quarter of this game was really not due to switching defenses (or mixed defenses) - I still compiled all the scoring rounds in the first quarter except fast breaks and tip-ins, and let's see how the points were lost.

I divide it into several categories:

1. Unresolute change of defense (or communication error when changing defense)

Ayton changed slowly, allowing Mykhailiuk to make a three-pointer;

Luka made a normal save in this round, but Keyante George held up The defense made a three-pointer;

The first change was good, but the Jazz made another pop-up bomb. Lao James and Laravia did not communicate well. Vincent rotated and interfered, but the interference due to height issues was ineffective;

2. Rotation foot problems and close out problem:

LeBron went to tag inside and then passed the ball to the bottom corner. He did not save to defend the three-pointer (Xiao Li also did not rotate);

In the second offensive round, Xiao Li was stunned for too long and did not find his man in time;

Luka close out was passed by one step, and the baseline helper on the weak side was blocked by the crossbow;

Smart failed to steal, Xiaoli's weak side shrank, and Luka rotated the corner, but his footwork was slow;

3. Due to the breakthrough of the main defense in the mixed defense, the weak area of the mid-range system , was blasted by a single point shot with the ball:

Makar held the ball and shot Ayton;

Keyonte George singled out Hayes, a super difficult fadeaway mid-range shot;

Keyonte George picked and rolled Smart;

Makar held the ball and shot Hayes.

What then? No more - so many positions were lost in the first quarter, which was "perfectly consistent" with the classification.

Among them, rotation and close out issues are worthy of attention, and they are considered "flaws" - more efforts must be made to strengthen them in the future, otherwise it will affect the normal operation of the system.

But the remaining two items are not a big problem:

Unresolute switching of defense is not a problem that is difficult to solve. It is rare in the league that there are as many shooting points as the Jazz and a team that likes to directly pull out three-pointers from a screen (Jazz is seventh in the league in three-point frequency), and even the final game result It also proves that the Jazz cannot be accurate for the whole game;

The weak area of the mid-range system is a problem, but this is originally the "trap area" of the mixed defense system - turning the easy breakthrough after roll call (the hit rate may exceed 70%) into one mid-range shot after another - if you can kill me, you will count on your ability.

I'm not saying that I fully support this system, but today, the Lakers actually achieved the goal of their "game design" - their game design. I wrote about it before against the Pelicans:

The starting lineup fills up the space and is equipped with a stable shooter (Hachimura) , protect the offense and play mixed defense (use the mixed defense to test whether the opponent can match the Lakers' offense);

Smart, Laravia and other players "pseudo-start" to increase the intensity and strengthen the defensive intensity in the transition period (with the two-two combination of the three cores, "three guarantees two" to achieve both offense and defense).

However, because the Lakers' offense in the first quarter was a bit deliberately better than Lao Zhan's, the offense in the first half of the quarter was not very good (8 points in the half) - after they gradually returned to their normal rhythm, the starting lineup did not lose any more points in the second half.

The real gap in the game comes when the two cores are separated and the two are combined - the defense strengthens, Luka and Xiaoli find themselves, and LeBron's integration becomes more natural and smoother.

Let’s compare the way LeBron participated in the offense in the first quarter and the way he participated in the offense in the fourth quarter:

In the first quarter,

the Lakers’ first offense was looking for LeBron—Luka and Ayton pick-and-roll. The Jazz’s “Ice” defense forced him to the sideline, and Ayton Downstream attracts help from the weak side - let us note that Mykhailiuk in the bottom corner here is responsible for tag (pad defense) Ayton, and Keyonte George has to take care of one defense and two. His position is biased towards LeBron in the bottom corner - obviously, Reeves, who moved from 45 degrees to the top of the arc, is a better and more reasonable connection point.. But Luka still resolutely wanted to cross four people and pass to LeBron in the corner. destroyed.

Luka is the best scorer in the league. He can see the top of the key even from a more outrageous position. There is no possibility that he "missed" Reeves. His choice in this round was definitely intentional.

The same goes for this round - Luka received Hachimura's frontcourt pass and threw it directly to LeBron without looking at the frame. But LeBron just came back and wanted to slowly adapt to the game, so he directly dumped Reeves without looking at the frame.

Two invalid passes ended up being one-on-one by Xiaoli.

Deliberately passed James' hand, and Luka ran "flare"-but is this really the best way to play against the Jazz? We'll compare it later.

After two consecutive fake screens for LeBron, LeBron was asked to deal Ayton a mid-range shot. If Luka's tactics still make sense, these two rounds did not take the Jazz seriously.

(And wouldn’t playing Xiaoli and Luka like this make them completely spectators?)

In the last round before the timeout, the main offensive tactic was designed for LeBron, allowing him to hold the ball in a pick-and-roll, and finally pass it to Luka in the corner.

In this round, the contradictions of the Lakers' first quarter are clearly reflected:

The Lakers have been looking for LeBron, wanting him to focus on "finding the feeling" or simply wanting him to play for a few rounds to cheer the audience - but LeBron himself has no desire to attack at all (pick-and-roll, one step directly to pass the ball), he is still re-feeling the rhythm of the game, looking for physical sensation...

It's weird to play like this, not awkward.

The game lasted less than six minutes. I don’t know whether LeBron gave the initiative or Redick took the initiative to stop it. After the next round, the Lakers paused.

After that, the Lakers' offense looked like this:

Luka Ram tactics, direct pick-and-roll and Macca score;

Luka and Hayes pick-and-roll, Jazz switched defense, Hayes lobbed;

Laravia touched the screen and directly ran back to receive Luka's dunk;

Luka wanted to switch defense and then stepped past Li Kyle for a layup;

Hachimura and Lala split, and Luka scored.

What do we see in these rounds?

First of all, when the main offensive player is threatening, the Jazz cannot guard against the Lakers' mid-range cooperation (of course it has something to do with the fact that they replaced the crossbow machine at this stage, but it is almost the same with the crossbow machine). This is the capital of the Lakers to "dare to wave";

Secondly, occupying There is a big difference between who is at the top of the arc and who is occupying the wings - LeBron occupies the top of the arc, and his lack of desire to attack is the first problem. The second problem is that Luka and Xiaoli occupy the wings at this time - the two of them did not actively seek cooperation in this game like Laravia and Hachimura.

The sum of two is the essential reason for the sluggish offense of the Lakers in the first half of the first quarter.

Of course, this problem cannot be improved in the future - there are too many ways to improve, including giving the top of the arc directly to Luka and Xiaoli, one person holding the ball and two people splitting or other cooperation, various three-person screens, and other methods...

These three people played well together last season. We don't need to worry, they just want to watch LeBron perform today, and LeBron is not ready.

In the second quarter, when LeBron and Reeves partnered up, the situation actually started when Reeves returned to the top of the key:

This round is very typical:

Xiaoli tried to misplace the pick-and-roll for LeBron, but today Lao Zhan had no desire. He passed a meaningless ball to Laravia, and Laravia passed it back to Xiaoli - Xiaoli saw that there was not much time - then let me do it:

One step removed Marka, rushed in Ayton to contain the crossbow machine, Xiaoli hit the throw.

In the next round, Vincent will provide ghost cover for Xiaoli. Reeves passed directly through the man's seam and scored 2+1-whatever I say, the Jazz couldn't guard against the "Husband and Seven Combination"'s breakthrough in the middle.

Of course LeBron and Redick can understand this - we have no way of knowing what they talked about specifically, but it is obvious that LeBron rarely gets the ball at the top of the arc - they changed a method to "activate LeBron" (to be precise, activate the whole team):

Low post attack.

Low post offense

From the second half of the second quarter to the third quarter, the Lakers played a lot of low post offenses directed by LeBron and Luka:

LeBron played in low post, catching the moment Cody made a move and turning around to wipe it out, attracting defense assists and Ayton's empty space Receive;

The low post attracts the frame protector to help defend and the weak side shrinks, Love falls into one defense and two defenses-he obviously does not have this ability, Smart cuts in, LeBron makes a pass and assists Smart to score;

LeBron receives Reeves' "Flex" screen in the third quarter He came out to catch the ball in the low post, turned around and broke through to attract double-teams, and gave Reeves a good opportunity, but it was destroyed by the opponent's violation of the rule;

Luka also hit the low post to force the Jazz's young Bailey - this means that the Lakers began to seriously want to close the game;

Luka Also playing flex in the low post, and also attracting assists from defense, Ayton alley-oops - just like playing against LeBron - anything you can do, I will do too;

Then LeBron in the low post again - this will be a top-of-the-arb cut, using Reeves' flat screen. Scored directly in the face of a mismatch.

"We are very satisfied with the performance of LeBron and Luka Doncic in the low post, and Ayton is also very threatening in the penalty area. He is a good outlet because he has a good touch, and we have to pass lobs to him." Redick said.

In the second three quarters, after the Lakers' offense began to regain its order, the Jazz were completely unable to stop them - either Luka and Xiaoli held the ball in pick-and-rolls at the top of the key and kept breaking into the middle; or LeBron and Luka went to the low post to bully young people who had not yet grown up in body and experience..

At the same time, the Lakers' defensive intensity also began to increase. In the second half, they surprisingly turned into squeezing screens-Redick said that he "challenged the whole team" during the half-time break-this should be what he was referring to.

Although the defense was not very good in the first round (don't expect too much if these guys crowd the screen...), after Smart and Laravia gradually came on the field, their defensive intensity increased significantly:

In this round, although the Lakers still switched defenses on the first DHO screen, the overall defense in the whole round was very beautiful - the first switch was very decisive and did not leave any opening for shooting; Reeves turned around the screen to chase Young Te George's flare; Mykhailiuk passed the ball and Kyle Lee cut in, and Smart followed up perfectly; James on the weak side came very actively to pretend to help defend and "stunt"; and inside, Smart and Luka completed the peel-switch again...

In the end, the Jazz could only let Kyle Lee play a desperate single in this round, which was interfered by Ayton.

This round also depends on the defense - after having Smart and Laravia, the Lakers no longer "brainlessly switch defenses". Smart did not switch to chase Keyonte George, and Sensab Flare was too threatening, so Laravia and Luka switched defenses - but after Sensab cut, facing Collier and Kyle Lee's keep, Laravia and Hayes did not switch again, and in the end the two completed a good one-on-one defense.

The offensive problem was solved, and the defensive end used enthusiasm, discipline and rotation to make up for the weak points of talent. Coupled with the Jazz's declining touch (in the first half, they made 10 of 25 three-pointers, a shooting percentage of 40%, and in the second half, they made 3 of 20, a shooting percentage of 15%). The Lakers quickly eroded the Jazz's score advantage and took the lead.

What finally killed the game completely was LeBron's "wave of assists" in the fourth quarter.

"A wave of assists" in the fourth quarter

In the fourth quarter, LeBron held the ball at the top of the arc again, but the Lakers' arrangement for him changed - Reeves' flare screen was the first opportunity, and then Hayes immediately hit a touch and followed it up as the second opportunity - LeBron was so electric that he seemed to have penetrated the crotch of the crossbow?

passed the ball directly through the defense, and Haisli split Huashan.

This time, it was Reeves holding the ball at the top of the arc - LeBron played flare. With the "experience" in the previous round, the crossbow quickly retreated, and Cody on the weak side immediately shrank to help defend - but they "fell into the trap" again.

This is LeBron. What he is best at is using the opponent's prediction to make the opponent "choose one of two poisonous wines" - as soon as the weak side shrinks, he immediately jumps and passes to Vincent in the bottom corner of the weak side.

Vincent made a move and hit a very flattering three-pointer.

In the next round, the Lakers played a "Hawk": Ayton first provided a back screen for Reeves, Reeves UCLA cut, and then he immediately provided a screen for LeBron, and a Re-screen from LeBron - after the body "warm-up" was completed, LeBron showed a stronger offensive threat than in the first half. He broke through to attract three people, passed the ball into the pocket, and Ayton scored with a wonderful pass.

The timing and skill of passing the ball to Ayton were superb. It can be called the best in this game.

Then he caught the ball in transition and once again passed the ball without looking at the pocket to assist Ayton who followed up.

Once again, he turned his back to ask for the ball, as if there were eyes in the back of his head. When all the Jazz players were staring at him and the flare of Reeves on the line, he accurately read the cut of Laravia on the weak side - assisting Laravia for a dunk.

Not only Ayton but also Laravia enjoyed the "cake" today. This "uncertain flying ring" type of free-handed mobile player is also the biggest beneficiary of LeBron's comeback and the further enhancement of the Lakers' passing ability.

LeBron hit the frontcourt and then broke through to assist Laravia - there is another detail here. LeBron obviously saw Laravia empty the moment he turned around, but he did not pass the ball directly. Instead, he broke through two steps first to ensure that the defense was completely "sucked" in front of him, and then passed the ball.

Laravia hit a big gap.

Finally, another accurate capture of a mismatch in transition assisted Ayton to score.

The point difference instantly widened to 19 points.

In addition to lamenting LeBron's skills in these passes, the difference in the way the Lakers use LeBron in the first and fourth quarters is also very obvious:

In the first quarter, the Lakers just looked for him without purpose, and then asked him to deal cards at the top of the arc or play one-on-one (with at most one block In the fourth quarter, the Lakers deployed a large number of three-person coverage tactics around LeBron, allowing him to catch the ball in the low post - not forcing him to hold the ball at the top of the key or at the beginning of the round, but relying on tactics to create threats and allowing him to find those lightning-fast opportunities in the natural flow of tactics.

The 41-year-old LeBron is different from before - now, when LeBron "disappears" on the court, that is actually when his presence is strongest.

The body will decline, and shooting will occasionally betray you, but passing the ball will not. The 41-year-old LeBron missed the court for 7 months and did not have any official games with his teammates - but he immediately figured out how to pass the ball to Ayton and all his teammates - just like he had been playing with them for several years. This is shocking. Who is the better passer, Luka or LeBron? Each has his own merits is definitely a correct answer - but when LeBron solves the problem that Luka took more than ten games (counting the preseason) to solve as soon as he comes on the court - we will have some new understanding. When a person is so old that he has almost nothing left, we can truly see his "undertone" - physical fitness is of course also a kind of undertone, but it will fade. What is the thing about LeBron that will not fade? It was the first sentence written in his draft report 23 years ago: "His vision and passing skills make him different. An athlete who combines height and ball-handling skills is very rare. The only person in history who can combine these points is Magic Johnson. There are no more than 5 people in the NBA who have LeBron's vision and passing skills."

This is just the first game of the Lakers' three-core game this season..

Obviously, they're not perfect yet and have some defensive issues and unresolved rotation issues -- but that's okay. This game has fully demonstrated the "lower limit" of the three-core, as Reeves said:

"We have two of the best passers in the history of basketball. If they can make the right judgment, I think 90% of the time, you can play dominant basketball, and the game should be easy.