With the decline of the big center, the current NBA has gradually become the world of forward players, in comparison, the guard is also full of talent, but the overall quality is really inferior to the forward. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Especially those good small forwards, the speed is not worse than the guard, the shooting ability is the same as the guard, but the body is stronger, and the lethality on both offensive and defensive ends is also greater than the guard. Especially the emergence of an all-round forward like James, a person can play from the No. 1 position to the No. 5 position, which directly impacts the position of the point guard, and there is such a small forward in the team, and the position of the point guard who can't shoot is not as good as those 3D players on the wing.

The trend of the NBA in the future is even more so, as a guard, either like Curry, Westbrook, and Harden, he has super scoring means; Or Beverley, a 3-and-D player who has a good defense and can shoot three-pointers. Point guards who rely purely on organization are becoming less and less popular, such as Irving, Thomas Jr., Lillard, Lowry and others, although they all have good assist ability, but they are also becoming more and more inclined to score.

The future Cavaliers are increasingly reliant on James, who is also averaging several more assists per game than Irving; The Spurs are increasingly reliant on Leonard, and Parker, the Spurs' one-time playmaker, has begun to become irrelevant; As for the Warriors, the key to victory is not Curry, not Thompson, but Draymond Green.

In comparison, also in the small forward position, the Lakers' Wesley Johnson is really a little too weak. Lakers general manager Kupchak also knows this, and if he wants to go far in the playoffs, reinforcements are a must. Kupchak also wanted to make up for it, but unfortunately it was difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.

Before the start of the season, the Lakers have little room to operate, this season's Lakers, Kobe, Gasol and Nash's salaries occupy a lot of space, the Lakers' salary has exceeded the salary cap, and the Lakers have no first-round picks, no middle-class exceptions, no biennial exceptions, and the only thing the Lakers can do is sign players with a base salary. And after Kobe Bryant's injury, the Lakers are already planning to play badly, what else does a bad team need to operate?

"Strengthening the front line, it's easy to say, but what do I use to strengthen? The trading deadline has passed, and now you can only find someone on the free market. But at this time, there are no decent players in the free market, and they can only be signed with a base salary. Wait a minute, veteran base salary! Maybe try that guy! I don't know how he's recovering from his knee injury. Kupchak suddenly remembered a familiar name.

……

Just as Kupchak was having a headache for the Lakers' roster reinforcement, the Lakers were also challenging the Timberwolves on the road, and the Lakers were once again in a tough battle.

Gasol was knocked out of the game in the second quarter by Love and was sent off the court for an examination. When Gasol was off the court, the interior combination of Carman and Jordan Hill had the feeling of being blown up by the Timberwolves.

Timberwolves, the two starting interior lines are Lefu and Pekovic, Lefou's strength does not need to be introduced, Pekovic is also a tonnage heavy and strong center, with strong aggression at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and there is almost no center to shake his position in the low post under the basket.

Having said that, Pekovic is really a bit like Kaman when he was younger, with similar characteristics. If Kaman was five years younger, maybe he would really fight to the death with Pekovic, but now Kaman is past his peak youth, and Pekovic is at his peak, and the contest between the two, Kaman is really a little powerless.

And between Jordan Hill and Lefou, there are really several notches behind.

Although some people say that Lefu is a data brush, it is undeniable that Lefu is a rare scorer in the league, and Lefou's points per game average can be said to be the highest among interior players. Jordan Hill, on the other hand, looks tough on the outside and has outstanding athleticism, but his strength and defensive fundamentals are average, that is, he is not strong enough on the defensive end. For Lefou, he likes to play this kind of opponent who seems to be tough but is actually very weak, and the result is that Lefou's data once flew up, and after three quarters, it was almost a triple-double data.

For the Lakers, Bazemore's defense made Kevin Martin a little tight, and his shooting percentage was not high. Rubio, on the other hand, was simply beaten by Zhang Guan.

Spain's "golden boy" Rubio has been in the NBA for three years, but his shooting ability has not improved at all. In recent times, Rubio has no desire to attack, and he has no confidence in attacking, and he can even break through the opponent's five people, and then pass the ball to his teammates, not daring to attack by himself.

The Timberwolves are wreaking havoc on the inside, and the Lakers are outside players. In the end, the game dragged into overtime, and in overtime, Pekovic's physical strength dropped so that the Timberwolves were a little weak, and the Lakers also won the game quite thrillingly.

In the post-match examination, Gasol was fine, and a slight treatment and rest were all that would be sufficient, and it would not affect the next game.

However, the inside line was hanged, which made Zhang Guanxin's rating of the Lakers' interior players a notch lower.

"Now the Lakers' interior line is quite a lot. Gasol, Carman, Jordan Hill, Ryan Kelly, Thackeray, Gasol is completely trustworthy; Recently, Kaman has become a bit of a bully and afraid of the hard, encountering a team without an inside line to cut all kinds of doubles, and encountering a strong inside opponent, immediately deflated! ”

Zhang Guan looked at Jordan Hill again and shook his head slightly.

"Jordan Hill, who was also the No. 8 pick that year, but he has been on many teams and has never met people's expectations, and there is a reason. This guy's athleticism is good, and he trains very hard, but his level can't go up, which is probably what people call a lack of talent! This kind of guy is already very good to be able to mix in the NBA rotation. ”

"As for Ryan Kelly." Zhang Guan looked at this "tall white", and couldn't help but sigh lightly.

As the 48th pick in the second round this year, and the only rookie in the Lakers for several years, Ryan Kelly's personal data is still very good. Playing an average of 22.3 minutes per game, he can get 8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists, which is for a rookie, especially a rookie in the draft, who can almost squeeze into the best rookie team.

For a "tall white" like Ryan Kelly who can shoot but has little confrontation ability, the best template is undoubtedly Ryan Anderson, and it is also possible to be a Steve Novak. But Lane Kelly's shooting percentage is not very good, according to the new standard, his current shooting percentage is still in the past, but his rookie season is his best season, and then it is Wang Xiaoer's New Year, which is not as good as a year.

As for Thackeray, it really takes talent or talent, physical and unskilled, technical and unskilled, and the dirty work he does on the inside line is not satisfactory. As an NBA-caliber player, Thackeray probably has nothing but passion.

"Such an inside combination, I just hope Gasol won't get injured again!" Zhang Guan sighed silently in his heart.

……

On March 30, the Lakers host the Phoenix Suns, which is a crucial game for both teams.

The Suns have just come through a six-game winning streak and have a current record of 44-29, while in the West, the Grizzlies and Mavericks also have 29 losses.

The Warriors are currently at 27 losses, sixth in the West, and the gap of two losses has made the Warriors stand out and have a relatively solid position in the playoffs. And this also makes the competition between the Suns, Mavericks and Grizzlies more intense. In the case that everyone is 29 losses, whoever loses a game is equivalent to losing the first move, and it is very likely that they will fall behind in the accumulated competition.

The Lakers can't afford to lose a game now. Keeping a win to end the regular season, the Lakers still have a chance to live, and if they lose one more game, it may really be out of play.

And if the current Lakers want to enter the playoffs, they must pull down two of the Suns, Mavericks and Grizzlies, so in the face of the Suns, Mavericks and Grizzlies, the Lakers win is equivalent to narrowing the advantage of consecutive games. Therefore, the Lakers are also chasing this game to win.

At the heart of the Suns is Dragic, the 2008 second-round pick who has become the league's new inspirational figure, having the best season of his career, averaging 20.3 points, 5.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, which is almost an All-Star calibre, and he will be voted the Most Improved Player this season.

At the World Championships in Turkey four years ago, Zhang Guan played against Dragic, who was the point guard of the Slovenian team at the time. And now, the two are fighting again, but Dragic is much more mature than back then, and the kind of step-back jump shot is also becoming more and more proficient.

Partnering Dragic at the back is Bledsoe.

"Blood Cloth" Bledsoe is a desperate San Lang on the court, this guy's defense is better than Wei Shao, and his desperate style also happens to complement Dragic, making the Suns' backcourt level outstanding in the entire league.

Zhang Guan has never been afraid of the kind of players who are willing to work hard, he can't wait for the opponent to fight with himself, anyway, the defenders who dare to fight him hard, none of them have a good end. So Bledsoe had some tragedy in this game, where to sing 1 of 9 shots, 0 of 4 three-pointers, plus four fouls and four turnovers.

In addition, the Suns' two interior players, Myles Plumlee and Channing Frye, were also blown out by Carman and Gasol.

Carman had a big double-double of 28 points and 17 rebounds, and Gasol also had 20 points.

Recently, Kaman's performance has been a little inconsistent, and he is obviously bullying the soft and afraid of the hard, the last game against the Timberwolves, was bullied by Pekovic into a dog, this time facing the inexperienced Plumlee, instantly regained his confidence.

Gasol, on the other hand, is still relatively consistent, and he has more than enough experience to deal with big man pitchers like Channing Frye.

The Morris brothers, the twin Morris brothers on the Suns' bench, have caused some trouble for the Lakers. The twins play with each other, and it's easy to get confused when defending, but the Morris brothers have a similar style of play, and the defensive strategies against them are similar, even if they are confused, it doesn't affect the overall situation.

In the end, the Lakers won the crucial game with a 115-99 victory over the Suns, and the Suns' loss became 30 games, and they have lost the lead in the race for playoff tickets, behind the Grizzlies and Mavericks.

……

Next, the Lakers will play back-to-back games, the first being at home against the Trail Blazers.

Lillard was still limited by Zhang, but Aldridge had a big double-double of 31 points and 15 rebounds. It's just that the Trail Blazers didn't win, because in the Lakers, Nick Young's "nerve knife" is powerful again.

Nick Young pumped the wind and was a young Kobe Bryant. This game scored a full 40 points, and the shooting rate was as high as 60%, such a Nick Young directly stunned the Trail Blazers, until the end of the game, Aldridge was gloomy, he got a big double-double, originally wanted to get a victory, but because of a nerve knife before the effort was lost.

Immediately afterwards, the Lakers went to the away game against the Sacramento Kings, the last time the two teams met, the Kings' center Cousins was injured and sidelined, and the Lakers also won relatively easily, and this time Cousins returned from injury, and the Lakers' interior line will obviously suffer great pressure.

In fact, in the face of Cousins, Carman turned into a soft-footed shrimp again, and Cousins only played 25 minutes and got a 20+10 double-double.

It's just that now the Kings have a record of only 26 wins and 48 losses, ranking second to last in the West, and in the last season of the regular season, such a team will definitely be rotten, so the Kings players don't have any fighting spirit, Cousins and Rudy Gay each finished their data, and they all went to rest, and the game entered garbage time, and the Lakers won one more win.

……

In the locker room, Marchand-Brooks was packing his things. He had just returned to Los Angeles from Sacramento when he received a disappointing notification that he had been cut from the team!

Bazemore looked at his companion with some pity, both were originally Warriors players, the two were traded to the Lakers together, and now Marshon Brooks is going to be cut.

Bazemore couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency in his heart, he was also a base salary player like Marshon Brooks, and now that Marshon Brooks has been cut, Bazemore will have to work harder if he wants to stay.

"Cut Marchand, there will definitely be new people in the team, I don't know who will come?" Bazemore said in his heart.

However, it wasn't long before the answer was revealed.

"Everyone, let's welcome a new companion, a new companion that everyone knows very well, to be exact, world peace!" Kupchak personally introduced the players to the Lakers' new signings.

Kupchak is not shouting slogans, "World Peace" is the name of the player, and this new signing is none other than Ci Shiping.

Tzu was bought out by the Knicks in February due to a recurrence of his knee injury. Now Ci Shiping has been unemployed for almost two months, and the Lakers signed Ci Shiping with a one-year veteran's base salary.

It is said that only one-fifth of the veteran's basic salary is guaranteed, and the rest of the amount needs to be fought for by Ci Shiping through personal efforts, such as getting more playing time, ensuring that injuries do not occur again, etc.

Ci Shiping is also a veteran player of the Lakers, when he was still called Artest, he helped the Lakers win the NBA championship, and also experienced the era of the Lakers' "new F4", until last season, the Lakers cut him in order to save salary space.

Tzu Shiping has the advantage of being able to quickly familiarize himself with D'Antoni's tactical system, as he was a player under D'Antoni last season. For the Lakers, they don't need Ci Shiping to score now, the Lakers have Zhang Guan, there is no shortage of people who can score, Ci Shiping only needs to contribute to the defensive period is enough.

With Ci Shiping's current strength, as long as he stays healthy, there is no problem playing in the NBA. Two years later, Ci Shiping can still get a veteran base salary in the NBA, and now Ci Shiping can still play more than ten minutes a game.

"I remember that Ci Shiping was going to China to play CBA next season, and he went to Sichuan Province, and it seems that he changed his name to 'Friends of Pandas' at that time. I didn't expect to be signed back to the Lakers now. If he can maintain his form, maybe he will stay with the Lakers next season instead of going to the CBA. ”

At this time, Zhang Guan remembered the CBA league in China, and the next moment, his head flashed, and he suddenly thought of someone.

"Sichuan Province, how did I forget him, he played there last year. If you can sign him to the Lakers now as a backup center, that guy will have to be more reliable than Thackeray! Thinking of this, Zhang Guan came to Kupchak.

"General manager, our right scout, do you have time now? I need a scout to inquire about someone. Zhang Guan said.

"Who?" Kupchak asked.

"This guy was drafted in 2010, was drafted in the second round 33, was cut and went to play in our country's NBL." Zhang Guan said.

“NBL？ Isn't your country's league simply called CBA? Kupchak asked.

"The NBL is the development league of the CBA, similar to the relationship between the NBA and the NBDL." Zhang Guan opened his mouth to explain.

"So, this player can't even play in your country's CBA, and is going to a secondary development league?" Kupchak thought it was a little incredible.

Even the strongest foreign players in the CBA can't play in the NBA, let alone the CBA's development league players. Kupchak didn't understand why Zhang Guan would let scouts pay attention to such a bad player.

"What's his name?" Kupchak asked.

“Whiteside！ The Chinese pronunciation of this word is done - white edge! Zhang Guan said the last two words in Chinese.