Doncic is injured! Averaged 3 points per game! The Lakers are right to trade you

Sudden! The sky is falling for the Lakers!

Doncic will miss at least a week due to a left finger sprain and left calf contusion!

James will not be able to return for half a month due to sciatica. He is now fine, and Doncic is also injured.

The Lakers can only rely on Reeves to lead the team. In the fiercely competitive Western Conference, it will most likely be difficult!

In December last year, the Lakers finally traded D'Angelo Russell and acquired Finney Smith from the Nets. This transaction was crucial to the Lakers last season, directly changing the team's defensive system and pulling the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference.

It is a pity that the Lakers did not keep Finney Smith this summer and sent him to the Rockets. However, Finney Smith underwent ankle surgery and is still unable to play due to injury.

Could it be that the Lakers management knew about it a long time ago and therefore did not renew his contract?

As long as Finney-Smith returns to health, he will be of great help to the Rockets.

After talking about Finney-Smith, let’s talk about D’Angelo Russell, who was traded by the Lakers.

Since Irving will be out for a long time due to a torn cruciate ligament, Russell chose to join the Mavericks this summer with a two-year contract worth $11.65 million, hoping to become the team's starting guard and once again show his worth.

However, things went against expectations. Kidd, the head coach of the Mavericks, asked Flagg, the new No. 1 pick, to serve as a tall point guard, and Russell could only come off the bench.

But Russell, who came off the bench, performed very poorly in the first two games of the new season.

Played 15 minutes in the first game, made 1 of 6, scored 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

Only played 8 minutes in the second game. In the second half, he was directly DNP, 0-for-3, and only scored 1 point, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

Averaging 3.5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in two games, a total of 1 of 9. Russell's performance was very miserable!

Perhaps the Lakers made the right decision in trading him.

Not only Russell is struggling, but the entire Mavericks are struggling.

With no qualified point guard, the Mavericks are in a mess on the offensive end!

The league's bottom in offensive efficiency (97.5), the bottom in the league's effective field goal percentage (45.8%), and the second-to-last turnover rate (17.8%)

Before the start of the season, the Mavericks were once considered a strong contender for the top half of the Western Conference. As a result, judging from the current two games, the offensive end is in a mess.

Nongmei still averaged 24.5 points, 13 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in the two games, but without an excellent passer, Nongmei's personal efficiency has also dropped a lot.

As for No. 1 pick Flagg, he is only 18 years old and still needs to slowly adapt to the rhythm of the NBA and his position in the team. The offensive end is struggling, but the defensive end is very strong. This is his basic game.

It is expected that Irving will return to the game in January 2026. Will the Mavericks have fallen behind by then?