In 2013, the Lakers formed the Super F4 again, Kobe averaged 27+6+5 per game, how are the remaining three giants performing?

When it comes to the luxury lineup of the NBA, in addition to the three Celtics and the three Heats that have won the championship, there are many teams that also have top-level paper lineups that end up with failure in the end. For example, the current Big Three Suns have three stars selected for the best team, Durant, Booker and Bill, but the team has not even made the semi-finals in the division. This offseason they are facing the dilemma of being disbanded.

As a giant team in NBA history, the Lakers have formed many luxurious lineups in history, such as the first F4 in the 2000s. In addition to O'Neal and Kobe, the team also found Karl Malone and Payton, but because the team was deeply involved in the locker room conflict at the time, and the core players declined due to their age and injuries, they were regretful that they failed to win the championship. Later, in 2012, the Lakers formed a new generation of F4. At that time, they also brought Howard and Nash when they had Kobe and Gasol.

Kobe and Gasol at that time just led the team to win two consecutive championships two years ago, and Howard was at the peak. He was still selected for the Best Team in the 2011-2012 season. Although Nash, the oldest of the four, declined the most significantly from the peak, his organizational ability is still there, and he does not need to bear too many heavy responsibilities in this lineup. However, even though the Lakers formed such a luxurious lineup on paper, they were eliminated in the first round in the end. So what happened that season?

First, let's take a look at the performance of the two teams. Kobe, for example, he is still one of the best players in the league this season. Kobe, 35, played in 78 games in the regular season, and averaged 27.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.4 steals, and a shooting percentage of 46.3%. The average assist is also a new high since 2005. It can be seen that after Howard and Nash joined the team, he has changed his playing style to a certain extent.

However, because the Lakers were struggling overall this season, Kobe did not have a chance to take a break and breathe throughout the regular season. In this way, he kept carrying the team and barely got a place in the playoffs. But in the end, Kobe fell down. In the game against the Warriors, his physical condition still went wrong. Because of that Achilles tendon ruptured, Kobe's peak was completely gone.

For Gasol, he is the most affected player in F4 this season. He only played 49 games in the regular season, averaged only 13.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and his shooting percentage was less than 50%. It is precisely because of Gasol's injury that Kobe's pressure has become even greater. If he can keep healthy and share some of the burden for the latter, maybe Kobe won't suffer such a major injury. Later, in the 2013-2014 season, Gasol only played 60 regular season games due to injury, and finally realized that it was difficult for him to return to the top. In 2014, they did not firmly choose to keep him, and Gasol then joined the Bulls.

The locker room conflicts frequently occur. Howard did his own thing? At that time, Howard was also known as the No. 1 center in the league. In fact, he did have the capital. After all, he had been selected for the Best Team for five consecutive years, and won DPOY three times during this period. He also led the team to the finals in 2009. However, at that time Howard's personality had already exposed his disobedience to discipline. Although the system of head coach Van Gundy proved that he could succeed, he could not stand the latter's harshness and finally forced the coach who joined hands to enter the finals. This also showed Howard's attitude at that time. He wanted to play "happy basketball" even more and he was not willing to bear too much pressure.

After coming to the Lakers, Howard's personality has not changed at all, especially in big cities like Los Angeles. He is even more "like a fish in water". Participating in various programs, making friends with celebrities in the entertainment industry, etc. has become his favorite things. At the same time, Howard still likes to be funny on the field, and he does not put extra pressure on himself in pursuit of victory. But here Howard's teammate is Kobe, whose persistence in victory is obvious to all, so a conflict quickly arose between the two, and neither side is willing to give in.

In this case, Howard also played even more unique on the court. Although the team has two major ball-holding core players on the outside, he is enough to play without the ball, but he is still obsessed with his low singles. And if he can play this tactic well, it will be the same thing. The key is that his low post is not dominant, so he actually plays awkwardly. Therefore, Howard averaged 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocks per game in the regular season, and the scores and rebounds are all new lows in the past five years.

With the disrupted team tactical arrangements, Howard still regards himself as aloof, thinking that he is younger and can be trusted by the Lakers more. After the season, he even told the Lakers that if they want to renew their contract with him, they can only send Kobe away. After hearing this, the Lakers directly gave up Howard decisively. You must know that Kobe is a super giant who has brought the team five championship trophys. How dare you, a newcomer who has only played for the Lakers for a year, say such words.

Nash failed to integrate into the team

Above we mentioned that Howard's random plays caused the team to fail to build the most suitable offensive system for the lineup. Therefore, Nash was even more confused in this situation. And you should know that he was already 38 years old and his competitive state was no longer as good as his peak, so playing in a system that was not suitable for him accelerated his decline. Nash, who averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists and double-double data in the Suns the year before, averaged 12.7 points and 6.7 assists in the regular season in 2012-2013, and his overall shooting percentage also declined..

In fact, if Howard didn't play randomly and the Lakers could hand over more balls to Nash, he would definitely have a better game influence. After all, his overall situation and ball quotient are there, and his holding the ball can make Kobe and others play more easily. Later, after experiencing various things, Howard finally woke up. Unfortunately, they could never return to the 2012-2013 season. The only thing worthy of gratitude is that after Howard returned to the Lakers in the 2019-2020 season, he also helped the team win the championship, which is the best gift to Kobe.