5 steals in a single game! The Hornets have been cut, the Lakers are quick to grab, he can perfectly replace Vanderbilt

After signing Laravia, Ayton and Thiero, there was no movement when signing the Lakers.

Do the Lakers' lineup still have shortcomings?

I think there must be. To be precise, there is no one defender who encounters pick-and-roll cover and chases and defends the small defender.

23-24 season, Vanderbilt's pick-and-roll restricted his opponent by 0.86 points/round - better than 62.1% of the league's players, and can be said to be the main pick-and-roll defender in the Lakers. However, due to injury, the efficiency plummeted to 1.06 points per round in the 24-25 season.

It can be seen that the injury has indeed had a great impact on Vanderbilt. More importantly, the Lakers lack one pick-and-roll defenseman. From this point of view, it is normal to be easily eliminated by the Timberwolves in the playoffs - Edwards accounted for 21.2% of the rounds and ended through a pick-and-roll, 1.11 points/round - better than 81.3% of the league's players.

At the same time, according to the NBA China official website, the Hornets have laid off guard Okogi. What are the characteristics of

Okogi?

Summary in one sentence: attack weakly and defend strongly.

In the 416 games so far in NBA career, Okogi's true offensive plus-minus value -2.3, and the real defense plus-minus value is 0.5. Offense can be understood as a "black hole" that almost makes the opponent 5 defend 4, but has top-level defensive capabilities of the same level.

Description point 1: Pick-and-roll. The 24-25 season accounts for 33.3% of the defensive rounds, limiting the opponent to 0.85 points/round. Looking at the league, the efficiency is not much different from Caruso's 0.79 points.

Explanation point 2: Defensive reading ability. Average of 0.11 times per game, with a total of 31st and 6 more attacks in the league, Okogi has good defensive reading ability - predict the opponent's attack route in advance, and then move quickly to create fouls.

In addition, defensive reading ability is also reflected in steals. In the 18-19 rookie season against the Heat, Okoji got the highest 5 steals in his career - unlike steal experts like Daniels and Seble, Okoji's steals are more due to grasping the timing.

Are the Lakers attractive to Okogi?

I think there is.

Reason 1: Opportunity. As I said just now, the Lakers lack a pick-and-roll leader and defender, and Okogie has performed well in this regard. Potentially, the chances of joining the Lakers are guaranteed.

Reason 2: Exposure. Although the card is not as big as Lillard and Bill, the 26-year-old Okogie also needs to prove himself to the league in order to prepare for the next contract. The Lakers' super high exposure is already in place, and now the necessary conditions and Okogi's own performance are needed.

Reason 3: Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. With Doncic and others "feeding cakes" to a large extent, Okogi's lack of offensive ends can greatly reduce. And his outstanding defense is exactly what the Lakers lack at this stage.

In fact, in my opinion, Okogie can perfectly replace Vanderbilt with similar characteristics and higher attendance rates. Invisibly, this further promotes the protection of opportunities.

To sum up three points, the Lakers are still very attractive to Okogie, so Pelinka should not hesitate, hurry up and grab it.