Did having Lazenby succeed Connery help Moore?

I want to keep this focused on the specific question I'm asking, rather than being a general bio of Lazenby like the other discussions.

In a way, I felt Lazenby was a sacrificial lamb. He took all the anger from the public of there being a non-Connery Bond for the first time so Moore didn't have to.

Had it been Connery leaving with 5 movies and Moore taking his place, there would've been lots of anger. People would have felt like Connery didn't have enough movies and Moore would get the hate for breaking the tradition.

However, Lazenby soaked up that hate for establishing Bond as an icon, rather than an individual actor. But Lazenby's shortcomings resulted in Connery coming back to Diamonds Are Forever (which many call one of the worst films in the series). I think, by then, it was clear to much of the public that Connery wasn't meant to have the role forever.

Moore earned everything he worked for, no doubt. But Lazenby made his job a bit easier.

Would be interested in hearing comments from people who actually lived in that time, though.