A lot of people are worried about the Los Angeles Lakers defense this season. But over the past nine games, their defensive level of concern has reached DEFCON 4.
They’ve lost five of their past nine games, during which time they’re giving up 121.7 points per game, which ranks 25th in the NBA over that span, and they rank 28th in defensive efficiency. Overall, they rank 24th in defensive efficiency this season.
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Granted, the Lakers don’t have the personnel needed to be an elite defensive team. But something still seems to be lacking in terms of effort and execution on that end of the floor, something coach JJ Redick talked about after Tuesday’s 132-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“They scored on the first 13 possessions of the second half,” Redick said of the Suns. “… Their offensive rating is about 140. When they touch the paint, their offensive rating is 1.43, so they touch the paint every possession. We can’t keep them out of the paint.”
Phoenix shot 58.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range on Tuesday, outscoring Los Angeles 62-46 in the paint. It scored easily on passes around the rim and often put Los Angeles in trouble on defensive rotations.
Redick’s team couldn’t find any real remedies, and the Suns’ lead grew in the second and third quarters.
“We certainly talk about containing the basketball at the point of offense and guarding your yard with our receivers,” Redick continued. “Execution in general – when your margin of error is not very high, execution is very detailed and when we do that, we can string together some good defensive possessions. We didn’t do that at all tonight. We tried zone defense, they had layups and open threes. I don’t know why we were guarding Mark Williams from beyond the arc when they got three points.
“…You don’t do what we’re trying to do to protect and keep the ball in side – you’re going to get exploited…The theme of our team, again, is, these young teams move, we just can’t move. It’s like we’re stuck in a quagmire.”
While the Los Angeles Lakers have a 19-9 record, perhaps the rest of the NBA is catching up to this team’s stellar start. Other teams know that if they push the tempo and take advantage of certain mismatches, they’ll be able to score at will against the Lakers.
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This is something the Lakers need to correct immediately, especially against the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons in the coming days.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick outlines Lakers’ recent defensive issues
