Byron Scott was not happy with the Lakers most recent performance.
Against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, the Lakers were tortured defensively by Anthony Davis and a plethora of guards. Aside from Davis’ 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks, the Pelicans managed 60 points in the paint.
The performance sparked these comments from Lakers head coach Byron Scott after the game.
Byron Scott: "That was probably the worst defense we've played." (on TWC)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 13, 2014
Byron Scott: "We've got to get to the point now where we're just getting tired of playing like this." (on TWC)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 13, 2014
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The hometown team were rarely contested, shooting 54.9% from the field and 42.1% from the three-point line. Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Tyreke Evans had little resistance in their drives to the rim and were rarely met by a big man at the rim.
This isn’t some sort of odd performance by the Lakers tonight, though. The Lakers rank dead last in opponent field goal percentage, 28th in opponent three-point percentage, and last in opponents points.
For L.A., this also isn’t a problem that’s going away. On Friday, they face the versatile and efficient San Antonio Spurs offense before hosting Golden State two nights later. They then have a three-game road trip to Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas, all playoff contending teams.
The other problem for the Lakers is they simply lack premier defenders. Wesley Johnson might be the team’s best perimeter defender, and he is far, far from a lock-down defender. Despite Ed Davis‘ rise as a solid rim protector, he’s the only plus defender in the post, with Carlos Boozer abysmal and Jordan Hill little more than an energy guy.
Do you think the Lakers can break out of their funk defensively, or is this a trend that will last the season?