Lakers: 3 Things We Learned After LA Sloppily Beat the Pelicans
By Eric Yee
Lakers First Line of Defense Desperately Needs Help
Even though the Lakers are assumed to be happy with their guard duo of the future in Clarkson and Russell, if they continue to play defense the way they have been, their offensive abilities won’t even matter. At the end of the day, defense comes down to effort, something which the Lakers’ back court players seem unwilling to exert on a nightly basis.
What makes this even more frustrating is the fact that both Clarkson and Russell have the potential to be formidable defenders. The Byron Scott blame can only be pushed so hard, so despite the fact that his defensive schemes are horrid, the Lakers should heed his advice and “man up.”
A common occurrence for the Purple and Gold this year is for the first line of defense to break down which puts their interior defenders in near impossible situations. Roy Hibbert is often blamed for over helping or not rotating fast enough, but it is the guards that put him there in the first place.
Tuesday night, the Lakers young back court continued to get dominated by opposing wing men, even letting lesser guards, Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole and Jrue Holiday, get to the rim at will. When you add in the fact that Brandon Bass has become Byron Scott’s preferred rim protector, the problems expand exponentially.
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