Los Angeles Lakers: Main Summer League focus points

Defense

The first area to pay attention to would be how the team plays on the defensive end, which was arguably where Los Angeles struggled most last season.

This is evidenced by the fact that the Lakers were last in the league in defensive rating, at an extremely poor 110.6.

This means that per 100 possessions, the team allowed their opponents to score just under 111 points. That is approximately 10 points more than the league leaders in this category, the San Antonio Spurs.

Therefore, it will be very telling to see how this group does on the defensive end, given the fact that it is clearly an area that requires a lot of work to improve.

Although all components of defense will be critical, a key aspect to keep an eye out for during Summer League will be how the team navigates screens and pick and rolls.

This is useful given that Luke Walton implemented a defensive strategy that incorporated a decent amount of switching on these types of plays last season. It is likely these prospects will be asked to do the same next season.

A few players on this roster that have the potential to be effective in this regard are Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and P.J. Dozier, among others.

This is because each of these players possesses the adequate amount of size, strength, or quickness needed to be able to switch onto various positions successfully.

However, the mental aspect of defense will be just as important as their physical tools, particularly in the case of Ball and Kuzma. One of the knocks against both players is that they sometimes lack awareness and consistency on defense.

All in all, their success on defense will undoubtedly be something to focus on as it was a substantial area of concern this past season.