Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking down the defensive performance thus far

Defense is key for the Los Angeles Lakers. How have they performed thus far on that end of the court during the preseason?

The energy and buzz surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers is something that has not been felt in Staples Center since Kobe Bryant had his farewell game for the ages, going out with 60 points April 16, 2018. So with all the buzz surrounding this team, as a fan, it is quite the rush to be relevant again so quickly.

However, if there is anything we know about the Lakers, it’s that the warm reception can turn into cold hate very quickly. Nothing cools down a warm welcome faster than terrible Lakers defense.

Up until the start of the preseason, there have been countless discussions about how the Lakers are going to look on offense. What their starting line up will be? Will Rajon Rondo or Lonzo Ball start? What will their “death lineup “ be to combat the Golden State Warriors?

The Lakers new commitment to position less basketball has set them up with a roster that should create plenty opportunities for the scorers they have on the roster, especially if they plan to keep up or even increase on their third-ranked pace from the 2017-2018 season. The defense is what will carry this team (hopefully) into the playoffs, and give the young players much-needed playoff experience.

The Lakers have one of the thinnest frontcourts in the NBA now. JaVale McGee is their only center outside of a raw Ivica Zubac and rookie Moritz Wagner. There is not much room for error with that bunch. Without a legitimate rim protector (although McGee has been stable during the preseason), the Lakers will need to limit penetration on the perimeter.

Otherwise, teams will feast on the Lakers lack of inside presence. LeBron James will likely be seeing a lot of time at power forward, which should help the interior defense some. LeBron can bang down low with most power forwards in the NBA and generally does a good job contesting without fouling.

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Lack of size and experience inside will also impact the Lakers on the boards tremendously. Without effort from the guards, Los Angeles will struggle to keep bigger frontcourts off the offensive glass. Although it is still early on in the preseason, we can see that aside from Memphis, the Lakers are dead last in rebounds per game for NBA teams.

From watching the Lakers preseason games so far, the Lakers are sending four players to the glass with one guard leaking into transition. Sending four to the glass limits how quickly the Lakers can get out in transition to push the pace.

However, with such a bevy of players that Luke Walton has at his disposal who can get out quickly, sending four to the defensive glass is an excellent solution to the Lakers defensive rebounding holes.

An interesting tidbit from watching the Lakers defense this preseason has been the fact that they are not switching screens, especially off-ball screens. One of the staples of position-less basketball is the ability to change at all positions; this cuts back on the open looks for an offense because there is no fighting through screens.

All of the Laker frontcourt players have been taking a step back when their man goes to set a screen, which gives the guard a path to follow their man without needing help. Luke could have decided on this scheme to test things out, or maybe that’s how he plans on guarding picks off and on the ball.

Being that this is all based on preseason action, we should take everything we see with a grain of salt, but so far the weaknesses on paper have been noticeable enough to raise some eyebrows in Lakerland.

Unless McGee does something he has not done his entire career, becoming that player who can play 30 MPG while giving real production at the same time, the Lakers will need a lot of growth from Zubac and a significant amount of help from the guards rebounding.

The Lakers currently have a nice collection of guards (Lonzo, Rondo, Stephenson, & Hart) who are all excellent rebounders for their position and can help supplement the lack of inside presence.

With the free agent pool all but dry at this point, unless a trade falls in their laps, the Lakers have their roster for the 2018-2019 season. Even if they are out of moves to make which would address the big man depth question marks, these current team can make a splash in the Western Conference.

Gang rebounding, excellent communication, and A+ effort every possession will be needed to make the defense respectable this year. With a nice mixture of experience and youth, all the pieces are there for the Lakers defense to make noise in the West.