The Los Angeles Lakers offense has been great, the defense not so much.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been tearing things up on the offensive end so far this season. While it is a small sample size, the Lakers are currently ranked 3rd in points per game at 125.3 per outing.
On top of that, the Lakers are fourth in assist-turnover ratio, third in pace, and third in field goal percentage. All signs point to the Lakers being able to score with ease, but they need to figure out the defensive issues.
If you were to look at points given up, the Lakers are sitting dead last, giving up 131.7 points to opposing offenses. The bad news does not stop there.
Los Angeles gives up 51.7 rebounds per game which, which is 29th in the league. Teams are shooting 41 percent from three-point range (ranked 27th ) and overall 47 percent from the field (ranked 17th, not THAT bad). If the Lakers continue to put up these kinds of numbers on the defensive end, there is no way they make it into the playoffs.
More from Lake Show Life
- 3 most underrated players currently on the Los Angeles Lakers roster
- 2 Lakers who would benefit the most from a Kyrie Irving trade
- Victor Oladipo’s Russell Westbrook comments are terrible sign for Lakers
- 4 Free agent fits for the Lakers while they wait on Kyrie Irving
- 3 Most likely positions the Lakers will use for the last roster spot
To be fair, opening up the season against the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers will give any team issues. We cannot just go on statistics alone, especially since coach Luke Walton has plenty of new faces to work out and figure things out with.
The problem is that while watching the Lakers, it is very easy to see there is minimal effort on defense, combined with a shocking amount of communication issues.
Communication is something that will get better with time, once the team gets integrated. However, the effort is one thing that needs attention immediately. As much as I hate to see it, the main culprit has been Lebron James.
There are times when Lebron is standing straight up, staring at the ball, and his man is off making things happen. Lebron will get lost on screens, not get back on defense, and make zero effort to box out.
As the leader of this team, Lebron needs to set the example for our young guys. Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and, Lonzo Ball are all willing and capable defenders. Once the Lakers start communicating and putting in consistent effort on the defensive end, we will start to see their true potential as a team.
Until then, the Lakers will be able to outscore a large number of teams each night, but Lebron will be watching the playoffs from home for the first time since he turned 21 if these issues are not fixed.