Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons the defense has been pathetic lately

1. Not defending the 3-point shot

After ranking 11th in opponent’s 3-point shooting percentage in December and 8th in January, the Lakers have plunged to 29th in that category in February. They are not closing out on 3-point shooters fast or well enough, and they are having trouble locating the other’s team open 3-point shooters.

This sequence against the Boston Celtics is indicative of this problem. With Kyrie Irving driving down the lane in crunch time, they collapse on him and get the ball out of his hands, only to leave Marcus Morris, who is shooting 40.9% from downtown this season, wide open on the side:

After getting a double screen from Marcus Smart and Al Horford, the Lakers are slow to react, which results in a wide open lane for Irving. This compromises their defense, which caused them to react by double-teaming Irving.

This has been another problem, which has exasperated their lack of 3-point defense: not switching well defensively.

By not communicating or reacting properly, especially while guarding various iterations of the dirt-old screen and roll, they have either allowed cutters to get to the hoop, left 3-point shooters open, or simply allowed guys to penetrate, which brings us to their next problem.