2. Not defending the paint or stopping penetration
The Lakers’ defense in the paint has gotten lax as of late. On February 10 against the Philadelphia 76ers, they gave up a ridiculous 70 points in the paint, and the clip below is an example why.
On this play, Joel Embiid forces a turnover and the Lakers are caught napping on transition D as the Cameroon native takes it coast-to-coast for an uncontested slam dunk.
I know Embiid, barring another major injury, will be the NBA’s next all-time great center, but there’s no reason to let him get that type of easy bucket. Throughout that game, Embiid continually waltzed his way to the hoop for rim-rattling dunks. Not acceptable.