Los Angeles Lakers: Blueprint for a championship run

2. Defensive Effort

The Lakers brought in a defensive head coach in Frank Vogel, so he will preach defense among this team. They also have all the tools to be a top-five defensive team if they put it all together and LeBron James is engaged on the defensive end like he was in 2015 with Cleveland.

LeBron preserves energy on the defensive end but once he is engaged on that end he can still be one of the best at his position. Add that in with Anthony Davis, Avery Bradley and Danny Green, who have each made an All-Defensive Team, and the Lakers have all the tools necessary to exceed on that end.

The Lakers will be able to score with anybody, but when games slow down late in the year, they have to show that they can defend and get stops when needed. It will be a process early in the year as guys learn to play with each other but by the middle of the year, I expect this team to be flying around on the defensive end. They have a lot of length to bother opponents in the passing lanes and shooting space.

Frank Vogel will use the preseason to create some defensive sets that benefit each player and puts them in a comfort zone. Vogel is known for his work with the Indiana Pacers and with the talent he has to use, we can see it all click together and look for the Lakers to be one of the top teams in defensive rating, deflections, blocks and steals.