1. Perimeter defense
The Los Angeles Lakers have seen their perimeter defense deteriorate with Avery Bradley sidelined. Many people will point to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope replacing him in the starting five as the reason why. But, that isn’t the case.
Whatever playing KCP is losing defensively in place of Bradley, he is making up for offensively, as he has knocked down 51.4 percent of his 3-point shots while in the starting five. The biggest issue, instead, has been the presence of Rajon Rondo.
Rondo has been a sieve defensively. Teams are thriving on the perimeter whenever he is inserted into the lineup as he is far removed from his All-Defensive Team days. The team needs him to improve on that end of the court, or Frank Vogel will have to make changes. Giving more minutes to Alex Caruso is one solution, but the team will need to just keep the ship afloat until Bradley comes back.
During the last road trip, opposing guards feasted on the Lakers. Things won’t be any easier this time around as they will face Jamal Murray, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.