Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Weaknesses they need to address to become true title contenders

3. Transition defense

Although the Lakers have been rock solid in almost every defensive metric, there’s one that they appear to be weak in: opponent’s fast break points.

In fact, they’re 29th in that category, which is unacceptable.

One game that put this on display already was their Nov. 10 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Although they lost by just nine points and had a chance to put themselves into position to win that game late, they gave up 32 fast break points.

They’ve improved a bit in that department as of late, as they rank 22nd in opponents’ fast break points in their last three games.

But this is the one glaring weakness in an otherwise great team defense. As the schedule toughens and they play many more road games, the Lakers will need to shore this up while finding ways to get plenty of fast break points themselves, which they have done a good job of at times.

As many of you know, transition defense isn’t simply about getting back, communicating, stopping the ball and picking up the other team’s wings. It’s also about sound execution on offense, whether in transition or your halfcourt offense.

The team’s 3-point shooting has dramatically improved of late, which will help by virtue of minimizing long rebounds that turn into transition opportunities. They’ve also done a better job of not turning the ball over, and are now 13th-lowest in turnovers per game.