As the Los Angeles Lakers sit atop the Western Conference. We take a look at how their defense in clutch time moments is leading to their success.
The Los Angeles Lakers are playing very good basketball at the moment. They have one of the best records in the league and all the offseason shuffling seems to be coming together. As players settle into their roles and know what it takes to win, we look at one area the Lakers are excelling in.
That area is clutch time defense. Clutch time is defined as “any game in the fourth quarter or OT that a game is within five points”. The contenders find ways to win, the pretenders struggle in these situations.
The Lakers continue to thrive in these situations with lockdown defense, despite their average offense. Let’s take a look at how the team is winning close games this season.
According to advanced stats, the Lakers have played in 15 games that have been considered clutch time situations. They have won 12 of those games, with the most recent losses coming to the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. But it was their offense that hurt them in that stretch, as their offensive rating dipped after each game and their defensive rating went down.
On the season the Lakers boast an 87.9 defensive rating in clutch time in 57 minutes played. The only teams with a better rating are the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz who each have an 84 defensive rating in the clutch. The Lakers are simply getting stops when they need them and closing out games.
To put into perspective how good they’re playing defensively, you take a look at how their offense is doing. Currently in the clutch they have a 105.6 offensive rating, which is good for 17th in the NBA. So they’re finding ways to play to their strengths to mask their weaknesses, contending teams know what it takes.
The Lakers also have a +17.6 net-rating in these situations which is good for 5th in the NBA. They’re also getting to their rebounds off misses to not allow second chance points. They rank 7th with a 73.8% defensive rebound percentage.
There is still a lot of season to play and the Lakers will almost certainly get their offense going late in games. But as of now they’re doing it on the defensive end, and as games slow down as the year goes on, that will become more crucial with each passing game.