Los Angeles Lakers’ keys to a championship: LeBron James’s defense
The Los Angeles Lakers are a pretty solid defensive team and it is safe to say that the team has proven all of the doubters wrong with their efforts on the defensive end.
Davis is having a Defensive Player of the Year season, Danny Green is a great wing defender, the team has good backcourt defense with Avery Bradley and company and the veteran centers do their job as shot blockers.
The biggest wild-card on the defensive end for the Lakers is LeBron James, who unfairly gets dubbed as a bad defender at this point in his career. Let’s not forget, this is a guy who has been named to six All-Defensive Teams (five were First Team). He may not be the same guy, but he has it in him.
Just look at his performance against the Milwaukee Bucks right before the season was postponed. James played great defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo in that game and that was a big factor in why the Lakers walked away with the victory.
James has always been a great help defender in the playoffs but he is going to have to step up and give the team good on-ball defense as well. It does not have to be an All-Defensive level, but he really has to bite down on his mouthpiece and give it his all on the defensive end.
He has to if the Lakers are going to win the title. Davis cannot guard Giannis all game and the Los Angeles Clippers’ two best players are wing players, one of which is going to have to be guarded by LeBron.
Luckily for the Lakers, we all know he can do it.