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Los Angeles Lakers: Analyzing the pick-and-roll defense vs. Dallas

By Kevin Germany

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 1: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 1, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 1: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 1, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Welcome Back to the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest of the NBA!

It is a joy to see the Los Angeles Lakers play basketball for the first time since March. But it seems like a lifetime ago. I am glad to see the NBA is back. Disney’s monstrous campus in Orlando turned out to be the ideal venue to create an unprecedented workplace environment.

The scrimmage against the Dallas Mavericks was a resounding success. Nobody got hurt and new additions Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith looked good coming off the bench.

I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, but the Lakers’ defense needs to improve, especially when defending the pick-and-roll. It is not surprising to see the Lakers struggle on defense. The focus needs to be on building good defensive habits going into the playoffs.

What the Los Angeles Lakers currently run and how it works:

Los Angeles Lakers Coach Frank Vogel uses a standard drop back scheme to guard the pick-and-roll. This pick-and-roll coverage became en vogue when noted NBA defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau engineered top-ranked defenses in Boston and in Chicago.

Today’s top-ranked defense, the Milwaukee Bucks, also like to drop back on the pick-and-roll. Vogel himself ran this scheme to great success while he was the Indiana Pacers coach in the early 2010s. The help defenders stay home on corner shooters.

It is a conservative scheme that forces teams away from shooting layups and corner 3’s at a high percentage. The scheme is predicated on protecting the paint first and foremost. This is achieved by the defender guarding the screener (typically a big man) to drop back to the paint, which prevents both the drive and the pass to the screener rolling to the basket.

The on-ball defender (typically a guard) must go over the top to prevent opposing ball-handlers from shooting a top of the key three off the dribble.

The ideal shot the defense gives up is a midrange jump shot off the dribble. This defense is based on shot chart analytics, which suggest only taking layups and corner three-pointers are the optimal strategy on offense.

Pick-and-roll Defense: Losing Avery Bradley hurts, how can they adjust?

Avery Bradley is the only Los Angeles Lakers guard who can reliably stop opposing point guards from taking pull-up threes. Bradley’s ability to go over the top quickly to recover to the ball gives opposing ball-handlers much less time to get a clean pull-up three.

Losing Bradley would be a huge deal against a bad matchup. The Lakers do have options to replace Bradley’s stellar on-ball defense. It would just be much harder to go over the top.

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Potential replacements Alex Caruso, Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are not as quick, so they must use their length and defensive IQ to recover in time. During the scrimmage, Green and KCP often struggled in getting over screens on time.

This led to Mavs guards either penetrating to the basket or quickly moving the ball against a scrambling Lakers defense. When it was clear the guards could not successfully go over the top, the Lakers big men had to take an extra step forward to stop the pull-up jumper.

What Happened vs Dallas?

Bradley’s absence spelled disaster for the Lakers on Thursday. Just ask JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis. Both often had to take one step too many to corral the ball-handlers. The Mavericks capitalized.

Seth Curry got Javale McGee on a switch and hit a pull-up three as McGee was backpedaling. Luka Doncic then nearly juked McGee out of his shoes – and drew a shooting foul from McGee for good measure.

Anthony Davis took an extra step forward and ended up switching onto Luka Doncic on one of the game’s opening possessions. Luka went on to hit a three with AD one step too far away from seriously contesting his shot.

Does this mean the Lakers have to change their pick-and-roll defense? No. The Lakers need to stick with what has worked all season long. Either blitzing or switching the pick-and-roll is a bad idea because it takes away their rim protectors (McGee, AD, Howard) from the basket.

It is counterproductive to deviate from their drop back scheme. Losing Bradley is concerning for the wrong matchups, but not alarming. The result tonight was in part because Dallas has the league’s most efficient offense.

Luka is a top 5 offensive player. Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis draws Lakers big men away from the basket. Dallas had enough shooters to punish the Lakers wing defenders for over-helping the drive.

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The Los Angeles Lakers’ pick-and-roll defense will look much better as the season progresses. It will take time to reestablish defensive rotations and footwork. Big men will not need to take an extra step forward once Green and KCP adjust. In short, there is no need to change what has worked all season long. It is just that the Lakers need to do it better.

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