Los Angeles Lakers must step up their transition defense vs Chicago

Why the Lakers must convince Chicago’s Zach Lavine to take over the game:  

Chicago will be motivated to avenge their heartbreaking loss against the Lakers just two weeks ago. Chicago’s star guard Zach Lavine scored 38 points but it was still not enough.

The 38 points was not a fluke. Lavine is going to make an all-NBA team this season. At bare minimum, he will be named to the all-star team. Lavine made seven three-pointers in two consecutive games, which is something Michael Jordan never did.

(Of course, Michael Jordan won six NBA championships, which is something Lavine never did. Let us save the GOAT debate between MJ and LeBron for another day. Back to the here and now.)

If Lavine ever watched the Godfather, he would say revenge is best served cold. He played his absolute best game and it was not enough to beat the Lakers minus Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He will have sharpshooting forward Lauri Markkanen this time around, yet the Lakers will have the AD/KCP duo back.

Lavine is often in trade rumors, but if he really wants to stay in Chicago then he needs to make a statement game against the defending champions.

Or does he?

Isn’t that what Giannis did in the last game? Basketball is a team sport. No matter how much better Chicago got this season, the Lakers got better too. No matter how good Zach Lavine is, LeBron James is simply better.

Why Zach Lavine cannot singlehandedly win the game for Chicago: 

So a key to defeating Chicago is to convince Lavine that he has to do it all by himself. He must go off for 50 points or more for the team to win. If Chicago falls behind, Lavine will feel he will have to carry the team offensively – which plays right into the Lakers hands.

The only time this season Chicago rallied from a significant halftime deficit to win the game was against the Portland Trailblazers a few weeks ago. Lavine only scored 18 points in that game, but he dished out 9 assists. Against the Lakers, Lavine led the team with 6 assists to go along with the 38 points.

If Lavine ends up with fewer than 5 assists, it means he took all the shots. It would be highly unlikely that anybody else on Chicago would have a monster night.

That is a good thing for the Lakers. The Lakers have more firepower than any other team. One player cannot singlehandedly beat the Lakers unless if they do not show up. A telltale sign as to whether the Lakers are engaged in the game is their transition defense.