Los Angeles Lakers: How will the new backcourt perform on defense?
The Starting Backcourt Rotation
- Russell Westbrook
- Malik Monk
The group of new backcourt imports expected to play significant minutes — Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, and the lone incumbent, Talen Horton-Tucker — have significantly worse defensive metrics than the guards’ Rob Pelinka either traded or let walk this offseason.
But, things are as dour as they might seem by simply glancing at one of the way many basketball statistic websites. The Lakers have a secret weapon, a defensive whisperer, you might say. The Lakers have Frank Vogel.
Compare these defensive stalwarts for the Lakers last season, pre-Vogel and with-Vogel:
2018-2019 (Pre-Vogel): 102.4 DEFRTG, this defensive rating seems more than solid, but Caruso built it mainly against backup lead guards.
2020-2021 (With-Vogel): 101.7 DEFRTG, Caruso built this rating primarily against the opposing team’s best backcourt player. Caruso morphed into one of the best defensive guards in the league under Vogel.
2018-2019 (Pre-Vogel): 109.7 DEFRTG, Kuzma was known as one of the worst defenders in the league.
2020-2021 (With-Vogel): 105.4 DEFRTG, Kuzma turned into a solid defensive wing, capable of guarding smaller players on the perimeter and bulkier players on the block.
2018-2019 (Pre-Vogel): 110.1 DEFRTG, KCP was a sieve on defense under Luke Walton. Opposing teams consistently hunted him for switches, and he proved he was incapable of defending the perimeter, mid-range, or down low.
2020-2021 (With-Vogel): 107.3 DEFRTG, KCP still occasionally got bullied on the block, but overall he was a disruptive ball of energy on the perimeter.
Two years ago in Houston and last year in Washington, Russell Westbrook was mostly awful on defense. But he played in two (how should we put this?) offensive-oriented systems.
During the 2019-2020 season, Houston traded away, starting center Clint Capela, and inserted 6’5″ P. J. Tucker at the 5. Plus, Mike “I don’t talk about defense” D’Antoni was Westbrook’s coach. Not a great recipe for team defensive success or individual success for the former Thunder player.
Last season in Washington, the Wizards’ two best backline defenders were Daniel Gafford and Alex Len. If you don’t recognize those players, you’re not alone. Most diehard NBA aficionados would have a hard time putting a face to those two names. The Washington Wizards finished the season tied for 29th in the league in blocks (4.1 per game). Thus Westbrook had little to no help defense to cover his mistakes. Thus, his defensive metrics were lousy.
Behind a 6’8″ reach, uber-athleticism, and the highest octane motor in the association, Russell Westbrook is only a couple of years removed from spearheading the Oklahoma City Thunders’ impressive defense. In 2018, the Thunder ranked 4th in the NBA in DEFRTG, and in 2017 they were 9th overall.
Are there question marks? Yes. We can’t discount the last two seasons he dogged it on the less glamorous side of the ball, but coaching, backline defense, and the system matter. It doesn’t appear he’s lost any of his athleticism. He finished 65 percent of his shots at the rim last season, the highest mark of his career, and his average speed metrics haven’t declined over the previous few seasons.
Russell Westbrook will be an upgrade over tiny “Dennis the Menace,” who consistently got bullied by bigger point guards and who lost his way nearly every time he had to negotiate a screen.
Here’s the thing, though: If Frank Vogel works his defensive magic, and LBJ and AD can convince Russell Westbrook to really buy in on the less glamorous side of the ball. If they can persuade Westbrook to cut his shots down by a third and he averages something like 15 points per game. And if he focuses his immense talent into smothering opposing point guards instead of jacking up wobbly midcourt jumpers. In that case, the Lakers could be special on defense.
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I know. I know. Trust me, I know. Nobody expects Malik Monk to start. And yes, I know he has shown no propensity toward the less glamorous side of the ball. Call me crazy. Call me sentimental. Call me out for watching too many cheesy underdog sports movies this summer (shout out to “Coach Carter” and “Cinderella Man”).
At the tender age of 23, Malik Monk passed on millions of dollars to sign a minimum deal with the Lakers without a guarantee of starting or even playing significant minutes off the bench. It’s not unusual for a past-his-prime vet to sign at a discount with a contender to chase a ring; The Lakers have a handful of guys like that on the roster this year. But you almost never see a 23-year-old sign a contract at a huge discount with a contender to prove himself. It just doesn’t happen.
Malik Monk is betting on himself. The guy’s no fool either. He knows he’ll have to show out in training camp and preseason just to earn a spot in the rotation. He knows he’s going to have to play above-average defense to get time on the court. Malik Monk is the underdog here, and he’s got his work cut out for him. Kent Bazemore, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Kendrick Nunn can all play, and they will not lay down and let the former Hornet take their court time.
I bet Malik Monk is going to show everyone just what type of player—no — what type of man he is next season, but hey, my opinion is nothing without some facts to back it up, so here are six more reasons to prove Monk will start next season and perform well on defense.
- Malik Monk is 6’3″, 200 pounds, a very similar profile to Alex Caruso, one of the best Lakers perimeter defenders in recent memory.
- At 6’3″, 200 pounds, Monk doesn’t have the height to truly lock down shooting guards, but he’s big enough to not get bullied.
- Malik Monk has the speed and athleticism to stay in front of opposing point guards on switches.
- Malik Monk has never played on a team that ranked inside the top-15 in defensive rating.
- The highest-rated defensive team he played for was during his rookie year in Charlotte when the Hornets finished 16th in DEFRTG.
- Malik Monk’s head coach for the last three years, James Borrego, has never coached a team that finished inside the top-15 in defensive rating.
Malik Monk has been an awful defender throughout his brief career. Now he has the motivation, head coach, system, and teammates to play at the same level on defense as KCP did last season.