Los Angeles Lakers: How will their peak defense perform?

The Los Angeles Lakers’ frontcourt

7. DeAndre Jordan: The former Clipper lost his starting job to (yikes!) Blake Griffin halfway through the season, and as Spring turned to summer, he fell out of the lineup altogether. It’s no wonder why Jordan lost his spot in the rotation. He was one of the few Brooklyn players last year to have a negative plus/minus rating, although he started nearly 80 percent of his games next to some combination of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. At age 33, DeAndre’s lost most of the athleticism that made him a force during his prime, and unless he drinks from the fountain of youth, it’s hard to imagine him ever seeing meaningful minutes in crunch time or during the postseason.

6. Dwight Howard: I have a hate, hate, hate, hate, love, hate, love relationship with Dwight.

• I hated him when he suited up for the Orlando Magic, and he needed a hot-air balloon tied under his chin to keep his enormous head from tilting over.
• I hated him when he joined the 2012-2013 Lakers and ate so many candy bars that apparently he couldn’t feel his hands during games.
• I hated him when he left the Lakers and joined the Houston Rockets only to play like a Division III power forward.
• I hated him as he became a journeyman, bouncing from the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, and Washington Wizards, burning bridges and leaving a trail of hate in his wake.
• I loved him when he joined the Lakers in 2019 and put his ego aside, eventually helping LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the squad win a title.
• I hated him when he said he was resigning with the Lakers last year and then ended up playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
• And once again, I love Dwight now that he’s back in purple and gold.

Dwight’s somehow become a beast and a pest, all rolled into one package that perfectly fits this Lakers roster. He should start, but he won’t finish games. He’s too exploitable in the pick-and-roll and off switches.

5. Trevor Ariza: It seems like Ariza’s been in the league forever. The veteran’s played for nearly half the organizations in the association, including Miami last season, paving the way for some funky NBA math. Some Lakers fans have concluded: Playoff Starter + Good Defensive Team (Miami) = Good Defender. Unfortunately, things aren’t quite that simple. Sure, he started for the Heat last year in the playoffs, but they got molly whopped by Milwaukee in a four-game sweep. Ariza hasn’t had a defensive rating under 111 (for context, only two Lakers had a DEFRTG of 111 or higher last year, Quinn Cook and Ben McLemore) for four seasons.

4. Carmelo Anthony: I’m willing to bet Carmelo Anthony will have his moments with the Lakers closing unit, but he won’t be a mainstay. He’s too slow. Last season he made Marc Gasol look fast; seriously, that’s not a joke. Last season, Anthony finished second to last in average speed (3.61), slower than Marc Gasol and Kevin Love.

Carmelo’s sluggish, but when you put his dawdling old-man speed into context, his lack of agility becomes even more glaring. Players like Marc Gasol and Kevin Love were faster than Anthony, but their jobs were to man the middle, lowering the necessity for movement and speed. On the other hand, Carmelo was often tasked with covering perimeter players who simply dribbled twice and jogged around him.

Kent Bazemore, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis will man the frontcourt in the Lakers’ best defensive unit.

Why has the national media painted Kent Bazemore out to be a soft offensive-minded player? The narratives that run through the major sports talk shows are baffling.

When the Lakers signed Danny Green prior to the 2018-2019 season for two-years, $30 million, the deal was touted as an excellent signing. However, the same talking heads have peddled Kent Bazemore’s deal for one year, $2.5 million, as a ho-hum contract that will hurt the Lakers D.

Compare Green and Bazemore’s numbers the year before Lakers management signed them:

• Danny Green’s 2018-2019 stats on the Toronto Raptors: 104.3 DEFRTG, the Raptors finished fifth in the league in team DEFRTG, his assignment shot three percent better than their average against him.
• Kent Bazemore’s 2020-2021 stats on the Golden State Warriors: 104.6 DEFRTG, the Warriors finished fifth in the league in DEFRTG, his assignment shot 1.9 percent worse than their average against him.

Kent Bazemore is more than just a solid 3-and-D wing. He’s an excellent defender, with the veteran experience to shut down opposing players. He’ll be a boon to the Lakers D.

LeBron James’s metrics from last season jump off the screen and shout top-15 defender in the league. He finished 14th in the league in defensive rating (minimum 15 minutes), and he held his assignments to 5.4 percent worse than their normal average, good for 21st in the MBA (minimum 20 games played).

Anthony Davis came in second for the 2019-2020 Defensive Player of the Year award, but that sells his defensive impact short. Simply put, when Anthony Davis is free from injury and fully engaged, he’s the best defender of the last decade. He’s a true terror on the court, capable of locking down top-flight opposing centers, shutting down All-Star wings and point guards, and closing out on three-point shooters.