2. Playing some sort of defense
If the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense during the regular season looks anything like it did during the preseason, it’s going to be a grueling year. It doesn’t matter who’s scoring however many points for the Lakers, they’re going to have to come up with stops on the defensive end.
Anthony Davis said that he’s most encouraged by the Lakers’ movement and flow offensively through their six preseason games. As for what the team needs to improvement the most, AD said LA’s defense stands out.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 15, 2021
Where does Los Angeles sit amongst the other 29 NBA teams in terms of defensive statistics? Well, the Lakers are tied for 28th-place with the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards. The purple and gold’s current defensive rating is 109, the 23rd-best in the league. Sacramento scored 71 points in the first half of the final preseason game. Los Angeles wasn’t able to come back from a 35-23 deficit after the opening quarter of play. That’s two red flags.
If Los Angeles struggles to stop teams like the Kings from scoring during the regular season, it’s not going to be pretty. Frank Vogel has proven that he’s able to create successful defensive schemes, but it’s going to come down to if the relatively new roster can coordinate and execute on both ends of the floor.
The Lakers shouldn’t have any trouble with scoring, but now the worry is that they won’t be able to stop opposing teams from going on runs. Tuesday night is going to feel like an eternity if Los Angeles can’t hold Steph Curry back from going off.