Anthony Davis contends Lakers must show stronger effort on defense

Perhaps the primary reason for the Los Angeles Lakers’ slower than expected start this season has been due to the play of their defense. Certainly, after recently getting crushed by the rival Boston Celtics, it has become more evident than ever where the team needs to improve.

While there have been spurts throughout the campaign where the Lakers show their potential on defense, it has mostly been a struggle for them so far in this department. They cannot seem to have a wire-to-wire game where their defense is firing on all cylinders.

Quite candidly, the statistics do not lie when it comes to how atrocious the purple and gold have been on “D” this year. As of when this was written, the Lakers are allowing 113.3 points per game. Per statistics posted by ESPN, only two teams in the NBA have fared worse than Los Angeles.

In addition, the Lakers only possess the league’s 20th best defense at the time being, according to NBA.com. Without a doubt, the 17-time champs have to be better in this area if they hope to make any noise in the postseason.

It is reasonable to say that part of the Lakers’ defensive issues stems from the losses of key players this past offseason. Given that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso are elsewhere, opposing guards seem to face little resistance from Los Angeles’ perimeter defenders.

Despite the former, the Lakers have to start holding one another accountable on the defensive end of the hardwood. They cannot afford to dwell on the past, or just magically hope that their defense will become elite overnight like it was over the past two seasons.

Furthermore, the Lakers appear to oftentimes get stuck in a mode of complacency, which has led to their rocky 8-9 start. The level of talent this team possesses is undeniable.

However, talent alone can only carry the Los Angeles Lakers so far.

Big man Anthony Davis recognizes that the purple and gold have to show more fight on defense. Via transcription from Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation, AD thinks the Lakers are capable of doing so. Davis talked about the way L.A. played in the first stanza of Friday night’s game, and how their defense led to easy offense.

"“They weren’t making shots, so we got down there running. We were playing defense, which led to, in that first quarter, a lot of fastbreak opportunities. We were getting out in transition.”"

Certainly, the Lakers’ strong start propelled them in the right direction early in the game. They looked a lot more energized and focused against the rival Celtics, and at one point in the contest, were ahead by as many as 14 points.

Be that as it may, the Lakers could not find a way to sustain their double-digit advantage. Perhaps to no surprise, they completely fell apart once the second half started and that is truly when things got out of hand.

On the one hand, it is easy to point out that their offensive execution must improve in the third quarter to increase their odds of winning. Conversely, Los Angeles’ level of success is largely going to be predicated on the amount of grit and determination they put on display once they come out of the locker room.

“Big Game” James Worthy, a longtime commentator for the Lakers, was noticeably concerned after his old squad could not keep up with the dreaded Celtics. He questioned what might be “wrong” with the team, per TalkBasket.net, and referred to the team’s woes as a mental “virus” of sorts.

It truly does feel akin to a virus. The scary thing is that it does not seem to be getting any better and it has plagued the team all season long. The 3-time champ went on to note that the same problems have been occurring time after time, which is inexcusable for a group that yearns to hang another banner.

Davis discerns that the purple and gold need to start making progress to get to where they want to be. According to Hansford’s piece, the former Kentucky product believes L.A. has to crank it up a notch in terms of “effort” and “communication.”

"“Effort is No. 1. Communication I think is No. 2. Just talking. Everybody just doing their job. Bigs doing what we’re supposed to do on pick-and-roll coverages. Guards doing what they’re supposed to do with guard-guard screens. Everyone just has to do their job and follow the game plan.”"

With respect to effort, this is a bare minimum expectation. Even when the offense is sluggish, the Lakers should never get outworked, whether it is on the glass, diving for loose balls, coming off screens, and so forth. Effort purely comes from within and is not something that is coachable.

The second component Davis alluded to goes hand in hand with effort. Communication is key in any industry, let alone sports, in order for things to operate in a smooth manner. It requires a deliberate touch, and even if one man on the court is not on the same page with someone else, it can spell disaster.

That being said, the Lakers need to begin holding themselves accountable for their actions (or lack thereof at times). Especially in a team sport like basketball, effort and communication ideally should not have to be called into question. Nonetheless, things have reached that point with the Lakers.

Thankfully, there is time to right the ship. While time technically remains a luxury, though, one can only hope that L.A. learns from its mistakes quickly.

As Worthy noted after the loss Friday night, the Lakers are repetitively making those same mistakes. It is hard to comprehend, especially because the team has so many experienced players on the roster.

One can imagine that because the roster is riddled with talent, the team will get back to winning ballgames. At the same time, the team chemistry and intentionality are going to have to get better for the Lakers to really become a force to be reckoned with.

The purple and gold have three more road games ahead of them before going back home the day after Thanksgiving. On that note, let’s cross the fingers that the team listens to Davis and gives fans something to be thankful for in the coming days.