The Los Angeles Lakers struggle to defend small guards, and that shouldn't come as a huge surprise. We knew entering the season that perimeter defense from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves was going to be a weakness for this team.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has done a good job scheming away that weakness, and Doncic has been much improved this year defensively. Even so, a Luka-AR backcourt is always going to have a difficult time staying in front of speedsters on the other team. Luka's best asset defensively is his size and strength, not foot speed. Reaves isn't exactly an Olympic-level athlete, either.
Small guards have no problem getting under, around, and past Doncic and Reaves. Portland Trail Blazers' Ja Morant had his way with the Lakers in LA's first loss of the season (23 points on 9-of-13 from the field, mostly shots in the paint). Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry went off in the Lakers' second loss of the season (31 points).
More recently, Sacramento Kings' Darius Acuff Jr. caused plenty of issues for the Lake Show on Wednesday night. Despite a poor outside shooting night, Acuff finished with a team-high 22 points and 12 assists.
Ok, so the Lakers can't contain the Morants, Currys, and Acuffs of the NBA. What's there to be done?
Enter Collin "Young Bull" Sexton, or, as I've heard, "Bull", as he'd like to be called now.
Collin Sexton must be the Lakers' defensive answer to small, speedy guards
How do I put this without jinxing anyone? The Lakers would be in some trouble if Sexton had to miss significant time this season. There's no one other Lakers point guard off the bench who can handle the ball, and adding to that, there's no player on this roster besides Sexton capable of slowing down small guards from the opposition. Sexton is absolutely essential for this Lakers group as currently constructed!
It's funny -- a lot of the talk about Sexton over the summer was how he was going to provide an extra scoring punch for this Lakers group beyond Doncic and Reaves. I actually think that Sexton's greatest importance to this squad is on the defensive end, for the reason above.
Beyond that, Sexton sets the tone for this group, and for the bench players particularly. He's a vicious competitor known for having the heart of a lion. He plays like an insane person every night (compliment). The Lakers need more of that. He provides it, and he also happens to have the stature and athleticism required to go toe-to-toe with small point guards.
Both the Blazers and Warriors could end up being a playoff matchup for the Lakers. Morant and Curry are two massive problems. The Lakers will need their Bull.
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