The Los Angeles Lakers added a ton of pieces to the roster this summer, building things out around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Walker Kessler was the biggest addition of the bunch, and LA is now slated to head into next year with a very different group than the one they ended last year with. And though they have talent, a rival scout who spoke with Keith Smith of Spotrac took a less-than-subtle jab at their potential defense.
“Well, there’s certainly a lot of offense,” the rival scout told Smith. “And I think it’s offense that all fits together pretty well. They have way more shooting this year than last year. More off-the-dribble creation too. They should be a really good passing team also. Defensively…well, they’ll score a lot of points! (laughs) If (head coach) JJ (Redick) can get this group in the top-20 on defense, give him Coach of the Year, because they’ll probably be awesome.”
That would certainly be quite the accomplishment for Redick. Top 20 on the defensive end is a very low bar to clear.
Lakers' defense could be a disaster next season
The Lakers aren’t exactly insulated with high-level defenders, and it all starts at the top. Doncic is a subpar defender, and Reaves isn’t exactly great on that end either.
When your best players are negatives on the defensive end, it’s always going to be pretty hard to build a good defensive team. And the rest of the roster isn’t amazing either.
Kessler is a good anchor to hold down the fort for the Lakers. And guys like Matisse Thybulle and even Bronny James are solid on the perimeter. But the Lakers don’t really have many go-to guys on defense. Just Kessler, really.
For a team that will probably be hoping to make a deep playoff run next year, that’s not a great place to start. It’s a cliché at this point, but defense winning championships isn’t that far off base.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they may have to rely on offense more than most teams that will be fighting for positioning at the top of the Western Conference next year.
Redick certainly has a tall task ahead of him, as the rival scout noted. And a top-20, or even top-half finish on the defensive side of the ball would probably put the Lakers in a solid spot.
But again, that’s not a great place to be starting from, especially for a team with as high expectations as LA.
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