We're only two games into preseason action, and yet it's already apparent that the Los Angeles Lakers have some problems on the defensive side of things. Sure, neither Luka Doncic nor LeBron James have suited up yet, but this is a roster-wide issue.
In LA's preseason-opening loss to the Suns, the Lakers let Phoenix jump out to an early lead. They allowed plenty of open looks and breakdowns of spacing early on, which put them in a hole they had to work their way out of.
Deandre Ayton's defensive impact has been strong at times, but left something to be desired in other moments. He looked a bit limited when guarding stretch bigs or being asked to defend in space. There were several times thus far where he was matched up with an opposing wing player that was able to take him one-on-one off the dribble and create space for themselves.
Rui Hachimura has also had some early-preseason defensive lapses, particularly off the ball. There have been moments where he's been too concerned with helping off the ball and ended up giving guys on the perimeter too much space to create an open shot.
The Lakers' defense has been subpar thus far
One bright spot on defense so far has been Bronny James. He hasn't necessarily been finding his shot on offense, but he's definitely been bringing the energy on the defensive end. If he remains engaged on that end, that's going to go a long way toward him earning a real spot in JJ Redick's rotation.
But despite Bronny's energy, it's still clear that from an overall perspective, the Lakers have just looked unorganized defensively. Rotations have been lagging, the help defense has been a bit discombobulated, and closeouts have been inconsistent.
Against the Suns, Phoenix constantly attacked mismatches and forced a lot of switches, which led to defensive scrambling and easier looks for the opposition. These are things that the Lakers are going to have to clean up if they are to cement themselves as a true contender in the Western Conference this season. A great offensive team can only go so far without being able to get stops on the other end.
Redick is known to be a stickler for details, so I find it hard to believe he'll allow this kind of inconsistency to go on for long. It's reasonable to assume that these are simply early season hiccups that can and will be rectified before long.