The Los Angeles Lakers play like a team who knows their offense can win them any basketball game. That was the uncomfortable thought kicking in the back of the mind when they took down the Utah Jazz in a tight 143-135 ball game on Thursday night.
The matchup between those two teams offers an extreme example. Both the Jazz and the Lakers rank among the bottom-10 defensive units in the NBA. To some capacity, offense being the dish of the day should have always been expected.
Looking at the totality of the results, it has rarely been the case of their defense winning them basketball games.
Los Angeles is 2-6 in games they score less than 115 points. They are 17-1 in contests their offense delivers more than 115. The Lakers are a perfect 11-0 when scoring at least 120 points in a ball game.
Having Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James always favored one side of the basketball court more than the other. The Lakers' offensive rating of 118.8 puts them just outside of the top five. The problem is there's only so much that approach will do for them once the postseason arrives.
Lakers need to refocus their defense before it crushes them
It's been said before around here, but the Lakers are the only team among the bottom-10 defensive units with a positive win-loss record. They are 10-0 in the clutch as their defense locks up and improves into one of the best units in the NBA. Their offense remains effective all the same.
Coasting to the finish line and flipping the switch when necessary is the type of habit that is not sustainable in the NBA Playoffs when the competition gets better. Postseason basketball always favors well-balanced teams too.
The Lakers' leaders have called out the team before regarding their poor communication on the defensive end. More recently, it was also discovered that JJ Redick was asking Doncic and James for more on that side of the court too.
"It was good. We talked about a lot — not just that," Doncic told Dave McMenamin and the rest of the reporters present. "But he was right. You got to get a little bit more, especially from the star players. So that’s on us, that’s on me.”
There is good reason the Lakers have been connected to 3-and-D upgrades in the rumor mill. Everyone, front office included, clearly knows they need to improve their ability to get stops.
If the Lakers never get an external savant, the fix will need to happen from the inside. That starts with immediately nixing the habits that are rapidly leading them to a doomed season.