Something was different about the Los Angeles Lakers back on October 28, when they took on the Los Angeles Clippers on the road. And I'm not just talking about the fact that Luka Doncic was on the bench in street clothes for the game, his first missed contest of the season.
On this night, the Lakers -- who were also down starting wing Ziaire Williams due to injury -- played with a level of defensive intensity that they haven't shown in any other game this season, and there've been eight of them already.
The Lakers played hard-nosed defense against the Clippers on October 28
From the opening tip, LA's perimeter trio of Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes, and Matisse Thybulle were locked in defensively, exerting playoff-like effort and purpose.
Bench players Sandro Mamukelashvili and the ever-intense Collin Sexton only added to the high-energy defense when they entered the game, which not surprisingly ended in a win for the Lake Show.
By the end of the night, the Lakers had forced the Clippers into 24 turnovers, holding the Clips to 87 points, the lowest point total by a Lakers opponent this season by far. Grimes alone tallied four steals; Jake LaRavia, three. The Lakers looked like a group that cares about defense and prides itself on that end of the floor.
This all begs two questions. First off, what caused the Lakers to up their defensive pressure on this night? And secondly, why can't LA replicate this type of intensity on a nightly basis?
Why were the Lakers so good defensively for one night against the Clippers?
To answer the first query, we can look at the fact that Doncic was out -- not as a way to say, "Oh, look, Luka's a poor defender, so when he's out, the Lakers are awesome defensively!" ... but rather, to suggest that the Lakers knew that they'd have to limit the Clippers' offense to a lower point total, knowing that Doncic and his 38 points per game weren't in the picture.
There's also the added variable of the Lakers' role players (along with LA's "Robin" character, Austin Reaves) wanting to prove -- out of pride -- that they can hold their own and win games without their superstar Doncic on the court. This is a situation that happens a lot in the NBA when superstars miss a game -- you see the rest of the team play harder, as if they've received a boost and an added degree of desperation from the alpha's absence.
That's all good and logical, but what about the second question? Why can't the Lakers keep this type of intensity on nights when Luka does play? And again, I'm not here to argue that Luka's presence prevents the Lakers from playing hard on defense. Yes, he complains way too much and doesn't always get back on defense, but Luka's been better on that end of the floor so far this season than in years past. He's taken some big-time charges, and he's showing that he cares. So far.
I'm bringing all of this up because the aforementioned Clippers game was a moment of discovery for these Lakers. They found out that they're really solid defensively when they prioritize that end of the floor, and when they have a chip on their shoulder.
Now ... if this Lakers group can mimic that same energy moving forward and loop Luka into the equation ... well, that's pretty much what this team leveling up looks like.
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