LeBron James was back in the lineup on Thursday night and the Los Angeles Lakers were forced to return to a gameplan of overpowering their opponent with offense. James was around, and the defense was nowhere to be found. It truly is not what it looks like at an initial glance here.
In any case for the Lakers, they have no shortage of firepower. Los Angeles hung a final score of 142-130 on the Chicago Bulls' heads. For those who watched the Justice League series growing up, it was reminiscent of the moment when Batman told Amanda Waller that his arsenal was bigger.
Despite the offensive showcase, JJ Redick was understandably frustrated and disappointed with his defense after the game. After three straight games of holding the competition to a respectable margin, the Lakers were suddenly taking a matador approach once again. That coinciding with James' first game back from injury paints quite the ugly picture.
JJ Redick on LA’s defense tonight: “I wish there was something I could praise about our defense tonight but I’m not going to be able to.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 13, 2026
As is the case with most things, there is more nuance that comes with allowing 130 points than pinning it solely on LeBron. The absences weighed heavy in this one. Plus, the combinations the Lakers were forced to run have proven ineffective already.
Lakers were missing the elements that have made their defense hum
First and foremost, there was no Marcus Smart available for this game. Not only is Smart an excellent presence on the defensive end, but his absence forced the Lakers to turn back to an approach they already willingly ditched earlier this season.
Permanently moving Smart to the starting lineup and dropping Rui Hachimura down to the second unit was a move that helped elevate the Lakers defense. With the veteran guard unavailable, Los Angeles was forced to kick the tires on a starting unit that was regularly getting torched in the past.
The funny part is the collection of starters was not even the main problem here. As a group, they were pretty solid on the defensive end. However, the trickle down effect of messing with the combinations that come after the starting five is where things start to break down.
Pinning everything on James also ignores the progress that was being made on the defensive end when LeBron was playing pre-injury. The unit was trending in the right direction with him. Not factoring that in is willful ignorance.
All in all, one game here is set to be overanalyzed and blame will be assigned. Some will be more than happy to push it on the aging star in Los Angeles, despite the conversation never being that simple.