The Los Angeles Lakers have now lost three games in a row following a 127-100 hammering at the hands of the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. The Lakers have struggled defensively during this losing streak and after the game, head coach JJ Redick was asked why he thinks that has been the case, in his postgame press conference.
“I would say, if you think about being disruptive, I think it starts there,” Redick said. “Some of it is personnel-based, we don’t necessarily have a ton of guys that can go and pick up full court. But teams are trying to disrupt what we do, just like we’re trying to disrupt what other teams are doing.
“And whether that’s with screening action, or DHOs, whatever it may be, I think we can be better there,” Redick continued. “We can be better executing (the) gameplan, but look, sometimes against a team like this, against a player like (Nikola) Jokic, you can gameplan all you want, but great players are gonna be great sometimes. Their three guys were great tonight and Jokic was great the other night.”
The Lakers, who are now 10-7 on the season and 2-1 in the NBA Cup, certainly do lack players who are good at picking up full-court. They don’t have enough quality perimeter defenders and it’s a big reason why they have a defensive rating of 118.2, which ranks 27th in the NBA.
What has also been a problem, is effort. The Lakers can be accused of being a bit lazy at times and fans called out Jaxson Hayes over one sequence in this game against the Suns.
Full court and this supposed to be our backup center.
This is bullshit. pic.twitter.com/F136OxmWIE
— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) November 27, 2024
It’s not just role players like Hayes who have been called out either. During the Lakers’ 127-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves didn’t seem all too interested in running back on defense after a turnover.
AR, AD, & Bron take their time getting back on defense after a turnover.
LeBron doesn't come into view of the screen until 6 seconds into Denver's possession. pic.twitter.com/bfwdo1v3PD
— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) November 24, 2024
That’s not good enough. Redick stated during his press conference that the Lakers have been good when it comes to transition defense, but I disagree. Their opponents are averaging 19.2 fastbreak points per game, the second-most in the league, with only the Utah Jazz allowing more. That’s certainly not a good sign.
I don’t think the Lakers need to make wholesale changes to their roster, but if they are to avoid having another disappointing season, they need to bring in some better defenders. The return of Jarred Vanderbilt will certainly help improve that defense, but they need more capable defenders.
JJ Redick Might Change The Lakers’ Starting Lineup
Redick has made some changes to the starting lineup in his relatively short tenure as head coach of the Lakers and another one might be coming. The 40-year-old was asked during his press conference about Dalton Knecht’s production going down after going back to a bench role and didn’t rule out a return to the lineup for the rookie.
“I thought he’s gotten some good looks and maybe there is something to the flow that he can get to and the rhythm he can get to if he’s a starter,” Redick said. “Like I said to you guys the other day, everything is always up for discussion in our coaches meeting, so we’ll look at everything.”
Knecht averaged 23.8 points per game in the four games he started after Rui Hachimura suffered an ankle injury. He was arguably the biggest bright spot for the Lakers during that stretch, but once Hachimura returned, he had to give up that starting spot and hasn’t made much of an impact since.
Knecht has averaged 8.0 points per game in his last two outings and if his production doesn’t go up over time, Redick might have to consider making him a starter once again. I don’t think he’ll make a change for their next game, though, which is against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday at 8:30 PM ET.
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