Lakers: Rival Coach Gives Honest Assessment on Teams’ Struggles
The Lakers beat the Kings in the majority of the statistical categories. One big issue was how the Lakers yielded 18 more shots to the Kings.
It doesn’t qualify as great defense if the opponent misses the shot, but one fails to secure the defensive rebound to eliminate the opposing team’s offensive possession. The Lakers give up 11.5 offensive rebounds to opponents, fourth worst in all of the NBA.
It’s definitely not rocket science to realize how bad the Lakers defense has been this season. Like a young inexperienced team, they have shown short instances of playing lockdown defense, but due to lack of discipline, it has not carried over for longer stretches. Could this be more than simply effort and discipline? One opposing assistant coach thinks so, as he or she told the Los Angeles Times.
As the game progressed, the Lakers showed their age, as they were slower to the ball, and the Kings were out hustling the Purple and Gold on loose balls. LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis played a whooping 51, 50, and 49 minutes respectively. Per NBA Stats, the Lakers currently are tied for fourth worse in giving up second chance points at 14.6. Ironically, the Kings rank dead last in that category, giving up 16.1.
As the assistant coach said, this is more than just things they can fix on the court. The personnel of the current team simply does not put the team in position to conquer these rebounding woes. With the team’s lack of assets already, it would be tough for the Lakers to pull off trades to fill up these holes. Let’s see what Rob Pelinka and the front office can get creative and make these things happen.
