Posts

There’s no question critical injuries and poor head coaching were major factors leading to the Lakers finishing last season with a mediocre team 114.8 defensive rating, which, ranked 17th out of 30 teams in the NBA.

Handicapped by a lack of open roster spots due to too many player options and a tough trade market due to the new CBA’s financial and tax apron challenges, the Lakers were not able to upgrade last season’s roster.
Other than drafting Dalton Knecht and Bronny James and signing Christian Koloko, the Lakers will essentially field the same roster as last season, which means any defensive improvement will have to come from within.

Could a healthy Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt. a savant rookie head coach JJ Redick, and a critical midseason move transform last year’s average Lakers’ defense into a legit top-five championship-caliber defense?
The reality is the Lakers desperately missed Vincent’s and Vanderbilt’s defense and greatly misjudged Darvin Ham’s defensive coaching acumen. It’s possible better health and head coaching could be Lakers’ silver lining.

The big question is can the offense-first JJ Redick fix the Lakers’ defense? Let’s take a closer look at the Lakers’ starting five and ideal 9-man rotation to see where JJ Redick could be looking to upgrade the Lakers’ defense.

STARTING LINEUP

Declaring D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis would be his starting lineup, JJ Redick smartly avoided Darvin Ham’s biggest coaching mistake the first half of Lakers’ last season.

Despite it having been the lineup the Lakers used to make the previous year’s conference finals, Darvin Ham inexplicably did not start this lineup until February 3rd, wasting more than half the season with lessor lineups.
Once the Lakers starting using this starting lineup, everything clicked and they actually finished out the season with a league 4th best 23–10 record including a 116.0 offensive rating, 110.5 defensive rating, and 5.5 net rating.

Putting the starting lineup’s numbers into perspective, the Lakers as a team finished last season with these middle-of-the-pack advanced stats: 115.4 offensive rating (#15), 114.8 defensive rating (#17), and 0.6 net rating (#19).
The Lakers’ new starting lineup’s 116.0 offensive rating was nothing to boast about but their impressive 110.5 defensive rating would have ranked 2nd in the league last season and their 5.5 net rating 4th in the league.

JJ Redick is a strong believer and proponent of analytics and what the advanced stats from last season’s stretch run tell us is that the strength of the Lakers’ new starting lineup is actually their defense, not their offense.
In fact, the advanced stat the Lakers’ new starting lineup needs to improve is their run-of-the-mill 116.0 offensive rating, which was only slightly better than the team’s 19th ranked 115.4 offensive rating for last regular season.

While the pundits assume a Lakers starting backcourt with Russell and Reaves cannot be championship caliber defensively, the advanced stats seem to tell a different story with defense, not offense, being the key.

BENCH ROTATION

Assuming the Lakers’ new starting lineup can produce a similar or better defensive rating than what they did down the stretch last season, the key to creating a top-five team defense will come down to four bench players.

While not locked in stone, Redick says he wants to play a 9-man rotation, which means he will need to find four bench players who can maintain the offensive and defensive productivity of the starters when in the lineup.
The two obvious candidates to be bench members of the Lakers’ 9-man rotation for the regular season are point guard Gabe Vincent and power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who were both injured most of last season.

Shooting guard Max Christie, whom the Lakers re-signed this offseason, and young center Jaxson Hayes, who opted into his player option, are early favorites to become the other two bench members of the 9-man rotation.
Three other players who could get an opportunity to win a rotation spot include rookie small forward Dalton Knecht, veteran power forward Christian Wood, and two-way shot blocking center Christian Koloko.

The Lakers’ two biggest defensive weakness last season were bench backcourt defense and rim protection. Redick will be counting greatly on Vincent and Christie to improve on Russell and Reaves defensively.
The Lakers’ biggest challenge is protecting the rim and anchoring the defense when Anthony Davis rests. LA’s best option may be Christian Koloko, who could be the elite shot blocker off the bench they need.

A defense-first bench rotation of Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Christian Koloko could be how the Lakers become a defensive juggernaut and maintain a top-five team defensive rating.

COACHING CHOPS

While the Lakers’ starting lineup and potential 9-man rotation have the potential to be better than the #17-rated defense in the league, making the giant leap to a top-five championship defense will depend on JJ Redick.

One of the new core principles the Lakers finally embraced this offseason was that coaching matters, that it’s the key to establishing and building a championship caliber team identity and vision for winning in today’s NBA.
Their pursuit of Dan Hurley and their eventual hiring of JJ Redick clearly showed that Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka are serious about changing how the team has operated to better adapt to the realities of the league today.

Most pundits expect Redick’s initial impact to be on the offensive side, where the Lakers need to modernize and embrace the 3-point shot but the analytics are there that this team has like great potential defensively.
Frankly, if Redick can get his new starting lineup to post a 110.0 defensive rating for the full season, L.A. should have a realistic shot at being a top-five defensive team in the league. They could be dramatically better.

The Lakers still need an elite point-of-attack perimeter defensive guard and bigger athletic back-up center who can guard bigger fives and protect the rim when AD rests. Those may be their targets before the trade deadline.
But until mid-December, when players who were traded or re-signed this offseason will be eligible to be traded, JJ will have to find a way to turn the Lakers from an average defensive team to a top-five defensive juggernaut.

Better health and head coaching could be the silver lining that empowers the Lakers to dramatically upgrade their team defense from a middle-of-the-pack defensive ranking last season to a top-five ranking this season.