The champion Los Angeles Lakers may have rediscovered their swarming championship team defense in the second half last night as they blitzed Damian Lillard and shut down the Portland Trail Blazers in a 102–93 win.
Besides ending a season longest 4-game losing streak, the win showed the Lakers were still capable of playing the caliber of defense that won their 17th championship despite missing their defensive anchor Anthony Davis. That was something NBA pundits had started to question as the Lakers had lost 5 of the 6 games without Anthony Davis while posting an 18th ranked defensive rating of 112.8 and watching their #1 defensive rating decline.
Buoyed by the return of point guard Dennis Schroder, the Lakers finally displayed the attacking and trapping defense that was the trademark of last season’s championship run in the bubble and had been MIA this season. After struggling to contain Lillard in the first half as he exploded for 24 points, the Lakers tightened their doubles and blitzes in a second half and held Dame to 11 points and the Trail Blazers as a team to just 36 points.
It was the kind of dominating second half defense the Lakers unleashed on high-powered scorers like James Harden, Nikola Jokic, Jimmy Butler, and the same Damian Lillard during their elite championship run in the bubble. Noteworthy, it was also the kind of defensive performance that had earned the Lakers’ the #1 defensive rating all season long but had been completely missing during their last 10 games which included 5 losses and 3 OT wins.
The Lakers defensive rating last night was a stellar 98.9 for the game and 78.3 for the second half. The performance lowered their leading defensive rating to 105.8 and extended their lead over second place Jazz to 1.5 points. Last night’s defensive performance also ended a 10-game streak where the Lakers defensive rating had declined to a 10th rated 109.4 and a 6-game stretch without Anthony Davis were it declined to an 18th rated 112.8.
While the Blazers were missing key players, last night’s performance was by far the Lakers’ best defensive game without AD and showed their ‘attack dog’ swarming, doubling, rotating team defense was not dependent on him. One of the keys to the Lakers’ great defense was LeBron James assuming Anthony Davis’ role and responsibility as the team’s defensive anchor with 10 rebounds, 5 deflections, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and 1 drawn charge.
It’s easy to forget what a major part of the Lakers’ defensive dominance in the playoffs was LeBron James’ elite individual defense, where he matched Anthony Davis’ 1.2 steals and his 0.9 blocks per game was team second best. Last night was a reminder 36-year old LeBron James can still dominate at both ends of the court when needed. James’ mantra has always been to do whatever the Lakers need to . Last night, it was dominant defense.
As a team, the Lakers grabbed 37 defensive rebounds, deflected 19 passes, made 9 steals, and blocked 7 shots with the aggressive swarming ‘attack dog’ defense that dominated as the Lakers won 16 of their 21 playoff games. They held the Blazers to 19 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a dominant 18 minute stretch covering the third quarter and first six minutes of the fourth when they allowed just 23 points
The Lakers’ defensive heroics were teamwide. Caruso had 6 deflections, 6 defensive rebounds, and 2 steals. Schroder had 5 deflections, 3 defensive rebounds, and 1 steal. Horton-Tucker had 5 defensive boards and 2 blocks. Kuzma had 6 defensive boards, Harrell had 4 defensive boards, 1 block, and 1 charge drawn, Morris had 1 deflection, 3 defensive boards, and 1 steal, KCP had 2 deflections and 1 steal. Gasol had 1 defensive board and 1 block.
Individual player defensive ratings were also stellar for the game. Top defensive ratings for the game were 78.3 by Montrezl Harrell, followed by 87.3 by LeBron James, 91.2 by Talen Horton-Tucker, 94.9 by Alex Caruso. Markieff Morris posted 97.8, Wes Matthew 100.0, Kyle Kuzma’s 104.4, and Dennis Schroder 104.9. The only Lakers with subpar ratings last night were Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 112.2 and Marc Gasol with 120.0.
The Lakers have three games before the All-Star break: Warriors on Sunday, Suns next Tuesday, and Kings next Wednesday. If they can play the same level of defense as last night, they’ll have a good chance to win all three.
One the big things that jumped out from the stats from last night’s big defensive win was the performance of the Lakers two centers. Montrezl Harrell posted a team best 78.3 defensive rating while Marc Gasol posted a team worst 120.0 defensive rating. Harrell also posted a team best +22 Plus/Minus rating while Gasol posted a team worst -9 Plus/Minus rating.
What makes these numbers jump out is the swarming, trapping, blitzing style of defense the Lakers played last night, with or without AD, is what won the game last night and won the championship last playoffs, which thus begs the question of how does Marc Gasol fit into the Lakers defensive plans going forward. Yes, he has size and savvy but in a defense where mobility, speed, quickness, and athleticism are requisite, Marc is a dinosaur, a square peg when a round peg is needed.
There is no question this Lakers team needs to play this style of defense to win whether AD is in the lineup or not. They need the aggressive, proactive attitude and transition opportunities that it brings. RJ said it best last night when he observed that the Lakers are the best team in the league in playing this doubling, trapping, and rotating style of defense. It forces teams out of their normal offense and energizes the Lakers at both ends of the court. So the question is what does that say for the future of Marc Gasol on this Lakers team?
The issue I see with relegating Marc Gasol to the bench is that he, along with Morris, do not bring energy. They aren’t fleet of foot and that means our second unit will be very slow. Trezz of the bench is instant energy and he plays well with both Caruso and THT. Essentially there isn’t a clear cut replacement until AD comes back at which point we can better stagger everyone’s minutes.
In many ways, LeBron was playing the four most of this game, acting like Frank described as the Lakers’ middle linebacker, deflecting and intersepting passes and blocking shots to initiate fast breaks and getting to the rim over and over.
Having a player with the savvy and skillset to truly do whatever the team needs to win is what makes LeBron the ultimate unicorn in today’s game. No other player has the diverse and unique ability to channel what the team needs on any given night. Tonight, LeBron took over defensively and we saw the results. Sure didn’t look tired or washed or in need of rest tonight. Still going to be the regular season MVP but tonight’s performance was reminiscent of his Finals MVP performances.
LBJ ate his Wheaties.