Los Angeles Lakers: A backcourt option to help defensive woes
The Los Angeles Lakers’ defense continues to remain in the bottom-third of the NBA. Could playing a pair of shooting guards together help them improve on that side of the ball?
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the regular season projected to be one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA and have followed suit by sitting in the bottom-third in points allowed up to this point. They give up tons of points off of turnovers, and surrender over 48.9 points a night in the paint, the second-highest mark in the association.
These struggles are expected on most young teams in the league, considering how difficult defense is in the NBA. There are pieces on the Lakers to make them a tougher team on the defensive end, starting with playing a backcourt pairing their two best guard defenders, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Hart.
Caldwell-Pope and Hart have played together in over half the games this season, logging under five minutes per game in those appearances. The Lakers have a crowded backcourt to begin with, and KCP and Jordan Clarkson are playing too well to lose minutes to Hart. With that being said, Hart is probably the second-best guard defender after KCP, and would form a strong defensive backcourt — something the Lakers can’t say often.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has developed into a prototypical complementary guard with his 3-and-D skill-set, but his defensive ability going up against the opponent’s top guard. Combined with his durability, KCP is a steady defender that can be counted on every night to give consistent effort defensively.
The same can be said for rookie Josh Hart throughout his collegiate career at Villanova, where he was awarded the 2016-17 Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Hart can defend either guard spot, and has the strength and size to switch onto wings when needed without being a liability.
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Playing KCP and Hart together would give the Lakers a backcourt that can each be isolated on the perimeter and trusted to give up at least a contested shot. Both are fine chasing shooters around the court and fighting through screens as well. With the modern NBA perimeter-based with guards dominating the ball, having as many quick players with their levels of effort is a smart way to counter the prominent guards.
The amount of points the Los Angeles Lakers give up in the paint is alarming, and not all of it can fall on their big men. They may lack an elite shot-blocker, but the Lakers are top-five in blocks per game in the NBA. With the game so spread out these days, the responsibility to keep players from scoring in the paint falls onto perimeter defenders more than a singular protector.
The Lakers don’t have a strong stable of defensive guards to play consistently. This is why playing KCP and Hart more minutes could be a way to tighten things up defensively. Their effort leads to tipped passes, or steals that lead to easy buckets offensively — a main concern when deploying these two natural off-ball guards.
The offensive shortcomings of playing these two in your backcourt have also limited their opportunities to play together. This concern can be offset by playing them with a third guard, or having them share the court with a wing with handles like Brandon Ingram. It’s not like either is incompetent of bringing the ball up the floor; they’re just not the most prolific playmakers with the ball in their hands.
Neither player needs the ball to make an impact, and can space the floor with the ability to finish at the rim. This allows them to play with a third guard, like Jordan Clarkson, who can handle the bulk of the offensive responsibilities. These smaller lineups could lead to a quickness mismatch for one of the guards unless opponents downsize.
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Maybe head coach Luke Walton will play these Hart and KCP as the rookie gains more experience in the NBA. It’s worth a shot if the defensive struggles continue, especially on the perimeter.