Los Angeles Lakers: 3 concerns after 3-3 start to 2021-22 NBA season
By Dalton Sell
No. 2 — The Los Angeles Lakers have been among the worst defensive teams in the NBA
When the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, their defense was among the best in the entire association. They have tried to rekindle some of that defensive excellence this season by bringing back Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley, who were both on that 2019-20 team, but the defense has not exactly been as formidable as many hoped.
According to NBA.com/stats, the Lakers have the 27th-ranked defensive rating in the NBA after six games this season. They are allowing the third-most points per game by opponents with a brutal 116.5, trailing only the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies. Obviously, the defense has been a struggle, and it ranks among the most prominent reasons why the Lakers have gotten off to such a rocky start.
Diving deeper, LA’s paint defense has been atrocious as they are allowing 53.7 points there on a nightly basis, the second-most in the NBA. Despite having the formidable big-man trio of Davis, Howard, and DeAndre Jordan, the Lakers have been a disaster down low on the defensive end. Teams have faced very little resistance when attacking the basket against Los Angeles, something that this LA team desperately needs to clean up.
On paper, this team has the tools to be great defensively. Although players like Carmelo Anthony and Austin Reaves will never be known for their defense, the Lakers have no shortage of players that can take on that responsibility when they are on the floor. Davis, Bradley, Howard, Jordan, and Kent Bazemore are all solid defensively, along with James – when he is interested. They will surely need to improve on the defensive end as the season goes on if they will compete for a title, and it might start with one player in particular.