With the All-Star game in the rearview mirror, the Los Angeles Lakers need to get back into action to compete for a championship. The Lakers sit at a record of 33-21, and their next stretch is a litmus test on whether this team can actually compete. If they want to contend, they need to clean up the defense, stabilize the rotation and form an identity.
The Lakers don’t need to become the best defense in the league — frankly, they can’t t with the way they’ve been performing, but they need to make some improvements. Los Angeles is allowing opponents to shoot 48.6% — 27th in the league. They give up too many clean looks and have no dominant paint presence. It allows for easy penetration, which leads to wide-open threes and easy layups with no contest.
Lakers head coach J.J. Redick has recently switched into a zone defense to simplify the roles. When the Lakers were playing man-to-man defense, they were losing assignments and gave up easy drives to the lane. With the switch to zone, either center DeAndre Ayton or Jaxson Hayes is anchoring the paint to protect penetration. The Lakers have the highest zone usage in the league at 17.6% since January 18th, which shows the dedication of Redick to find a defensive solution that solves their issues.
Another problem for the Lakers has been the inconsistent rotations. It doesn’t help that shooting guard Austin Reaves was out for over a month with a calf strain, but starting combinations and closing groups have been all over the place. They need consistency.
The Lakers also need to find a spot to incorporate shooting guard Luke Kennard, who they acquired at the trade deadline for point guard Gabe Vincent. Kennard is a lethal three-point shooter and can push Los Angeles to an above-average three-point shooting team.
It’s ok to test what works best for the rotation throughout the season, but now that it’s after the All-Star break, a routine needs to be ironed in. Redick needs to figure it out, because their matchups coming out of the All-Star break will test them.
The Lakers start off against the Los Angeles Clippers and then take on the Boston Celtics with games against the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons still upcoming. Redick needs to figure out the rotation before things can get real dangerous real fast.
The Lakers have the opportunity to be a dangerous team if they can fix the issues that have plagued them this season.