The Los Angeles Lakers have lost their third game to a below .500 team since the All-Star break. While they are all bad losses, losing to the Phoenix Suns might be the most damning one. The Suns are currently the worst team in the NBA with little incentive to win games. While the Lakers have every reason to leave it all on the court each night in pursuit of their first playoff berth since 2013.
It is tough to make a run at the playoffs when the on-court product looks like a collection of players instead of a team. There are many times throughout games where players miss defensive rotations, lack communication, or seem disinterested all together. One of the trademarks to great defensive teams is that everyone is on the same page with mirrored intensity. The Lakers lack all these traits currently.
The Lakers locker room was a somber place last night, and rightfully so. Their lack of energy early and habit of losing to bad teams was on their minds. Will be interesting to see how they respond from here.
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) March 3, 2019
The Lakers are 4-8 since the return of LeBron James. Their defense has taken a nose dive in that time. Their opponents are scoring an average of 125 points in those losses. That ranks bottom five in the NBA during this stretch. A lot of shots are coming towards the rim which is a huge problem for the Lakers.
They are 21st in the NBA in contested two-point shots post All-Star. Their opponents are shooting 66.7 percent at the rim since February 2nd, which is fourth worst in the NBA. The Lakers just do not seem to be playing for the name on the front of the jersey when it comes to the defensive end.
A big reason for their lack of defensive efficiency can be attributed to the absence of Lonzo Ball. Ball is the best defender on the team and sparks the fire on that end of the court each night. The Lakers are now 5-11 without Ball this year. James has publicly expressed the teams struggles without the young point guard in the line up per Lakersnation.com:
“We obviously miss another ballhandler, another playmaker,” James said. “A guy that’s very, very good defensively. With his ability to get a steal and pressure the offensive point guard and then push the pace for us, get into our early offense. So we miss that a lot.”
There is no current timetable for the return of Ball. As a result, this Lakers team is going to have to find themselves defensively with 19 games left in the season without Ball’s aid. They are currently 4.5 games back of the San Antonio Spurs for the final playoff spot.
If there was ever a time to turn a switch, it would be now. Unfortunately, this team might not have a switch to turn and it might already be too late.
Brendan Abban is the creator/owner of brendanabban.com and hosts the KBR Sports podcast. Follow him on Twitter @Abbanbrendan or email him via [email protected].
