Tag: Los Angeles Lakers defense

LeBron James wants Lakers defense to remain ‘best in the league’

LeBron James has rarely gotten credit for his defense in recent years, but he stated it as a team goal to be the best defense in the league.

It’s been the common thread from the start of the Los Angeles Lakers season until now, but it bears repeating as long as they keep it going, that they’ve won with their defense. Anthony Davis has rightfully gotten much of the credit as he openly discussed the Lakers having a more defensive mindset and challenging LeBron James to be a great defender again.

Now the defense-first rhetoric that came from Davis and head coach Frank Vogel has even trickled over to LeBron James, a player whom many thought had left his days of playing defense in the regular season behind him. Following last night’s win in San Antonio, James told reporters that he wants the Lakers to “strangle” their opponents and be the best defense in the NBA.

Via Silver Screen and Roll 

“We’re a defensive-minded team. That’s where we want to make our mark, that’s where we want to be the best in the league. Be able to just strangle teams in the fourth quarter… Honestly, we want to strangle them for 48 minutes, but teams are going to make runs, teams are going to make plays and we’ve got to be consistent with our game plan, and we did that tonight, especially in the fourth.”

According to Basketball-Reference, the Lakers have No. 1 defensive rating in the league while NBA.com has them ranked No. 7. But as LeBron mentioned about shutting teams down in the fourth quarter, the Lakers have unquestionably done that better than anyone with a fourth quarter defensive rating of 96.5 according to NBA.com, best in the league. When it’s been winning time, the Lakers have shut their opponents down. More than anything, that’s the reason they have the best record in the NBA.

 

 

Don’t discount LeBron’s defense in Lakers surge to the top of the standings

While plenty of ink has rightfully been spilled on LeBron’s offensive resurgence, it’d be a mistake to ignore his and his team’s defense.

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The Los Angeles Lakers currently own the best record in the NBA by a nose, and LeBron James’ rejuvenated play has almost everything to do with it.

This is not, of course, to disparage the outstanding play coming from the other top-ten player on the Lakers’ roster, Anthony Davis, mind you — far from it. But James’ resurgence has made the pair a truly lethal combination, a testament to the traction his #WashedKing hashtag has had as L.A. has surged to the top of the standings.

Tuesday night, LeBron added to his growing resume of achievements by getting a triple-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On its surface, it wasn’t an especially remarkable achievement, particularly given that club’s comparatively weakened conditioned compared to seasons past.

That it was the final remaining team James had yet to log such a feat against was both remarkable in its completeness and in that it had only just occurred now in his 17th season despite being seen as a “walking triple-double” for his entire basketball life.

But the headline-grabbing feat is only one part of what’s driving the Akron native’s success — defense, a quality James hasn’t been known for in recent years, has also been a significant factor.

“It’s a new year,” to paraphrase the man himself (via The Score), and indeed it is. Despite a number of analysts questioning the makeup and depth of the roster in the preseason — to say nothing of the defensive reputations of LeBron in recent years, to which the above comment alludes — the Lakers are now among the league’s best defenses, much of which can be credited to the Ohioan’s buy-in as a defender.

The replication of head coach Frank Vogel’s defensive approach used in his time with the Indiana Pacers has been amplified by the commitment ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported James making to Davis over the summer, resulting in defensive performance unseen since his stint with the Miami Heat.

Logging the third best defensive rating (100) of his career and tying his second-best defensive box plus/minus (2.8) James has found teammates JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard and Danny Green as competent as ever on that side of the court, as well as Avery Bradley, Alex Caruso and even Rajon Rondo taking steps forward compared to recent years.

And of course, having All-Defensive monster big man Anthony Davis leading the league in blocks doesn’t hurt, either.

Taken together, a team some questioned whether would even be in the postseason conversation is now sitting atop the league, in no small part to their rejuvenated defensive chops, also currently atop the league. A blueprint lifted from head coach Vogel’s past successes has proven quite a potent combination, to the consternation of foes across the league.

How far can this defensive renaissance take the new-look Lakers? So long as health and a concurrently elite offense continues to flow from La-La land’s finest, it’s looking like the sky’s the limit.