Yet for all the discussions about the clunky offensive fit between James and Westbrook, the Lakers and Vogel soon learned that the two worked even worse together on defense. It set a conflict internally for the Lakers that they never solved, with Vogel, one of the NBA’s best defensive coaches, trying to find a way for the team to be competent on that side of the ball. “We don’t have a great offensive team, but we are more offense than we are defense, and Frank has to adjust to that,” one Lakers staffer said. “You got to live with the fact that your defense isn’t going to be top three. And you hope it’s top 20, and then your offense is good enough to move it. But that’s the hard part.”