The Los Angeles Lakers may have escaped Salt Lake City with a 143-135 win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but their defensive issues were much too apparent. In the first half, Los Angeles conceded a whopping 78 points, as Luka Doncic and Co. allowed the home team to score at will with little to no resistance.
The Jazz shot a mind-blowing 63% from the field in the first half, including 59% from three, as the home team outscored the Lakers, 78-73, after two quarters. The Lakers were much better defensively in the second half, holding the Jazz to 40% shooting from three, while outscoring them 70-57 to come away with the victory.
Luka Doncic Defense, a Concern
Although Doncic finished with a 45-point triple-double, he admitted that he could have played a lot better, especially on the defensive end.
“I think, honestly, I could do so much more,” Doncic said after finishing with 45 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, five assists and the solitary turnover.
“But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. We had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game.”
To Doncic’s point, the Lakers did well to limit their turnovers, which ensured the Jazz scored only nine fast-break points. The Lakers’ transition defense has been horrible all season, with JJ Redick’s men conceding 24.5 fast-break points a game, which ranks 16th in the league. In comparison, the Oklahoma City Thunder (19.3), San Antonio Spurs (19.5) and Houston Rockets (23.0) — three of the Lakers’ main rivals in the Western Conference — have been significantly better with their transition defense.
JJ Redick Addresses Doncic
Redick admitted after Thursday’s win that Doncic was not as engaged on defense at various points of the game, especially in the first half.
“[He had] stretches of playing excellent, being engaged and executing our stuff defensively, and then stretches where he is not as engaged and isn’t executing our stuff defensively,” Redick said of Doncic, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“But I would say that’s for everybody. I think the biggest thing, he played certainly well enough to lead us to a win. Him and LeBron [James], with 24 assists and three turnovers [combined].”
The Lakers head coach reportedly called a meeting with Luka Doncic mand LeBron James earlier this week, asking his two veteran stars to shore up their effort defensively.
Redick’s concerns are perfectly reasonable. The Lakers rank 22nd in defensive rating, conceding 117.1 points per 100 possessions. All eight teams ranked below the Lakers are either lottery-bound or expected to fight for a play-in berth. As such, the Lakers are not in good company, while their chief rivals in the West all rank within the top-10 or top-15 in defensive efficiency through the first few months of the season.
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