NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates 
President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick spoke at length on several topics at Thursday’s season-opening presser. A central theme was personnel. They wanted to recruit players whose profiles match Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves at their primes.
Acquiring a new big-man anchor and younger athletes this offseason will help implement a more aggressive defensive identity than last year.
Advertisement
Despite winning 53 games, the Lakers finished with the tenth-worst defense. Every other 50-win team finished at least in the top seven, except the Nuggets (21st) and the Cavs (15th).
An identity shift will begin this season at the center position with Walker Kessler.
“I think Walker’s a perfect fit for Luka and [Reaves],” Redick said. “Just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense. It’s an area we’ve struggled with.”
Struggled is an understatement. The Lakers ranked second-to-last in opponents’ shooting percentage at the rim last season, giving up 72% in the restricted area. Not unrelated, the team traded away starting center Deandre Ayton and backup big man Jaxson Hayes was not re-signed.
Advertisement
While the Lakers offense has clear direction with Luka and Austin leading the charge, the defense now does too. Players will all be funneled toward Kessler at the rim.
The gap in rim protection is canyon-sized. LA got 1.8 blocks per game total out of their main centers last season, while Kessler averaged 2.4 himself in his last healthy campaign. He pairs elite timing with a quick jump and a 9’5″ standing reach to erase attempts like the one shown below.
His addition alone instantly turns the Lakers from a poor rim-protection team into an elite one. This is predicated, of course, on whether they can keep the big man near the basket.
Advertisement
”I know we have switched a lot one through five the last two years,” Redick said. “That has been by necessity.”
The hopeful advantage of one-through-five switching is to negate any screen action. It can help slower foot players, since chasing over and around screens takes a lot of effort, and switching…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-defensive-identity-season-152400368.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-09-26 15:24:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
