The Lakers want to be the best defensive team in the NBA

Last Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 118 points in the loss to the San Antonio Spurs. It was the most points they allowed up to that point, and the fourth time they allowed a team to score more than 110 points. This did not go well for Anthony Davis.

“We don’t play defense,” said Davis after the game. “Our defense was shit tonight. We didn’t play a defense move and the guys did what they wanted. (The Spurs) entered this very comfortable game. “

While they didn’t look much better in that final game against the Chicago Bulls the next day, they played one of their most inspired saves of the season in their win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

In the first half of Sunday night’s contest, the Lakers held the Rockets with just 46 points, which at the time was 14.3 points less than the Houston season average. The Rockets ended the game with 102 points, 12.3 points less than the season average.

Davis led the attack on the Lakers defensively, posting a defensive rating of 81.8 and recording three blocks, which was a high season for him. Noteworthy, Davis recorded three blocks in each of the last four games he played. In other words, he is not just talking; he is also walking, and Frank Vogel thinks this is a testament to the defensive mentality that the Lakers built last season.

“Having your best player, or one of your best players, when they are upset, it’s not about the offensive side, which so often happens: when you have one of your best players, he is not happy with your shots or things like that, ”said Vogel. “When one of his best players, one of his two captains – their leaders – loses a game and the first thing he thinks about is that we were not good enough in defense, that’s special and it’s a big reason why we did we did I did last year and I had a great chance this year.

“We talked about it the next day, we praised; the fact that our group is angry and nervous after that defeat, and our technical team the next morning is angry and nervous after that defeat. We have a high standard for ourselves, so I definitely welcome and encourage that. “

Adam Pantozzi / NBAE photo via Getty Images

Davis was not just talking to his teammates on Thursday. He also said this to take responsibility. He knows what he is capable of in defense and wants to ensure that he is doing everything he can to make the Lakers an elite defensive team. That means playing on the court, but for him it also means talking and recognizing the team’s problems.

“I just speak the truth,” said Davis. “They look at me as one of the team leaders; me and LJ. If I feel anything, I will speak … I will say what I feel if I know it will help the team, and it was the truth. It’s not like I’m making it up. It was true. We were very bad defensively and we have been bad defensively.

“Although it is a young season and we are just starting to learn from each other, we can still control the defensive part. I’m not sure if what I said to the media came back to the guys, but I feel like we learned tonight and, like I said, we have to build on that. “

This demonstration of leadership earned him praise from his fellow captain, LeBron James, who confirmed that Davis’ message reached the locker room.

“He can express any opinion he would like, any fact he would like, for our football club, because one thing about him is that when he says it, he will tell himself too,” said James. “He considers himself responsible, so when he holds us accountable, we hold him accountable, he takes responsibility and vice versa.

“AD can say whatever it wants because it’s all about improving our team and we respond to that. We thought it was right and we managed to finish with a very good defensive game in Chicago, although we didn’t score as we used to, and then we continue with another defensive game.

“We heard it loud and clear.”

Photo by Cato Cataldo / NBAE via Getty Images

After the victory over the Rockets on Sunday, the Lakers are ranked third in the defensive classification, which is where they ended last season. If they finish third again this season, most people would consider it a success, especially when you consider how many defensive players have lost in the off season. But Lakers are not the majority of people.

“Our goal is to be the No. 1 defensive team in the league,” said James. “And it will take our film sessions, it will take our shots, it will take training when we have the opportunity to enter the ground and then the games, to continue working on these habits.

“We added five new guys to our rotation this year, basically in Trezz, Dennis the Menace, Wes, Marc and also Talen. We are all getting used to each other, going down to our rotations and what we want to build, how we built from painting to the perimeter, but we want to be the best defensive team in the league and tonight was a good start to that. “

How do they plan to develop their defense going forward? Slowly and carefully, according to Vogel.

“We didn’t adjust too much, to be honest,” said Vogel. “In fact, we’re just bringing everyone together with the schematics, you know what I mean? The new guys are learning what we are doing. We finished last year in a defensive way different from the way we started. We grew over the year with our package and arsenal of different layouts that we could launch on different teams, and I think the biggest challenge this year is not to over complicate our layouts in these early season games.

“It’s easy – especially against a team like Portland or Houston, against whom we played several games in the playoffs last year – to go for all types of coverage from your plan B, plan C, plan D, but there is a risk that it is also complicated for a regular season type of game night. We are reaching this balance, but I feel good about what we are doing at that end of the floor. “

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