| 03 March 2010
A few Lakers bloggers took part in a bit of a round table discussion (hopefully this will be a relatively regular thing), taking part in this round were Regnard Raquedan of Big Lakers Fan, Chris Clark - Silver Screen and Roll, Chris Shellcroft - Lake Show Life... and yours truly.
The question we first faced?
There's a perception out there that LA's weakness is at point guard defense, to what degree is this true?
Regnard Raquedan - Big Lakers Fan
Is the Lakers worst area is point guard defense?
Is the Lakers worst area is point guard defense?
Let's look at the Lakers depth at that position...
Derek Fisher is regarded as one of the best defensive PG's in the NBA right now and that may be due to reputation. He was never a speedster, but he made up for it with strength and offensive foul-drawing. In his mid-30's, Derek Fisher's effectivity is lower compared to a few years ago when he routinely gave opposing PG's headaches. Now, Fisher is the one routinely getting burned.Off the bench, Jordan Farmar is still miles away from becoming a defensive stopper and Shannon Brown gets left behind by explosive point guards. (I maintain Shannon is better at defending 2-guards).
Relative to the defensive performances of the four other positions in the Lakers' roster, I think PG defense beats the PF defense as the worst by a hairline. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom at the 4 can be abused, but it may be because there are more great PF's than great PG's in the league.
Chris Clark - Silver Screen and Roll
I take a certain amount of issue with the idea that the main weakness besetting the Lakers is on the defensive end. The Lakers have had a top 3 defense in the league all season long. Point guard is clearly their weakest defensive position, and often the other team's point guard has a great deal of success relative to the rest of his teammates, but whatever is wrong with the point guard position is hardly causing the team to suffer too dramatically. If the question were amended to read "is LA's weakness the point guard" or "is point guard the biggest defensive weakness", the answer would be absolutely to either question.
I take a certain amount of issue with the idea that the main weakness besetting the Lakers is on the defensive end. The Lakers have had a top 3 defense in the league all season long. Point guard is clearly their weakest defensive position, and often the other team's point guard has a great deal of success relative to the rest of his teammates, but whatever is wrong with the point guard position is hardly causing the team to suffer too dramatically. If the question were amended to read "is LA's weakness the point guard" or "is point guard the biggest defensive weakness", the answer would be absolutely to either question.
I think point guard defense is the most glaring weakness, but not the most important. It's something everybody can see, that everyone notices. But, if the point guard defense is so weak, the rest of the team sure can compensate for it, can't they? No, for me, the biggest weakness for the Lakers is on offense. It's difficult to pinpoint what that weakness is, but the Lakers offense is what's worse this year compared to last, not the defense.
Don - With Malice
I think that the idea that the point guard defense is the weak link for the Lakers is based merely on the point being the weakest position for the Lakers. And if this were a game where the positional match-ups mattered, then LA might be be in a spot of trouble... but basketball's a game where defense is always going to be team-oriented - and LA's clearly strong there. On that, is anyone else amazed at how fast the Lakers transitioned from "offensive juggernaut" to "defensive monster"?
I think that the idea that the point guard defense is the weak link for the Lakers is based merely on the point being the weakest position for the Lakers. And if this were a game where the positional match-ups mattered, then LA might be be in a spot of trouble... but basketball's a game where defense is always going to be team-oriented - and LA's clearly strong there. On that, is anyone else amazed at how fast the Lakers transitioned from "offensive juggernaut" to "defensive monster"?
No, for me, the weakness is that on occasions LA can get into the "Waiting for (Godot?) Kobe" mindset... where the offense completely stalls And that's a combination of Kobe getting frustrated and the rest of the team getting passive. I think that this has been overcome often this season by Kobe looking to involve others early, and assert himself if necessary later on in the game. But if I were an opposition coach looking for a way to beat the Lakers, I'd be looking at encouraging Kobe to shoot bad shots often... and take the other Lakers out of their game. However, it's tough to do so: because he often hits 'em. And if he's on his game, heaven help you.
Read more after the jump...
Don - With Malice
Ok... I have a few questions for the group.
- Regnard (or others) - do you really think we're that weak at defending the 4? I don't... I think we've got the length and size to really bother people at the 4...
- Chris (and others) do you think that the lapses on offense are related to the mindset I outlined? Or do you see it as simply being a deficiency in ability...
Chris Clark - Silver Screen and Roll
Combination of factors. The mentality that "Kobe will rescue us" has always been an issue with the Lakers since the departure of Shaq. Kobe's simply too talented and commanding for people not to naturally defer to him, and his personality doesn't help to counter that either. But that element existed in the team last year as well, and the offense operated just fine with it. I think the offensive struggle comes from a few areas, in addition to the Kobe watching you described.
- Ron Artest doesn't fit as well in the offense as Ariza did. Don't get me wrong, I love Artest's play, and I think he's improved the defense more than he's made the offense worse, but he's not a very good slasher, and wings in the triangle need to do two things, shoot the 3 and slash to the hoop. In this respect, Ariza was a better fit for the team last year.
- General lack of shooting. The Lakers 3 pt shooting is down about 1.5% over last year, with Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant struggling from the outside. There is not a single threat from deep on the team that opposing teams have to worry about leaving open right now, so teams are allowed to clog the lane.
- Bigs (relatively) struggling. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum (pre-injury) and Lamar Odom (post-injury) are all not playing as well as they did last season. They still form one of the best back courts in the league, but Pau has not been nearly as efficient on offense , Bynum has maintained his aggression without maintaining all of his success, and Odom has just recently started to show signs of shaking off his early season malaise.
I think those are the main factors killing the offense. Everything else is an extrapolation of those elements, including the Kobe-watching.
Don - With Malice
I agree... but I think overall the balance of the team is actually better than it was last season. I do think opponents are generally stronger than last season tho'. Denver has more fire, Dallas and Cleveland have improved rosters.
The thing that a lot of *fans* seem to have forgotten is that last season there was a period when many fans were running around screaming "THE SKY IS FALLING" as well. I do believe this team performs better when externally motivated...
The thing that a lot of *fans* seem to have forgotten is that last season there was a period when many fans were running around screaming "THE SKY IS FALLING" as well. I do believe this team performs better when externally motivated...
Chris Shellcroft - Lake Show Life
To me this is classic title letdown syndrome. If you recall the threepeat in the early 2000s, those teams lost interest in the regular season each year. While I do feel there is a strong reliance on Kobe, there is also the Jeckyll and Hide nature that Phil discussed during the Houston series last year in the playoffs.
This team sleepwalks through games they expect to win, hoping to either crush opponents early or keep the score close enough to make a late run.
I have to also agree with Don that the NBA is much improved overall as well. Just look at Oklahoma City and how far they've come in just one year. Go forward this is going to be a tough road to travel given how young a lot of the teams are these days. While Boston and San Antonio are on their way down, Portland, OKC and even Memphis are on the rise.
When the playoffs come around I would expect to see this team step it up in intensity but it would be ideal to strike some fear into the league with a good win streak come the end of the season.
This team sleepwalks through games they expect to win, hoping to either crush opponents early or keep the score close enough to make a late run.
I have to also agree with Don that the NBA is much improved overall as well. Just look at Oklahoma City and how far they've come in just one year. Go forward this is going to be a tough road to travel given how young a lot of the teams are these days. While Boston and San Antonio are on their way down, Portland, OKC and even Memphis are on the rise.
When the playoffs come around I would expect to see this team step it up in intensity but it would be ideal to strike some fear into the league with a good win streak come the end of the season.
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Please feel free to add your own opinions to this via the comments section...
