FanPost

The Shawfather is unhappy with your defensive execution


If you have not read this piece, you should. It is an optimistic look at the Lakers' defense so far this season. C.A highlights what the team has done well and hopes the return of Bynum will improve overall defense, especially in defending inside and defensive rebounding. C.A. certainly has reasons to hope. Our defensive rebounding has actually improved since that December buzzer beating lost to Milwaukee . I will never understand why the Bucks were awarded 19 points for their last basket.

Do you know what else equally baffles me? The Lakers interior defense. Sometimes it is so easy to penetrate, even Dex wonders if he's overexerting himself with your mom. To add insult to injury, through stretches, Pau looks possessed by the ghost of Kyle Korver. So I decided to first research why the soul of Korver refuses to leave this world and then research the Lakers interior defense and see if there is any hope. Take the jump for some enlightening revelations.

Well, I just found out that Kyle Korver is still alive. Yea I could not believe it either. Rumor is that the grim reaper overslept because his iphone malfunctioned; lucky guy. Sadly, now, I have no idea what is going on with Pau Gasol. I will leave that mystery to you smart folks. Moving on, how is LA inside D?

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Looking at the rim and inside the 10-15 feet area, it is actually good. LA is ranked 5th and 7th respectively in those areas. The rim defense is around last year's average and we see improvement in the 10-15 feet area. It actually seems like it might get better as the season progresses.

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This definitely wasn't what I expected. But let's look at the rest of the defense.

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This is more like it. LA ranks 25th at defending between the rim and 10 feet out. This year opponents are taking almost 6 more shots in the paint and converting at a higher clip. Opponents are also getting more assists in the paint. How bad is it? Well I only went back to 2006; this is the worst display by the Lakers in 5 years! Even the Kwame lead (haha) Lakers weren't that bad at defending the paint. As illustrated below, it doesn't look like it will get better soon.

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The 16-23 ft defense is actually good when compared to last year. After the 10-15 ft ,this is LA's best defensive area. However , the defense has steadily worsen throughout the season and that could spell trouble for the guys in purp and yellow if that trend continues.

What can we conclude? LA's best defense is on the perimeter. They want opponents to shoot between 10 and 23 feet, the least efficient areas on the floor. However, they are unable to keep opponents out of the paint and are slow to rotate to the open man. It seems to me that should be their foremost concern, but it is only my conclusion. Maybe you will reach a different one.

So should we worry or hope? Of course, we should always hope that our team will get better. That is what fans do, but we all have a "desecrator" in us. For instance, C.A founds that our 3pt defense is on pace to be around last year's average. While I agree, I also see an inconsistent team who hasn't been nearly as good at defending the three after the first 36 games. But let's hope they get it together by the end of the season.

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So what do the Lakers have to do to improve their paint defense? Have at it ladies and gents.