Lakers’ Austin Reaves shares brutally honest take about the team’s poor defense

Lakers’ Austin Reaves shares brutally honest take about the team’s poor defense

While they’ve been one of the best teams in the Western Conference to begin the new season, there has been a steep drop-off from the Los Angeles Lakers defensively.

The Lakers, anchored by all-worldly defender Anthony Davis, weren’t spectacular defensively last year, finishing No. 17 in defense with the 16th-best adjusted defense, accounting for strength of schedule, according to Dunks & Threes.

Though they have been the league’s fourth-worst unit to begin the 2024-25 season, being only better than the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and lowly Washington Wizards, who own the NBA’s worst record (2-13).

Lakers guard Austin Reaves was asked about the team’s struggles defensively earlier this week with a very candid response.

“Our personnel isn’t, you know, I think if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, isn’t the best defensively,” Reaves told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “Obviously we’ve got [Anthony Davis]. That covers up a lot. But we have to be physical out on the perimeter and especially when boxing out. We got to be a better defensive rebounding team and transition as well.”

The Lakers have been the fifth-worst defensive-rebounding team in the NBA, which is a big problem if this team has any aspirations to make a run in the loaded West, let alone compete for a title. To make matters worse, they allow the second-most fastbreak points, third-most points in the paint and seventh-most second-chance points per 100 possessions.

Dalton Knecht continues to be exactly what the Lakers needed

Containing opposing ballhandlers and not being physical has been a crux of the team’s problems, but it extends just beyond that. To Reaves’ point, the personnel isn’t there, though the attention to detail doesn’t appear to be, either. Again, that can’t happen, especially when you have one of the league’s best defensive players. Davis can only do so much patrolling the back line.

Acquiring another center, while it would help, can only do so much. JJ Redick‘s done a good job elevating this offense, but I will be interested to see if he can somehow mitigate this team’s struggles defensively as the season goes on.

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