The Los Angeles Lakers are building a squad meant to contend for years to come when they acquire the 25-year-old guard Luka Doncic over the winter. The Lakers were the beneficiaries of a unique situation where a team willingly traded an MVP candidate entering the prime of his career.
Even with the Lakers being resounding winners in the trade, franchise legend Michael Cooper criticized the decision to make the trade for Doncic at the expense of the team’s defensive solidity through Max Christie and Anthony Davis, calling Luka, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves the ‘three worst defenders in the NBA.’
“I don’t necessarily like the trade. I respect the trade. I don’t like the trade because you had [Max] Christie, a young, good perimeter defensive player. Yes, very good, and AD, that’s defense wins championships. They don’t have that now. You’ve got probably three of the worst defensive players on the Lakers team but three of the best offensive scorers on the Lakers team in Luka, Reaves and LeBron.”
“Magic Johnson was not a great one-on-one defender, but he was a hell of a double-team defender. He was always there to help. He was always there to double-team a player, but if you put him one-on-one, he couldn’t guard too many people. I mean, he can keep them in front, but they eventually go by. But for us, we use Magic as a double team. He was very good at that, so to me, that is, and again, playing defense, you have to put your heart into that, and you gotta want to play.”
Cooper making his feelings known publicly without directly following the team’s performances on the court is surprising. Even though the Lakers suffered a major theoretical problem by losing Davis and Christie while adding just Doncic, the team has coped very well with any lineup issues.
The Lakers have a 109.9 defensive rating over February. This is the fourth-best mark in the NBA and much better than the Lakers’ defensive rating of 113.9 on the season. Redick’s philosophy has taken a while to infect the franchise but they’re ensuring they maximize their defensive possessions through aggression and intelligence instead of lamenting the loss of a defensive presence like Davis.
The Lakers’ defense is being endlessly dissected, but the franchise is proving they can make it work without a standout rim protector or paint presence on their roster. LeBron has never been a bad defender because of his ability, as he just chooses not to exert effort on that end in the regular season. With Doncic easing his offensive responsibilities, James has more theoretical energy to expend.
Doncic had a rough start to life in L.A. but his performance against the Nuggets shows he’s back on the track of offensive domination. He looked defensively engaged in that win and it reflected in the result. The same goes for Austin Reaves, as these defenders can be impactful if they’re dialed in on that end.
It seems like JJ Redick has these players playing much harder, with the offensive setup in place allowing each player to play off each other while maintaining a strong level of aggression on defense. Even if the personnel isn’t perfect, we’ve seen teams make massive defensive gains through just team setup and effort.
The Lakers will be improved defensively after the summer when they can tweak their roster, but they won’t be one of the worst defenses in the NBA going forward, despite the mass hysteria around their roster.
