Preseason is usually a time for NBA teams to figure out what works for their team in terms of lineup combinations, plays, and overall strategies. It's the best time for teams to put whatever they're working on in training camp to practice. Thus, this is also the time for teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, to realize what part of the game they must put more emphasis towards so they could get it together before the games begin to matter on the win-loss column.

Head coach Darvin Ham, being the astute leader that he is, already knows what his Lakers must work on, especially in the aftermath of an ugly 123-100 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Ham pointed out that the team must still make plenty of strides on the defensive end of the court.

Given the personnel on the team, it's only a matter of time before the Lakers right the ship on the defensive end. Anthony Davis was on point on Thursday night, but the team in its entirety must be more locked-in and be more cohesive so they could put together an elite defensive unit.

In the middle of the third quarter against the Suns, the Lakers' defense went downhill; when Davis, LeBron James, and the rest of the Lakers' starters came out of the floor, their defense went to sleep, allowing the Suns to go on a 25-8 run to put the game out of reach.

Darvin Ham will now know that units with Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes anchoring the defense may not be too appropriate to use, but that is what exactly preseason is for — to give the team some hard lessons to swallow as they enter the regular season proper.