There were some questions at Crypto after the Los Angeles Lakers stumbled against the San Antonio Spurs, losing in the NBA Cup Quarterfinal. Now, the Lakers' Austin Reaves addressed comments by Rich Paul, LeBron James' agent, about the team's defensive weakness, according to a post by NBA reporter Dave McMenamin.
“That's a weakness we got to get better at. The spirit is still high in here, we know we can do it … But we have to be a group that guards with five people,” Reaves told McMenamin.
Reaves was addressing the perimeter weakness the Spurs consistently exposed, enabling them to ride high to a 132-119 victory on Wednesday. Stephon Castle benefitted from this, leading the Spurs with 30 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including 3 of 6 from the triples. Likewise, De'Aaron Fox was solid, scoring 20 points while shooting 8 of 17 from the floor. Harrison Barnes added 16 points, while Keldon Johnson led the bench with 17 points, and Julian Champagnie had 16.
The Spurs shot 50% from the floor, including 44.7% from beyond the arc. Additionally, they won the board battle 50-43, which enabled them to get more opportunities. What made this victory more impressive was the fact that the Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama.
The Lakers are still 17-7 and fourth in the Western Conference. However, their seven losses this season have exposed what happens when their defense crumbles, and their offense cannot compensate. Alarmingly, they have allowed at least 120 points in four of the five December games. It's not surprising that the Lakers are 2-3 in those games.
Many of their recent wins, including wins over lower-tier teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers, have seen them simply outscore teams. But their losses to elite teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder showcased that the Lakers still have work to do on fixing a defense that is allowing 115.9 points per game, which is 14th in the NBA. The Lakers' next chance to bounce back comes Sunday against the Phoenix Suns.
