LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to an 11-4 start and have been among the top teams in the Western Conference, there is room for improvement in terms of defense. Even so, the Lakers have a few players on their roster who have been positives on defense this season, including Jake LaRavia.
Amid some early injury issues, Jake LaRavia was starting for the Lakers and has since moved back to the bench, but no matter where he is in the lineup, his role on defense has remained the same.
“I just try to be as physical as I can defensively. Trying to play passing lanes, disrupt the ball, getting steals, deflections, that’s kind of what me and [Marcus] Smart have been doing well this year,” LaRavia said following Lakers’ practice on Tuesday. “Now that we’re in the second unit, whenever the starting unit might come off a little slow or even if we’re already going, we kind of just come in and our job is to provide the juice every game. Just to come in and be disruptive defensively.”
Through the Lakers’ first 15 games of the season, LaRavia has a defensive rating of 115.0, as per StatMuse. That’s good enough for top-six on the roster in terms of the regular rotation behind only Jarred Vanderbilt, Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Bronny James. Each of those players have been a plus on the defensive end this season.
When it comes to defensive schemes, LaRavia believes that this team’s strength lies in their ability to just go out there and be disruptive and physical rather than anything specific.
“We just go out there and we play with an edge and we try and play as physical as we can. Not letting anything easy,” LaRavia said. “Smart’s little quote, ‘the toughest team sets the rules,’ we try and just come in and do that every game.”
LaRavia signed with the Lakers as a free agent in the offseason after splitting last season with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. So far this season, he’s appeared in all 15 games, including six starts, at a little over 28 minutes per game.
He’s averaged 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 48.7 percent shooting from the field, 34 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His points per game are just shy of his career-high of 10.8 he averaged 2023-24 with the Grizzlies.
