LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the better teams in the Western Conference in the early-goings of the regular season with an 11-4 record. While the Lakers’ offense has been solid, the team’s defense could stand to improve as the season goes on. Following Lakers’ practice on Thursday morning, Luka Doncic spoke about how he seen the team’s defense shape up amid the first month of the regular season.
“I feel like there’s a lot of improvements. We talked about it today before practice,” Doncic said. “I think we’re doing a really good job but the good thing about this is that we still have a lot of improvement left.”
Luka Doncic would be correct in his assessment that the Lakers defense has room for improvement. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Lakers are middle of the pack at 17th in the league in defensive rating at 115.3. But in an interesting development, Doncic is one of the best on the team in defensive rating.
The top-five players on the team in defensive rating in terms of the regular rotation are Jarred Vanderbilt, Doncic, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Bronny James, as per StatMuse. Doncic’s defensive rating is 111.7. Back on Nov. 5 following the Lakers’ win against the San Antonio Spurs, Doncic acknowledged that effort he’s put into the defensive end this season.
“First of all just communication, getting people in the right spot. A lot of times I’m the low man so I’ve got to communicate that. I’ve got to put people in their spots,” Doncic said. “I think it’s better, more focused, so just keep going off of that.”
The increased communication on the defensive end from Doncic is something that Rui Hachimura has noticed as well. Following that Spurs game earlier this month, Hachimura spoke about the difference he’s seen in Doncic in terms of defense.
“He’s trying to be more vocal compared to last year. I can see him being vocal on defense,” Hachimura said. “He’s trying to poke through, he’s trying to be more physical, be more aggressive. . .that’s what we need from him too. He’s taken it so it’s been great.”
While the Lakers’ defense certainly stands to improve, following the team’s most recent win against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, Deandre Ayton spoke about how getting defensive stops often fires up the team and how that momentum carries over to the offensive end.
The Lakers head out on a brief, one-game road trip against the Jazz on Sunday, before closing out the month with three home games against the LA Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.
