3 ways the Lakers can improve their struggling defense

The NBA is in the midst of an offensive revolution. Teams are shooting more threes than ever before, and the midrange game, which analytics show is the least efficient area on the floor, has all but gone the way of the set shot and underhand free throw.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 12-8, and when they've succeeded this year it's been due to their offense, even if they haven't gone as three-heavy as most of the league. The Lakers are seventh in the league in offensive rating, but their ceiling has been tempered by the NBA's 26th-ranked defense.

Being a prolific offensive team is more important than ever, but defense is still needed to win championships. Every NBA champ in the last decade has finished in the top half of the league in defensive rating, and other than the Denver Nuggets, who finished 15th when they won the title in 2022, every other one has finished no worse than 11th. Most were in the top five.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James are still playing at an extremely high level. There will come a day in the not-too-distant future, though, when they're not capable of being the two best players on a championship team. That day isn't here yet, but unless the Lakers can do something to improve on the defensive end, having two of the best players in the league won't be enough to raise another banner in Crypto.com Arena.

It's not often that a team is able to drastically change its identity in the middle of the season, but it can be done, and the Lakers have proven that they can field a top defense with AD and LeBron as their two best players. They were the top team in defensive rating in the 2020-21 season, and though LeBron is nowhere near the consistent defensive force he used to be (most would agree that he wasn't at the height of his defensive powers in 2021, either), AD is still an elite rim protector even today.

There are multiple paths open to the Lakers to improve on defense. Let's look at three of them.

Lakers defensive plan of action No. 1: Get Jarred Vanderbilt back on the floor

One key reason for L.A.'s defensive ineptitude has been out of their hands, as Jarred Vanderbilt has yet to play after having surgery on both of his feet this offseason. Vanderbilt is the kind of switchable wing that teams around the league covet. He's not much of a scorer, but his energy, defense and rebounding are exactly what the Lakers are missing right now.

Vanderbilt was acquired via a trade with the Jazz in February 2023, and though he's only played in 55 games for the Lakers, he's made his presence known. With Vanderbilt and Davis on the floor together, the Lakers have a defensive rating of 108.4, which would be good enough for sixth in the league this year.

During his career, Vanderbilt has averaged a rebound for every 3.2 minutes of court time, an elite number, especially for a non-center. The Lakers currently rank 26th in team defensive rebounding percentage, so his presence would be a huge help in that area, as well.

Unfortunately, there's no way to know when Vanderbilt will be back in action. The Lakers seemed optimistic that he would be ready for the start of the season, or at least very close to it, but recent reports say that it will still be weeks until he is re-evaluated, which pegs his likely return in 2025.

If the Lakers can remain above .500 until then, Vanderbilt could provide a huge boost when he gets back. That's easier said than done in the West, though, where the top 10 teams are all 11-9 or better.

Lakers defensive plan of action No. 2: Trade away the defensive liabilities

The trade deadline isn't until February, but Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka should look to act soon to fortify the team's defense. The easiest way to do that is to send the team's weakest defensive players packing and bring in a stopper or two.

I'm a big fan of Austin Reaves' game, but I'm pretty sure my mom could post him up. Defensively, he just doesn't do anything to stop opposing guards, even if he does bring a lot to the floor with his playmaking and shooting.

D'Angelo Russell has had a tumultuous relationship with Lakers fans, and he's now in his second go-round with the team. He's played better since JJ Redick moved him to the bench, but defense has never been his strong suit.

Rookie Dalton Knecht is no great shakes on defense either. He can handle most of what Reaves does on offense for a fraction of the price, however, and he's already jumped Russell in the rotation. Redick should continue to lean into that.

Packaging Reaves and Russell could land the Lakers a premium player on the trade market, or they could split them to land multiple pieces. Maybe Pelinka could get someone to really help on the defensive end, like Utah's Walker Kessler or Memphis' Marcus Smart, or maybe he prioritizes someone that could make L.A.'s offense even more dynamic, like Chicago's Zach LaVine or Brooklyn's Cam Johnson. Either way, losing Reaves and Russell would be addition by subtraction on defense, and L.A. would be in a better spot than they are now.

Lakers defensive plan of action No. 3: Slow down the pace

The Lakers are tied with the Kings as the 15th fastest-paced team in the league, but they don't have the personnel to be going even at a league average pace. L.A. is last in the league in transition point allowed, so the obvious solution is to slow the game down and take away those easy points.

LeBron can still get out and run when he needs to, but even in his younger days, he's been at his best when he can grind out games in the half-court and use his basketball IQ to outwit opposing teams. Now he's 39 and a major part of one of the older rosters in the league. He should be overjoyed to turn each game into a rock fight.

There are so many dynamic backcourts in the league that love to get the ball and go. Just in the West alone, there are guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, DeAaron Fox, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The Lakers can't hope to hang with these guys athletically, but if they can force them to extend possessions and deal with AD under the basket, they can impose their kind of game.

There's no reason that the Lakers can't have it all. Nobody is really taking them seriously as a title contender right now, but if they can get Vanderbilt back healthy, even if it isn't until January, trade Reaves and Russell for better pieces, and slow the game down so that they stop getting killed in transition, they could be one of the few teams with a chance come spring.