Lakers’ fatal flaw is predictably threatening to derail their title chances

With Luka Dončić, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, the Los Angeles Lakers' offensive talent is simply undeniable. This blend of perimeter creation and playmaking is overwhelming. However, there are two sides to the ball, and the Lakers' defense has always put them a notch below true title contention in my mind.

We saw this last year in the playoffs, when the Minnesota Timberwolves dismantled the Lakers in five games. The offseason saw the Lakers lose their best defender in Dorian Finney-Smith, which furthered the concerns with the team. Sure, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, and Deandre Ayton were solid pick-ups, but not nearly enough to field a championship-level defense. 

29 games into the season, this fatal flaw is being exposed in the worst possible way, as the Lakers have an abysmal 119.2 defensive rating, which ranks 25th in the league per Cleaning the Glass. After an embarrassing 119-96 Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets, concerns about the Lakers' defense are understandably at an all-time high. 

This game led to a blunt press conference where head coach JJ Redick called out his players' lack of effort and ensured it would be an "uncomfortable" practice on Saturday. 

The Lakers can't win at the highest level with this defense

In some ways, the Lakers' biggest strength is their biggest weakness. I know that sounds contradictory, but stick with me for a second. As mentioned earlier, the trio of Luka, LeBron, and Reaves is overwhelming for opposing defenses when they're all at their best. While all three of them are elite offensive players, they're all below-average defenders. 

Even with Reaves injured for half of the Rockets game, the Lakers' lack of perimeter defense was a problem.

When this trio is on the court, they post a minus-7.4 net rating and a 119.5 defensive rating, which ranks in the 24th percentile. Ironically, this trio hasn't even had much success on offense, but they have the personnel to figure it out. In a perimeter-centric league, the Lakers' three best perimeter players are negative defenders. That's not a winning recipe, especially with a lack of depth and rim protection. 

Ayton is nearly a good enough rim protector to make up for these deficiencies. Notably, the Lakers' defense ranks in the 17th percentile with him on the court. Ayton is only as good as the defensive talent, and in this case, the talent around him is pretty poor, to put it nicely.

The Lakers also run a switch-heavy scheme, which is far from ideal with their personnel. Redick is right to call out the team's poor attention to detail, but he needs to do some soul-searching as well.

In terms of other solutions, Marcus Smart is the only perimeter defender who can help uplift the Lakers' defense. Smart, paired with the trio of Luka, LeBron, and Reaves, gives the Lakers a respectable DRTG of 115.2, which ranks in the 59th percentile. Even still, this gives the Lakers less size, and depending this much on an injury-prone Smart isn't ideal. 

Everyone (rightfully) mocked Nico Harrison for saying defense wins championships. While the Luka trade was beyond indefensible, the truth is that to win at the highest level, having a good defense is essential. In fact, of the last 27 champions, 24 of them ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating. 

As currently constructed, I think the Lakers are the sixth-best team in the West and a clear first-round exit. The Lakers must trade for some defensive reinforcements at the deadline. While I expect them to trade for role players and not shake up their offensive-minded trio, trading LeBron or Reaves shouldn't be off the table for the right price. 

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