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LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

The Lakers have had a couple of days to recover and regroup after a very disappointing showing in the NBA Cup quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs.

That loss didn’t introduce anything new. It exposed the same patterns and the same defensive flaws we’ve seen before — including in the previous matchup against the Phoenix Suns, who the Lakers face again tonight.

So instead of a regular, structured game preview, this piece looks at what the Lakers can actually adjust. Specifically, the defensive issues that keep resurfacing, and the lineup or tactical changes that might help plug some of those holes.

Defense isn’t the only nut the Lakers need to crack. Both the Spurs and the Suns went with a similar approach, letting Luka score in two on two situations while focusing on limiting his playmaking. In the rematch, the Lakers will need to readjust.

That task becomes even more difficult without Austin Reaves, who will be out for at least a week while dealing with a calf strain.

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Today’s highlights:

Starting five and rotation imbalance

Should Hachimura’s minutes depend on the matchup and the opponent’s defensive plan? (VIDEO)

Creating advantages out of the post (VIDEO)

Small ball as a tweak for more banshees and more Rui touches (VIDEO)

1-Starting five and rotation imbalance

After the last practice, JJ Redick said the Lakers have completely lost their defensive fundamentals over the last ten games. Over that stretch, they rank as the fourth worst defense in the league. One of the biggest talking points all season has been the imbalance of the starting group, especially when it comes to skill and finesse versus defense and physicality.

The fit of Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura, two excellent finishers but not high motor defensive tone setters, is something I’ve already written about in both my 10 and 20 game checks. When you add LeBron James still working his way back from injury, plus Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the result is one of the least aggressive starting units in the league at a time when leaning into physicality and force is a clear, established trend.

In the short term, replacing Reaves with Smart should shift that imbalance a bit, but the long term challenge will persist. Last season, Redick took pride in the team’s banshee spirit, but yesterday he admitted the Lakers simply haven’t been banshees this season. And while I agree that each player individually stepping up his effort and physicality can help, for the team to re-acquire the play hard tag they had last season, Redick will have to adjust his rotation and unleash the banshees.

Since the Lakers got healthy and since James returned to the lineup, the minutes for players I would categorize as banshees (Smart, Vanderbilt, LaRavia, Vincent, Thiero, and Kleber) have been cut roughly in half compared to earlier in the season, dropping to just 15 to 25 percent of total minutes.

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this is also the period when the defense started to struggle. Smart missing six games during this stretch was a big hit, but Jarred Vanderbilt’s and Jake LaRavia’s minutes were also reduced compared to the first part of the season.

2-Should Hachimura’s minutes depend on the matchup and the opponent’s defensive plan? (VIDEO)

On my recent podcast chat with Jovan Buha, I mentioned that reducing Ayton’s and Hachimura’s minutes in favor of the banshees is one way to adjust the imbalance. Hachimura is averaging 33 minutes per game, and while his shooting is a crucial component that provides space for Dončić, Reaves, and James to operate on offense, there have been recent games, most notably the matchups against the Suns and the Spurs, where his role and shot diet were diminished by the way Dončić pick actions were defended.

In my 20 game check, I wrote about teams cycling between more conservative coverages like drop and more aggressive hedging or blitzing. Before the Suns game, the latter was on the rise. Then the Suns and Spurs leaned into a scheme with a long center (Mark Williams and Luke Kornet) in drop, forcing Dončić to score in two on two situations rather than trapping and allowing the Lakers to play advantage four on three basketball.

Without doubles or scrambling defenses, there were far fewer touches for Hachimura. He had just one shot attempt and went scoreless against the Suns, then scored seven points on four shots against the Spurs, posting season lows of three and eight frontcourt touches in those two games.

Ayton’s and Hachimura’s touches have been on the decline since James returned, so re-adjusting the rotation for more balance and playing both less alongside all three high usage, high touch starters is worth a try, especially against the recent tactics the Suns and Spurs applied. Defenses might stunt even more aggressively if Jake LaRavia is in the corner instead of Hachimura, but I don’t think it would drastically change the scheme.

3-Creating advantages out of the post (VIDEO)

Even if Ayton’s and Hachimura’s minutes are reduced, the Lakers still need to find ways to utilize them, especially Hachimura, even when the opponent’s strategy is forcing Dončić into a high usage scorer rather than a playmaker.

One way to do that is to feature Dončić and James in the post more, rather than spam countless pick and stack actions, because in that scenario not sending a double and defending one on one becomes a much riskier proposition. You could see the Spurs choosing to shift help from Hachimura on the weakside rather than from Reaves or Dončić, who were one and two passes away.

4-Small ball as a tweak for more banshees and more Rui touches (VIDEO)

Another way to get more minutes for the banshees is to lean more into small ball, centerless lineups like the Lakers used last season. I’m not suggesting going all in on small ball, which eventually doomed them in the playoffs, but using it as a change of pace option that could open up more minutes for players like LaRavia and Vanderbilt.

Small ball is also a way to utilize Hachimura more as a screener and a pick-and-pop option.

We’ve seen that when Smart or Vanderbilt are in small ball lineups, and sometimes even in regular lineups with Ayton or Hayes on the floor, they are the players opponents choose to guard with their big man. That forces them to become the screening partner for Dončić instead of Hachimura. This setup isn’t ideal, especially with Vanderbilt or Smart catching the ball as the decision maker, but it still creates advantages and forces four on three basketball.

Another way to utilize Smart or Vanderbilt is by using them as the second back screener in stack actions, as shown below, or by having them set corner screens, flare screens, or pin in actions.

Regardless of what the Lakers do, the recent defensive breakdowns suggest it’s probably time to reshuffle the rotation and lineups and find ways to get the banshees more involved. We’ll see some of that tonight because Reaves’ 37 minutes will have to be redistributed, but the Lakers likely need a more significant, long-term change of course if they want to meaningfully improve their defense.
MongoSlade
2 months, 3 weeks ago

The defense will temporarily improve just by not having Reaves on the floor for teams to pick on.

LakerTom wrote a new post

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Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench?

December 13, 2025

Analytics is telling the Lakers their Big Three of Luka, Austin, and LeBron is not the juggernaut they hoped for and the team plays much better when any combination of just two of their three offensive stars share the court.

While it’s early in the season and the 17–7 Lakers are still are tied for the 4th best record in the West and 5th best in the NBA, the losses exposed the Big Three’s struggles both on offense and defense when playing together. What’s been extremely concerning is all 7 of the Lakers’ losses have been by double digits, a pattern that not only continues to repeat itself but now seems to be happening more often, leading to 2 losses in the last 3 games.

It’s also not like the Lakers’ Big Three starting lineup has been unstoppable or an offensive juggernaut. Even in their 17 wins, the Lakers only managed a 118.0 offensive (#7), 116.7 defensive (#21), and +0.3 net rating (#15).
The problem was exacerbated in their 7 losses, which all were by double digits to teams with young, physical backcourts. In losses, the Lakers had a poor 103.9 offensive (#29), 122.6 defensive (#22), and -18.7 net rating (#29).

The Lakers current 5-man starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton has played 76 minutes in 6 games with a 107.6 offensive, 120.7 defensive, and -13.1 net rating.
The only lineup that’s played more minutes is the same 5-man lineup but with Marcus Smart instead of LeBron James. That lineup played 80 minutes in 9 games with a 114.6 offensive, 101.1 defensive, and +13.5 net rating.

The Lakers Big Three starting lineup is broken. Let’s see what Redick could do in the short term to put a band aid on the problem, what Pelinka could do at the trade deadline, and whether somebody needs to go to the bench.

WHAT CAN REDICK DO TO FIX LAKERS’ DEFENSE?

…

The move JJ Redick must now make is to start Marcus Smart to give the starting lineup their missing point-of-attack defender, free Austin Reaves from playing that role, and shift Rui Hachimura’ scoring to the bench.

While Smart does not have the prototypical size of a starting small forward, he can still defend up a position and is the Lakers’ best option to replace Rui Hachimura to give the starting lineup an elite lock down defender.
Ironically, the Lakers 5-player lineup of Doncic, Smart, Reaves, James, and Ayton has only appeared for 3 minutes in 1 game, where they posted an offensive rating of 80.0, defensive rating of 200.0, and net rating of -120.0.

Despite that crazy 3-minutes, starting Smart and moving Hachimura to the bench is too obvious a move for Redick to continue to ignore, especially since Smart owns the #1 defensive rating and #1 net rating on the team.
The big advantage of starting Smart is that he, not Reaves, will be guarding the opposing team’s top scorer. Austin’s offense clearly suffered from also having to be the Lakers’ primary on-ball guard defender last two games.

Redick should start Smart for defense, move Hachimura to the bench for offense, and invest minutes in young players with defensive upside like Thiero or Mañon and veterans who play solid defense like Vanderbilt.
Redick should run 10-man rotation with better offense/defense balance. The starters should be Doncic, Reaves, Smart, James, and Ayton with Smith Jr, Thiero/Mañon, LaRavia, Hachimura, and Vanderbilt as backups.

Lakers’ head coach Redick needs to retool his current starting lineup and rotation to play better defense, give more minutes to players who defend, and keep the team winning until Pelinka can make a trade deadline move.

WHAT CAN PELINKA DO TO FIX LAKERS’ ROSTER?

…

To be a legitimate contender, the Lakers need to add two defensive players: an elite 3&D starting small forward to defend bigger wing scorers and a big shot-blocking center who could backup and play alongside Deandre Ayton.

The Lakers’ problem is they do not have the young talent or draft capital needed at this point to trade for those two defenders and could be wise to be patient and wait until draft day next summer to make major moves.
Excluding swaps, which Luka trade and Mark Walter sale have devalued, the Lakers only draft capital right now is one first round and one second round pick, which could be enough to fill one of the two roster holes.

It will be interesting to see whom Rob Pelinka targets before the trade deadline. The abrupt move away from trades to free agency last summer was reportedly driven and approved by Mark Walter’s transition team.
Rumors are already popping up about the Lakers making small moves midseason to fix the roster but saving any blockbuster moves to next summer when they’ll have 3 picks and up to $100 million in cap space.

With Friedman and Zaidi working with Pelinka, the Lakers are expected to heavily rely on analytics to target inexpensive young players with strong two-way 3&D potential whom they could trade for before the deadline.
Eight players LA could target include the Blazers’ Robert Williams, Heat’s Andrew Wiggins, Suns’ Dillon Brooks, Pels’ Herb Jones, Magic’s Jonathan Isaac, Kings’ Keon Ellis, and Clippers’ Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones, Jr.

While the Lakers need moves to be contenders this year, there’s a strong argument the smarter move would be to wait until draft day next summer when they’ll have 3 first round picks plus mega cap space for free agents.

WHICH OF BIG THREE SHOULD COME OFF BENCH?

…

The reality is the Lakers may not be able to build a championship starting lineup with three offense-first stars in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James. One of the three may ultimately have to come off the bench.

The problem with building a championship starting starting lineup around the Lakers’ offense-first Big Three is the other two starters need to be an alpha point-of-attack defender and elite shot-blocking defensive center.
Right now, Hachimura is definitely not alpha point-of-attack defender the Lakers need to guard bigger wing scorers nor is Ayton the bruising shot-blocking rim protector the Lakers need to be an elite defensive team.

What would make building a championship starting lineup and rotation easier would be if one of the Lakers Big Three were to come off the bench. That’s what the first quarter data and the analytics are telling the Lakers.
While it’s painful to imagine the Lakers asking Austin Reaves or LeBron James to come off the bench, it’s not impossible to imagine things getting so bad that Reaves or James ends up volunteering to come off the bench.

Ultimately, the Lakers solution is not asking one of the Big Three to come off the bench. It’s asking their Swiss-Army-knife superstar LeBron James to focus almost exclusively on playing defense rather than playing offense. Instead of focusing on offense and resting on defense, Redick needs to convince James to focus on defense and rest on offense. Turn LeBron into an elite 24 minutes per game point-of-attack defender and rim protector.

The Lakers don’t need one of their stars to go to the bench. What they need is their jack-of-all-trades, Swiss-Army-knife superstar LeBron James to let Luka and Austin dominate the offense while he takes care of the defense.

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4 Comments

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

“He's going to compete. I'm going to compete. We're going to get up in each other's face. Tried not to go borderline with it. I don't really take it there. But we just competed. And did that almost all the way to the end of the game” – LeBron James on Dillon Brooks pic.twitter.com/KfnoSCetiu— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 15, 2025

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

JARRED VANDERBILT TONIGHT 🔒 15 minutes 🔒 7 points🔒 7 rebounds 🔒 3 stocks 🔒 +7 +/-NEEDS TO REMAIN IN ROTATION 👏 pic.twitter.com/6ylJgBzBvt— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

THOSE VANDO HATERS ARE AWFULLY QUIET pic.twitter.com/ooaE6cdzTj— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Vando has earned himself more minutes with the way he’s played tonight. They’ve sorely missed his athleticism, energy and physicality.— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

JARRED VANDERBILT TONIGHT:7 PTS7 REB2 STL1 BLK pic.twitter.com/pPC6j2XW3q— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) December 15, 2025

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

It's rare in today's NBA that you will see a team shoot 19% from 3, turn the ball over 21 times, and win. Lakers did it by crushing the offensive glass with 24 ORebs, half of them from Vanderbilt and Ayton— Trevor Lane (@TrevorLane) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

La defensa de los Lakers dio un salto increíble, los fans deben entender que el esfuerzo defensivo te deja sin energía en el otro costado por eso los triples se quedan cortos, pero es algo que mejorará con los hábitos Mientras tanto, Chris Haynes informa que los Lakers están… pic.twitter.com/Cb9Oh4JnWP— Lakers On 𝕏 (@LakersOnX) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Squad went on a 24-0 scoring run 🔒 pic.twitter.com/SYyACIvLYC— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 15, 2025

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

❗️ OFICIAL: Marcus Smart al quinteto titular contra los Phoneix Suns esta noche. PG – Luka DoncicSG – Marcus SmartSF – Rui HachimuraPF – Lebron JamesC – Deandre Ayton👉🏽 Solo falta que salga Hachimura y se completa la profecía.— El "Sr Laker" 🟣🟡 (@RyanNBA_) December 15, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers vs Suns starters pic.twitter.com/NcBgNps0Vd— Trevor Lane (@TrevorLane) December 15, 2025

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

This game is on JJ. He needs to make adjustments.
MongoSlade
2 months, 3 weeks ago

If we’re using the Suns (playing without Booker) as a measuring stick then we’re in bigger trouble than I thought. After watching OKC/SA last night, I think we might be the 5th best team in the West right now. These other squads are just too young, too quick, too deep, & too athletic. I guess our peers really are the Suns & Wolves at this point…..

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Los Angeles Lakers want to upgrade their roster before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but their only path to making the perfect deal is giving up all their remaining assets. They have no plans of trading Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, or LeBron James, but LA has a massive hole to fill. The Lakers need more athleticism after the deficit was on full display. There is only one path to filling the hole.

Rob Pelinka can trade one first-round draft pick, a couple of first-round pick swaps, Dalton Knecht, Adou Theiro, and expiring contracts to match salary. New owner Mark Walter could flex his powers in his first trade deadline. The Lakers will be in on any 3-and-D wing, but stealing an elite one won’t be easy.

Nobody thought Los Angeles would trade for Luka Doncic. Pelinka even kept Austin Reaves and one tradeable first-round draft pick out of the deal. The Mavericks got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and just one first-round selection for one of the top four players in the world. Pelinka is clearly a wizard, but there is only one path to pulling off another heist.

Lakers must go all-in to make another Luka Doncic-level heist

LA has their sights set on title contention. They have already outperformed expectations and have three stars leading their roster. The Lakers have to be all-in. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are in their primes. LeBron James turns 41 years old at the end of December. There is no time to wait.

The Lakers have been linked to names like Herb Jones, but the current Pelicans forward is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Getting him out of New Orleans would take plenty of convincing, including selling the Pels that Dalton Knecht and Adou Theiro are future pieces to build around.

Getting anyone in consideration for the All-Defensive teams for one first-round draft pick and expiring contracts would be a heist, but that is exactly what Pelinka and the Lakers front office have to pull off if they want to have a serious shot to knock off the Thunder, Nuggets, or Rockets in the playoffs.

Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, and Jaxson Hayes give the Lakers $44.2 million in expiring salaries to trade. They would love to keep Hachimura for his shot-making, but a 2031 or 2032 first-round draft pick doesn’t have unlimited value. Teams will want Rui involved to flip for more draft picks.

Pelinka has executed two masterful trade deadlines since 2023. He landed Luka Doncic out of nowhere in 2025 and sent Russell Westbrook packing in a series of trades that led LA to the 2023 conference finals. Does he have another ace up his sleeve? Fans certainly hope so.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ path to another Luka Doncic-level trade deadline heist is to be willing to include all their expiring contracts, young players, and tradeable draft capital. It could be just enough to acquire the difference-maker Los Angeles needs for a deep playoff run. Now, it is on Pelinka and the front office to go find the right deal. History suggests the Lakers just might do it.
MongoSlade
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Did somebody secretly hire Nico Harrison to run their team?

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench?The problem with building a championship starting starting lineup around the Lakers’ offense-first Big Three is the other two starters need to be an alpha point-of-attack defender and elite shot-blocking defensive… pic.twitter.com/1wpDCBASbk— LakerTom (@LakerTom) December 14, 2025

LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench? Analytics is telling the Lakers their Big Three of Luka, Austin, and LeBron is not the juggernaut they hoped for and the team plays much better when any combination of just two of their three offensive stars… pic.twitter.com/xPwelkYtfe— LakerTom (@LakerTom) December 14, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench? WHAT CAN REDICK DO TO FIX LAKERS’ DEFENSE?The move JJ Redick must now make is to start Marcus Smart to give the starting lineup their missing point-of-attack defender, free Austin Reaves from playing that role,… pic.twitter.com/ceEO8QHx4A— LakerTom (@LakerTom) December 14, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench? WHAT CAN PELINKA DO TO FIX LAKERS’ ROSTER?To be a legitimate contender, the Lakers need to add two defensive players: an elite 3&D starting small forward to defend bigger wing scorers and a big shot-blocking… pic.twitter.com/dP0OkxAOSB— LakerTom (@LakerTom) December 14, 2025
LakerTom
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lakers’ Big Three Is Not Working! Should Someone Come Off Bench?WHICH OF BIG THREE SHOULD COME OFF BENCH?The reality is the Lakers may not be able to build a championship starting lineup with three offense-first stars in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James. One of… pic.twitter.com/iLx8iVW3Pl— LakerTom (@LakerTom) December 14, 2025