The Lakers’ improved defense could shape their playoff push. Can they sustain it? https://t.co/y3xhDPItuJ— LakerTom (@LakerTom) March 12, 2026
Lakers’ improved defense could shape their playoff push
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March 12, 2026 1 Comment
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FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ defense has spent much of the season buried near the bottom of the NBA rankings. Over the third quarter of the season, however, it has quietly become something closer to respectable — and the shift is beginning to show up in the standings.
The latest example came Tuesday night when the Lakers held Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards to the worst shooting performance of his career. Edwards missed 13 of his 15 attempts — a dismal 13.3 percent rate — and helped the Lakers capture a 120-106 win. It was the lowest field goal percentage of the 385 games in which he attempted at least 15 field goals.
The win was the Lakers’ third straight, moving them to 40-25 on the season and pushing them past Minnesota for fourth place in the Western Conference. The two teams could very well meet next month in the playoffs for a seven-game series.
Most importantly, the impressive performance against Edwards and the Timberwolves is a promising sign that the Lakers’ defense has begun stabilizing.
“We’re not gonna be the No. 1 defense in the league,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said Tuesday. “But to be above average, have those two performances against those two teams back-to-back, is really encouraging.”
Two months ago, the Lakers owned the second-worst defense in the league. At one point, they dropped from 18th in defensive efficiency to 29th while going 10-11 in the process.
The problems were widespread. The Lakers just didn’t do anything reasonably well outside of absorb the occasional charge. They ranked 18th in opponent free-throw attempt rate, 19th in steals, 20th in defensive rebounding percentage, 21st in paint points allowed and 23rd in 3-point percentage during the season’s second quarter. Their rim protection ranked 29th.
In this recent stretch, in which they’ve gone 12-9, they improved to 16th in defensive efficiency. Los Angeles made the most important differences in four areas: defending 3s, defending without fouling, defensive rebounding and transition defense.
In the third quarter of the season, the Lakers ranked eighth in fewest 3s allowed per game and ninth in 3-point percentage allowed. Between Jan. 19 and March 5, the Lakers allowed no more than 10 made 3s and went 7-1 in those contests.
Another key improvement has been foul discipline. After fouling significantly more in the second quarter, the Lakers bounced back, ranking third in free-throw attempt rate during the third quarter of the season.
A similar improvement has been made on the glass. In the first quarter of the season, the Lakers ranked seventh in defensive rebound percentage, before slipping to 20th in the second quarter. Over the third quarter of the season, they moved back up to sixth. Part of that improvement has come from Luka Dončić. From Dec. 2 through Jan. 19, Dončić averaged 6.3 rebounds (5.3 defensive) while committing 2.9 personal fouls per game. From Jan. 19 through March 5, he averaged a team-high 8.2 rebounds (7.9 defensive) while cutting his personal fouls to 1.8.
“Probably just effort and communication,” Dončić said about the defensive improvement. “I think communication is very important on the defensive end. And I think we’re talking to each other a lot. So that helps everybody to get to their spots on the defensive end.”
Perhaps the biggest aid to the Lakers’ improved transition defense has been a shift in their approach to the possession battle. The Lakers have dropped off significantly on the offensive glass — going from 19th in offensive rebound percentage in both the first and second quarters of the season to 28th in the third quarter of the season.
Earlier in the season, turnovers were a major issue. The Lakers ranked last in the NBA in turnover percentage through their first 20 games. But that number improved to 18th in the second quarter of the season, and 13th in the third. As a result, the Lakers improved from 18th in fast-break points allowed in the second quarter of the season to eighth.
Against the Timberwolves, the Lakers corralled 14 offensive rebounds, while committing a season-low seven turnovers. Relatedly, the Timberwolves only scored eight fast-break points.
“You know, they’re physical, and a lot of people can get physical defensively, where you grab and you’re held and box-out so that’s not good to run offense and to get good looks and take care of the basketball,” Redick says. “You gotta be physical, which means you gotta get open, you gotta be strong with the basketball, and then the screening stuff is huge. And I thought we did a good job of screening tonight.”
There are still areas of improvement for the Lakers. One primary objective that Redick still has to see get better are the rotations that have a non-center protecting the rim.
“Just the consistency of our low man you know,” Redick said. “We’re one of the worst teams at defending the rim. That’s not on our bigs, that’s on everybody. So we’ve had stretches, I thought, if you look at our good defensive games, our low man’s really active, our low man is giving paint consequences.”
For long stretches Tuesday, the Lakers did exactly that. The mixed coverages against Edwards showed help early and forced Minnesota’s star into difficult shots through the night — a defensive performance that reflected how much this Lakers group has stabilized over the past quarter of the season.
For a team that has spent much of the season near the bottom of the defensive rankings, that progress could go a long way in determining how far the Lakers go this spring. The next test comes Thursday, when the Lakers host the Chicago Bulls.