And tbh we gave them some points at the end there. The game was finished earlier.
[Haliburton after the game:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCB3-NQKVL8)
>”Every team doesn’t have Anthony Davis and a bunch of 6-8, 6-9 wings, so there’s that, as well. Just understanding how different looks are going to come. This doesn’t have a regular-season feel at all. I’m used to playing LeBron whatever he plays, 30, 35 minutes. It felt like him and AD never came off the floor. It was like a playoff-type deal.”
Fact is most of the season our wings have been hurt and are just now getting healthy. Cam is insanely good defending the POA and Vando is still being eased in. We can even throw Max Christie at players off the bench. When LeBron turns it on he is also an elite defender. There really aren’t *any* other teams that can throw as many wings at star perimeter players throughout the course of the game as the Lakers.
As for AD, he is +600 to win DPOY, 2nd to Rudy Robert (+200) right now in Vegas odds and I really don’t think the Lakers have really played their best basketball yet.
by INT_MIN
27 Comments
Timberwolves are still probably better from night to night but healthy and locked in I’d take our defense
Not even a question at this point. AD had us like 9th single-handedly without Vando and Cam
We certainly can play a style of defense most other teams can’t. Gobert can’t do what AD does outside of 10 feet. That limits what sorts of schemes Minnesota can do. LA can do literally everything. Deep drop, high hedge, trap and blitz, top lock, switch everything. This team is so versatile defensively that I think it easily has the most potential on defense, and the least number of bad matchups. I think the only tough matchups this team has is when the offensive hub of the other team is an MVP caliber center, because it prevents AD from being the quarterback on defense.
In other words, literally just Denver and Philadelphia
Us or Minny
I’d lean us when Bron is dialed in
I believe we are. Especially with healthy defensive wings. It’s so refreshing.
Yes I think our defensive ceiling is higher than the Wolves. AD is a more versatile defender than Gobert because he is better able to guard and switch on the perimeter. Between Vando, Reddish, Christie, Vincent, we have a versatile set of defenders.
Mainly, though, it’s Lebron. He’ll take some regular season games off defensively (which he deserves) but when he’s putting in effort on that end we’re a much better defensive team than the Wolves
I hate how Rudy gobert is ALWAYS number 1 for dpoy it’s so annoying. He’s a great defender but not as good as AD at all and AD hasn’t even won one! I think gobert has like 3 or some shit Christ just give it to AD
No one will want any of what they just saw, come playoff time.
Los Angeles VAULT
When healthy – yes .. people really forgot we were playing games without a handful of guys. Most of which were our top defenders
The only reason Gobert is ahead is because he has no offense, so people see him as a defensive specialist – while AD does both better.
Sad when 108 is good defense. I miss when teams were held below 100. The 2005 finals had 80 point games.
The defensive depth is astounding. We are able to pair outstanding individual defense at all points during the game. When AD is there we have a great defender who can defend multiple positions and scenarios. Plus Lebron is really good help defender who rebounds very well.
DLo is a really good help defender because of his length and communication. He isn’t as strong individually, but deflects a lot of passes and can block a shot or two.
Austin is probably the weakest defender from our rotation but he’s not a bad defender. If hes your worst then you’re pretty damn good.
This sub overreacts 95% of the time but this one isn’t hyperbole. These dudes are running shit, especially our D wings. Potentially adding Caruso to this would be unfair at this point
There are teams that a motivated lakers team are a really good match for and they can look dominant defensively against. However, there are issues when the Lakers play a team like the Nuggets or the 76ers with all world offensive talented centers that AD struggles against.
Luckily there are very few all world centers that AD struggles with.
Also in the regular season, Lebron is not always the most motivated defensive player anymore and conserves energy on that end.
If AD can hit the 65 game requirement he’s 100% dpoy this year. No one even comes close
Basically teams always try their hardest against the Lakers and when they Lakers try their hardest too (playoff atmoshphere) they get shook. Thar why Lakers teams go deep in playoffs when we make it
I think we’re on our way to having one of if not the best defense in the league, but it’s a bit early to say that.
One thing people forget is that the way teams match up plays a big part. We might match up very well against Indiana. We could play the Bucks and the Celtics and not match up as well and have more points scored on us, even though we defended the team that scored on them very well.
We need to face more opponents and see how it trends over time to see where we stack up.
No it’s better to stay under the radar like the 2000s spurs
there were some possessions in the 2nd where lebron was on tj and he was trying i feel unnecessarily hard on him lmao
+ the help of refs. How many lame ahh free throws did they have? Just in the first half that they didn’t deserve? We were supposed to be up by 50 lol
When healthy and motivated, def top 5. Lakers have the size and athleticism. It really just comes down to the effort, as we all saw in the tournament.
i kinda found it funny when indy was looking for mismatches and found their POA up against a 6’8 dude every single time they switch
I think top 2 and we are not 2
When the Lakers are locked in, they are an elite defense.
They can cause the other team SOOO much grief, particularly since their length and speed extend to the bench.
Probably not but we’re way better than those teams on that end
I want AD to want to be DPOY this year. Gobert is a tier or two below AD defensively because of his lack of ability to defend on the perimeter. If we climb and stay somewhere in the top 3 record wise and be a better defense than the Wolves, I think AD has a fair shot.