Many people were concerned about the Los Angeles Lakers‘ defense coming into this season. But over their last nine games, the concern level regarding their defense has reached DEFCON 4.

They have lost five of their last nine games, and during that time, they have given up 121.7 points per game, which is 25th in the NBA during that stretch, and have ranked 28th in defensive rating. Overall, they’re 24th in defensive rating on the season.

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Granted, the Lakers do not have the personnel needed to become an elite defensive team. But there still seems to be something lacking in terms of effort and execution on that end of the floor, and coach JJ Redick talked about that following their 132-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

“They scored on the first 13 possessions of the second half,” Redick said of the Suns. “… They had about a 140 offensive rating. They had a 1.43 offensive rating when they touched the paint, so they touched the paint on every possession. We couldn’t keep them out of the paint.”

Phoenix shot 58.8% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range on Tuesday, and it outscored Los Angeles 62-46 in the paint. It got plenty of easy baskets near the rim off passes, and it caught L.A. late on defensive rotations all too often.

Redick’s squad just couldn’t find any real remedy, as the Suns’ lead grew throughout the second and third quarters.

“We certainly talk about containing the basketball at the point of attack with our pick up points and guarding your yard,” Redick continued. “Overall, the execution — when your margin for error is not super high, it’s very detailed to be able to execute, and when we do it, we can string together some good defensive possessions. We didn’t do that at all tonight. We tried zone, they got a layup and an open 3. I don’t know why we were guarding Mark Williams at the 3-point line when they got the 3.

“… You don’t do the things we’re trying to do to protect and keep the ball on the side — you get exploited. … The theme with our team again is, these young teams that move, we just can’t move. It’s like we’re stuck in mud.”

While L.A. has a very strong 19-9 record, perhaps the rest of the NBA is catching up with what the team did to start off so well. Other teams know that if they push the pace and exploit certain mismatches, they will be able to score at will against the Lakers.

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It is something the Lakers will need to rectify right away, especially with games against the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons coming up over the next several days.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick outlines Lakers’ defensive problems of late