Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has a tendency to be calm but short with the media following a loss when he’s very unhappy with how his team performed. After the Lakers fell 132-119 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal round on Wednesday, he didn’t quite turn up his level of visible disgust to an 11, but he did put it on display.
The Lakers’ defense got completely picked apart by a fast-moving Spurs team that pushed the ball for almost the entire game, including after made baskets. San Antonio scored 27 fast-break points and added several more in early offense, and L.A. had lots of trouble closing out on San Antonio’s outside shooters, both in transition and in halfcourt situations.
Redick plainly spelled out how his team is struggling on the defensive end following Wednesday’s loss.
“Just didn’t do a good job of getting back in transition,” Redick said when asked where he saw things go bad. “… Not being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now.
“… The things that help you win on the margins, we’re just not very good at right now.”
The Lakers have a glaring lack of above-average perimeter defenders, and their three best players — Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves — are all regarded as weak defenders. Overall, the team ranks 21st in defensive rating, 23rd in opponents’ fast-break points per game and 24th in opponents’ points off turnovers per game.
Another culprit is L.A.’s relative lack of footspeed, especially at the guard and wing positions, and it is something that becomes especially vulnerable against a team such as the Spurs that has multiple speedy scoring threats at both positions. De’Aaron Fox went for 20 points, while Stephon Castle, last season’s Rookie of the Year, exploded for 30 points on 10-of-14 field-goal shooting.
Since the Lakers aren’t quite an elite offensive team and can’t throw comparable counterpunches when an opponent goes on a big run, they’re left groping for solutions whenever their defense gets dissected, as it was on Wednesday.