Decoding the Lakers’ Defense: The LeBron James Effect

FEBRUARY 1ST WAS A WHIRLWIND for the Los Angeles Lakers. Amidst the buzz of the trade that brought Luka Doncic to the team, an important detail from that night`s game might have been overlooked.

The Lakers secured a 128-112 victory against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, showcasing a robust defense despite the absence of Anthony Davis, their defensive linchpin. A closer look at the stats revealed the story: Knicks` key players Jalen Brunson (16 points, 7-for-18 shooting) and Karl-Anthony Towns (17 points, 3-for-12 shooting) struggled offensively, while Josh Hart (26 points, 11-for-16 shooting) and others stepped up.

The defensive trend continued in the subsequent game, a 122-97 win against the Clippers. James Harden was limited to 7 points on 2-for-12 shooting, and Kawhi Leonard scored just 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Against the Warriors, the Lakers prevailed 120-112, holding Stephen Curry to an uncharacteristic 6-for-20 from beyond the arc, despite his 37-point total.

Over the next month, as the Lakers surged in the Western Conference standings with a 13-2 record, rival coaches and scouts started analyzing their win against the Knicks. They were trying to understand the secret behind the Lakers` defensive transformation. The team had jumped from the 20th-ranked defense in the initial months of the season to the top spot.

How did the Lakers, often playing with smaller lineups, manage to limit Brunson and Towns to a combined 30% shooting, and similarly stifle Harden, Leonard, and Curry? Were these just instances of poor shooting nights, or had the Lakers developed a unique defensive strategy to contain the league`s top offensive threats?

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins suggested the Lakers were intentionally allowing 3-point shots, challenging teams to beat them from long range. Others credited the defensive contributions of Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent. One scout simply told ESPN, “They`re just playing with exceptional effort.”

While these observations held some truth, none fully explained the Lakers` defensive dominance without their primary defensive anchors.

The crucial question remained: could this defensive approach sustain itself when the stakes were highest, with an NBA championship on the line?

AROUND THIS PERIOD, Mike Krzyzewski, the former Duke coach, contacted JJ Redick, the Lakers` rookie head coach and his former player. Krzyzewski, a long-time NBA observer, had been particularly intrigued by the Lakers` season.

“I texted him, joking, `Who would have thought you could teach defense?`” Krzyzewski recounted.

Redick was recognized as a player of the year at Duke, but early in his NBA career, defensive limitations sometimes kept the sharpshooter off the court. He eventually improved defensively, becoming a valuable player for teams like the Clippers, 76ers, and Pelicans.

“Their defensive approach appears straightforward,” Krzyzewski explained to ESPN, “but it`s underpinned by significant preparation. They effectively force opposing teams to rely more on their less efficient shooters.”

While the concept might seem simple—make scoring difficult for top players while encouraging shots from weaker shooters—the Lakers’ defensive system is far more intricate. It`s rooted in Redick and his staff’s offseason analysis of how NBA defenses can operate against today’s spread offenses, considering referee interpretations.

Even with an elite defender like Davis, whose rim protection is among the league’s best, consistently stopping modern NBA superstars in pick-and-roll situations is challenging due to the emphasis on 3-point shooting and spacing.

Many teams prioritize acquiring perimeter defenders to slow down stars before they reach the paint, but current hand-checking rules make this increasingly difficult.

The Lakers entered the season with another challenge: starting guards D`Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, who were not known for their one-on-one perimeter defense. They designed a defensive strategy to minimize this weakness and lessen the burden on Davis as the last line of defense.

The strategy was to create the illusion of a crowded court for ball-handlers, rather than always directing them towards Davis.

This approach showed promise in the first half of the season. However, the Lakers` defense became more consistent after acquiring Finney-Smith in late December, who became a regular part of the rotation a few weeks later.

Elite players will always find ways to score. The Lakers utilize analytics to identify the least effective shots for each star and aim to force them into taking those shots, rather than their preferred, high-percentage attempts.

The Lakers are effective at limiting shots in the paint—only about 39.9% of opponent shots are from inside, the third lowest in the NBA according to GeniusIQ, a sports analytics platform powered by AI. Conversely, they allow a high volume of 3-pointers; nearly 49% of shots against them are from deep, the second highest in the league.

Consider the Knicks game: The Lakers aggressively pressured Brunson and Towns, forcing them to pass to less potent offensive options like Hart, Miles McBride, and Precious Achiuwa. Brunson and Towns faced an average of 1.37 defenders per shot, the third-highest rate they encountered all season, per GeniusIQ. In contrast, Hart and McBride averaged just 0.92 defenders per shot attempt, the seventh lowest in a game where they combined for 20 or more shots.

Defenders guarding less dangerous players actively provide help defense on primary threats, often leaving their assigned players open. For example, Vincent left McBride open to obstruct a passing lane to Brunson, who was already being guarded tightly by Max Christie.

This is a deliberate tactic. The Lakers double-team inside the arc at the second-highest rate in the NBA, second only to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the Knicks game example, McBride picked up his dribble near the 3-point line, realized he was unguarded, and took a shot that missed badly.

The loose ball was then collected by James, who Redick describes as the “quarterback” of their defensive scheme.

REDICK HAS POSITIONED JAMES as the central decision-maker in their defensive system, relying on his high basketball IQ to direct coverages and make real-time adjustments. “Quarterback is typically an offensive role, but he`s our defensive quarterback,” Redick stated. “His voice and basketball intelligence are crucial to our defense.”

Observing the Lakers` defense closely, James is constantly directing teammates, indicating where they need to be and when.

“In a recent game against the Rockets, there was a play where [Reaves] switched onto a larger player,” Redick noted. “Almost instantly, LeBron was yelling, `Scram! Get Out, AR! Get out of there!` Plays like that solidify our defensive cohesion.”

The Lakers’ defense has suffered when James is off the court and not in this quarterback role. Their performance dipped when James sustained a groin injury on March 8 against the Boston Celtics. However, they regained their defensive form upon his return on March 22. From January 30 to the end of the regular season, the Lakers ranked sixth in opponent 3-point shooting percentage and defended the eighth-most 3-point attempts per game.

Essentially, the Lakers conceded a lot of 3-point attempts, but opponents struggled to convert them. According to GeniusIQ, opponents shot just 36.8% on wide-open 3-pointers against the Lakers from January 30 onwards, the third-best rate in the league over that period.

Why? Because the Lakers are strategically forcing less efficient shooters to take those 3-pointers.

How? Through constant communication, sometimes to the point of vocal exhaustion.

James leads this communication when he`s playing, but Jarred Vanderbilt, Finney-Smith, and Vincent also take on this role when he`s not on the court. Additionally, there`s continuous direction from the coaching staff during defensive sequences. Assistant coach Greg St. Jean is frequently hoarse from calling out defensive assignments.

The outcome is a defense that performs significantly better collectively than individual player reputations might suggest. “People might see our lineups and think we`re undersized,” Reaves told ESPN, referencing the Lakers` frequent centerless lineups after trading Davis to the Mavericks. “But we often have five guys at 6-foot-7 or taller on the floor… and when we`re playing well, we operate as a unit.”

At times, their defense can resemble a zone, as they pack the paint and rotate to close off driving lanes and passing options. However, it`s not a true zone. It’s a hybrid approach, combining modern analytics with a classic emphasis on denying easy shots, reminiscent of Bobby Knight’s defensive philosophies.

The objective is to maximize statistical probabilities, disrupt the opponent`s offensive flow, and force even great players into taking less desirable shots, while simultaneously encouraging lower-efficiency players to shoot more.

Effectively implementing this defensive style requires time and trust in the system. When that trust wavers, the defense can falter dramatically. But for the Lakers, especially after roster changes, this approach offers their best path to defensive success.

In the upcoming first-round series against Anthony Edwards—a dynamic scorer and shooter—and the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team capable of playing both big and small, the Lakers` defense will face another significant test.