What a disappointing season it’s been for the Los Angeles Lakers. Many predicted this team to be a mid-seeded playoff team this year, including me. Well, it looks like that prediction won’t come true. Instead, the Lakers have a record of 30-36, after losing eight of their last 10. That record makes the Lakers the 11th seed in the Western Conference. They’re seven games out of the playoffs. It’ll be extremely difficult to make the playoffs at this point.
There are many reasons why the Lakers are currently struggling. You can point out the injury to PG Lonzo Ball or the Lakers’ Brickhouse of three-pointers, however, watching more of their games recently, I’m seeing another reason why they’re struggling.
As a LeBron fan, it’s hard for me to admit, but James’ lack of effort on defense is hurting the Lakers.
LeBron’s defense is hard to watch. His effort on defense and unicorns share something in common…they don’t exist. Every game it feels like I see LeBron leave his man wide-open multiple times. Whether it be from ball-watching or a lack of effort, there’s always a missing
Here are just a few clips of LeBron’s poor defense. Just a friendly reminder, these clips happened after LeBron said that he was in “playoff mode.”
In this short compilation video, there’s a lot to break down about LeBron’s defense.
LeBron does a lot of ball-watching. I guess he does that because it seems he always guards the worst player on the perimeter, so instead of watching his man he watches the ball.
Not watching his man means that his assignment is open. This leads to dysfunction. Since ‘Bron leaves people open, his teammates are forced to defend his man. This causes his teammates to be scrambling around the court while LeBron is chilling in the paint.
The final clip in the compilation is hard to watch if you know basketball. LeBron’s communication on defensive rotations, to say the least, haven’t been the best this year. Sometimes it makes me wonder if LeBron has ever run through a defensive drill.
It starts with LeBron actually playing good enough help-defense, for once. However, it goes downhill from there. Due to LeBron not getting back to his man quick enough, KCP fills LeBron’s gap. A lack of communication between them causes both of them to close out on the same guy. This lack of communication isn’t that bad since Kyle Kuzma took on KCP’s man, and LeBron could’ve had time to fill the open spot.
Did you notice that I said, “could have had time?” That’s because while LeBron was attempting to find a new man, there was no communication between him and Mike Muscala on who to guard. Muscala goes to guard the perimeter while thinking he’s handing off his original assignment to LeBron. LeBron, not knowing this, doesn’t pick up Muscala’s man, Joakim Noah, which giving him an open lane.
I don’t put most of the blame about that lack of communication on LeBron, however, what happens after the lack of communication goes back to the idea of LeBron lacking effort on the defensive end. Even though LeBron is athletic and strong, he doesn’t try to put a body on Noah. Instead, LeBron just stands there and watches Noah take a nice and easy stroll to the basket and throw it down. From the looks of the video, it seems like LeBron doesn’t admit to his defensive hiccup. He doesn’t say “my bad” or anything. He just rubs his chest like he always does.
In this clip, LeBron once again is caught watching the ball and leaving his man open. I just don’t understand what he’s doing here. Why would LeBron leave his man and go to the paint when he didn’t have to? He didn’t even go back to his man once he caught the ball in order to close out. Instead, LeBron indirectly forces one of his teammates to close out on HIS man. His teammate’s closeout is too late because LeBron’s assignment, Eric Bledsoe, already took the wide-open 3PT and buried the Lakers’ chances of winning that game.
To make matters worse, LeBron’s lack of effort on defense is rubbing off on the rest of the team. His lack of effort has been more apparent since his return from injury. In fact, almost all of the clips of LeBron’s poor defense this season have piled up since his return.
Stats and video evidence also back up the claim that LeBron’s effort is rubbing off on the other Lakers.
Before LeBron’s injury and during his absence, the Lakers had a top-10 defense in the NBA. They also had the third-best defensive rating in November (103.4). Since LeBron’s return, his effort on defense has been lacking. Due to this, his teammates have caught the same energy. The Lakers have had the fifth-worst defense since LeBron’s return.
It also doesn’t help that every Laker outside of LeBron doesn’t know if they’re going to be a Laker next season. On top of that, solid-defender Lonzo Ball is injured, but that’s beside the point.
Just take a look at this clip.
During their matchup against the Suns, the Lakers were losing and playing uninspired. LeBron’s effort on defense was suspect again. When LeBron missed a three midway through the third quarter to bring the game within four, Kuzma and Ingram both had a chance to keep the possession alive. Instead of hustling for the ball, Suns rookie DeAndre Ayton was able to split Kuzma and Ingram to get the ball due to the two Lakers not giving any real effort to get the ball.
This dilemma is nothing new for LeBron fans. It also occurred in each of LeBron’s last two seasons. LeBron and the Cavs played uninspired and occasionally gave a good effort on defense. To fix the problem, LeBron played as LeBron should. He gave a better effort on defense to compete in the postseason, and his teammates followed. Even though the Cavs didn’t fix their problems completely, they definitely lessened their problem. This allowed them to go to the NBA Finals both of those years.
That’s the key. The Cavs improved their defense because they were in playoff mode and were led by their leader.
As far as I can see, that’s not happening in L.A. Not only is LeBron playing lazy defense, but he’s also being a lazy leader. The Lakers consist of mostly young players. LeBron is basically a god to young players. People look up to him. He should be giving motivational talks pre-game, in a huddle, and post-game. However, it’s evident that he’s not. We’d know if he did because LeBron News Network (a.k.a ESPN) would be all over it on social media.
He’s their best player. He’s their leader. He should be inspiring his teammates to give it their all, especially since they face the possibility of not making the playoffs. But, no. Instead, he’s calling out his
This is a bad look for LeBron not only because it puts the already bad chemistry of the Lakers on life support, but it’s also very hypocritical. Why is LeBron always questioning his teammates’ effort when he doesn’t give his best either? If LeBron really wants to get his teammates to start giving a better effort he better start with himself.
Arguments I see a lot to defend Bron’s lousy defense are that LeBron is “picking his spots,” or he’s “carrying the load on offense, so he gets tired.” However, that argument isn’t that effective in the situation LeBron is currently in. He’s facing the possibility of not making the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Why would a player hurt his team by not giving his best effort on defense when they could miss the playoffs. But, I guess it doesn’t matter to the Lakers anymore since they’re basically throwing in the towel by monitoring Bron’s workload.
I’m not saying that LeBron overall is a poor defender or a poor leader. I actually think that LeBron is a good defender and a great leader, but that’s only when he tries. What I’m trying to say is that LeBron’s lack of effort on defense and leadership is unacceptable for the best player in the world to be giving when he may not have a spot in the postseason.
Disagree with my take? Feel free to hit me up on my Twitter @stevenpepper38, my Instagram @stevenpepper_, and/or the comments below.