Kobe is Right: It’s All About Defense for Lakers

After a second straight loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant, who recorded a spectacular 38 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds in game 4, criticized his team’s porous defensive effort in Phoenix. He refused to answer any questions about offense in his postgame press conference. Instead, he pointed out that the Lakers were thoroughly outhustled, outplayed, and extremely lackadaisical defensively. In addition, he noted that the Lakers will not win this series if they continue to play ineffective defense. He was right.

For all the talk about the Lakers inability to execute on the Suns zone defense, they have still scored an average of 107.5 points in their past two games. However, they have allowed a whopping 118 and 115 points to the Suns in these past two games, which has allowed the Suns to get back into this series. The Lakers have scored more than enough points to put themselves in position to win the game, but their defense has been nothing short of embarrassing. Defense wins championships, but the Lakers have yet to receive that memo in this series.

Offensively, the Lakers have actually played better than most observers think. Sure, they have had a few problems adjusting to the Suns defense, like attempting an uncharacteristic 60 3-pointers in their past two games. Still, the Lakers managed to score 62 points in the second half of game 3, against the zone defense, and over 50 points in each half of game 4. In game 4, they shot a very respectable 49.5% from the field, committed only six turnovers, and accumulated 25 assists, which adds up to a very impressive 4.17:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Clearly, the Lakers offensive struggles have been blown out of proportion.

The other end of the floor has been an absolute nightmare for the Lakers. They have allowed the Suns to get off uncontested shots on a regular basis, and they have been unable to make the defensive adjustments like the Suns did in games 3 and 4. In fact, in these past two games, the Suns have recorded an astonishing 28 offensive rebounds, 74 free-throw attempts, and have committed only 14 turnovers. With two All-NBA defenders in Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant and a distinct size advantage over the Suns, the Lakers have absolutely no excuse to allow the Suns to record this many points and rebounds.

Throughout these 2010 playoffs, the Lakers have won most of their games with outstanding defense. In the first two rounds, the Lakers were 6-0 when allowing fewer than 100 points. Conversely, they were only 2-2 when allowing at least 100 points. While 100 points may not seem like exceptional defense, the Lakers can afford to give up a few more points than other opponents due to their top-notch offense. In addition, the Lakers, especially when they battle the Suns, play with at a faster tempo with more possessions that the average NBA team, so their defensive statistics are inflated. Thus, the Lakers do not need to play outstanding defense every night to give themselves a chance to win; instead, they just need to give more effort on that end of the floor.