The best argument for the Lakers’ new defense might be a ball that nearly went out of bounds. In Benjamin Royer’s Saturday report for the Southern California News Group, Matisse Thybulle knocked the ball away from Rui Hachimura on a breakaway Friday, and Ziaire Williams saved it to Austin Reaves. The swipe was impressive. Having someone there to collect the reward was the useful part.
As of Sunday, Oct. 25, I want the Lakers to keep that aggression. Walker Kessler gives their perimeter defenders a reason to crowd the ball and make the next pass uncomfortable. But I would make the permission conditional: pressure only works if the next teammate is already preparing to help. Kessler should be the last defender in a connected possession, rather than the man everyone expects to rescue it.
The ESPN box score from the 125-117 win over the Clippers credits the Lakers with 13 steals and nine blocks, including six blocks from Kessler. That is plenty of disruption. It is also a lousy excuse to decide the defense is finished being built. The Clippers made 16 of 37 threes, per ESPN. I like the pressure. I would be careful about where the help comes from.
Make the Second Defender Part of the Attack
Royer’s account of the Thybulle-Williams play is worth lingering on because the roles are clear. Thybulle reaches the ball. Williams keeps the possession alive for the Lakers. Reaves receives it. The recovery requires more than a defender winning his own duel, and the teammate making the save deserves a place in the conversation about why the play worked.
That is the version of aggressive defense I want JJ Redick to encourage. If a wing knocks a dribble loose, the nearest teammate should be moving toward the likely recovery. If the ball handler escapes, somebody needs to account for the passing lane the pressure has opened. Reaching and hoping Kessler handles the consequences would turn a promising advantage into a very tall customer-service department.
This is a different question from whether Thybulle should have a regular place in the rotation. He can be the right defender for an assignment and still need help behind the play. I want his teammates anticipating the disruption, so the Lakers can turn more of those touches into possession rather than a brief interruption before the opponent keeps attacking.
Kessler changes how I would set those responsibilities. With him near the basket, I would ask the on-ball defender to make the dribbler work without automatically sending another perimeter player to the same spot. Give the center a chance to contest the drive. Keep a defender available for the pass out. The goal is to put an extra obstacle in the offense’s way while retaining a sensible answer to its next move.
That does not mean standing still and admiring the center. A defender whose man cuts toward the rim still has to follow the cut. A teammate who sees Kessler move toward the ball has to consider the player behind him. There is a useful middle ground between everyone collapsing into the paint and everyone treating the paint as somebody else’s office. I would coach the wings to recognize who has already committed before they commit themselves.
Those instructions should be clear coming out of a timeout: pressure the ball, identify the helper, keep the next pass covered. I would rather see the Lakers repeat a coordinated coverage than try a more aggressive version before everyone knows the assignment. The defender nearest the ball needs to know where his support is coming from before he starts steering the dribbler toward it.
Leave Somebody Available for the Pass Out
Friday also supplied a reason to resist turning every possession into a hunt for the ball. Darius Garland scored 26 points and Brook Lopez scored 22, according to ESPN. The Clippers had dangerous scorers to account for even on a night when the Lakers piled up defensive events. An opponent can lose the ball repeatedly and still make the possessions it keeps hurt.
The Clippers’ three-point line is the more useful warning to me. Sixteen makes on 37 attempts does not tell us which shots came from a rotation error, a good offensive sequence or a difficult make. I would not pretend the box score grades the coverage. It does give Redick a reason to review the space left outside whenever the Lakers send extra attention toward a drive.
Stay closer to the perimeter assignment when Kessler has the driver in front of him. Make the ball handler finish over the center before donating an easy outlet. Help should answer a problem the defense actually has. Arriving in the lane simply because the ball arrived there can leave the next defender sprinting toward a shooter who never needed to be free.
For Reaves and Luka Doncic, I would emphasize the early read over the late scramble. Know which teammate is pressuring the ball and which opponent is waiting for the release pass. Being in the right place before that pass travels is a more useful contribution than chasing a spectacular steal after the opening has already appeared. Neither guard needs to win a contest for the night’s loudest defensive play.
That is also where I would separate good aggression from a possession that happened to end well. A missed open jumper should not give the rotation a passing grade. A difficult make over a defender who stayed attached should not automatically get it a failing one. I want the Lakers judging whether they preserved their assignments after the first action, because that tells them what to repeat when the shooting changes.
There is room for pressure beyond the starters, too. Royer reported that Thybulle and Williams credited Collin Sexton with lifting the defensive energy during his Friday minutes. I would welcome that competition while keeping the standard consistent: the next player has to know where the pressure is sending the ball. Picking up earlier should make the opponent’s job harder without leaving teammates guessing about the coverage behind it.
The next layer is finishing the possession, which is why Kessler’s Utah return also demands help on the glass. Before that rebound becomes available, though, I want the Lakers protecting the shape of the defense. Let the wings make the dribble uncomfortable. Let Kessler challenge what reaches him. Keep somebody close enough to make the pass out uncomfortable, too.