Lakers' Defensive Lapses Will Doom Them Against Even the Worst Teams

The Pistons' Pick-and-Roll, Redux

You watched the Lakers play Detroit, right? It was ugly. Real ugly. For all the talk about LeBron and AD, the film showed a Lakers defense that looked flat-out disengaged, particularly in pick-and-roll coverage. The Pistons, a team that's won fewer than ten games all year, were getting whatever they wanted in the first half, scoring 71 points before the break.

Detroit ran a ton of high pick-and-rolls with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. Duren, all 250 pounds of him, was setting screens that legitimately moved Lakers defenders out of position. The Lakers' bigs, specifically Anthony Davis, were caught in no-man's land too often. They weren't committing to a hard hedge, and they weren't dropping deep enough to deter Cunningham's drives. Cade, by the way, finished with 28 points and 10 assists, looking like an All-Star against that kind of resistance.

Here's the thing: when you give a primary ball-handler like Cunningham that much space to operate off the screen, he's going to pick you apart. He'll either snake to the rim, dish to Duren on the roll, or kick it out to an open shooter. The Lakers allowed all three repeatedly. D'Angelo Russell, who isn't exactly a defensive stopper, was consistently getting caught behind screens, forcing Davis to make difficult rotations that he often couldn't complete without fouling or giving up an easy bucket.

Ham's Ham-Fisted Adjustments

Darvin Ham eventually made some adjustments, pushing Davis higher on the screens in the second half, but it felt reactive, not proactive. They started switching a bit more, which created some mismatches, but at least it showed a pulse. That's how they crawled back into it. The Lakers held Detroit to just 46 points in the second half, a credit to some increased effort, but also to the Pistons missing some looks they were making earlier.

But my hot take? Relying on pure talent and second-half surges won't cut it in the playoffs. A good offensive team would have buried the Lakers in the first half and never looked back. This isn't just a "bad game" issue; it's a systemic problem with their defensive communication and commitment, especially when facing screening actions. They lack a consistent defensive identity beyond "hope AD blocks everything."

Look, the Lakers won the game 128-121. LeBron James had 25 points and 8 assists, and Davis added 20 points and 14 rebounds. The box score looks fine. But if you watch the tape, you see a team that nearly coughed up a win against the league's worst. That's a red flag waving like a tornado warning.

I predict that unless Ham can solidify their pick-and-roll defense with a consistent scheme and better individual execution, the Lakers will be an early exit in the postseason, regardless of who they face.