Defensive deficiencies have caused the Los Angeles Lakers some headaches in recent games ahead of Thursday’s clash with the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
The Lakers had given up 120 or more points in four of five games before edging Phoenix 116-114 on Sunday. Even in the victory over the Suns, Los Angeles blew a 20-point lead before clawing out a victory down the stretch.
“It’s about growth,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. “It’s not about perfection.”
Growth on Sunday came in the form of improved rebounding.
Los Angeles finished with a 54-37 advantage over Phoenix in total rebounds. DeAndre Ayton led the way with 13 boards to go along with 20 points. Five players had seven or more rebounds for the Lakers.
“JJ really got on us,” Ayton told the Los Angeles Times. “‘And it’s time to tighten up a little bit.'”
The Lakers are getting improved production from LeBron James to offset some of the defensive issues. James seems to have put his shooting struggles from earlier in December behind him. He has shot 47% or better from the floor over his last three games — highlighted by a 12-of-17 effort en route to a season-high 29 points in a 112-108 victory over Philadelphia on Dec 7.
James’ improved efficiency has taken some of the burden away from leading scorer Luka Doncic to always create offense.
This is the third time Los Angeles and Utah have played this season. The Lakers escaped with a 108-106 victory during their previous trek to Salt Lake City in late November.
Beating the Jazz a third time won’t be a simple task. Utah has made major strides with the emergence of Keyonte George on offense. George has posted back-to-back 30-point games while leading the Jazz to victories over Memphis and Dallas.
George is putting up NBA All-Star level numbers, averaging 26.5 points and 6.5 assists per game in December while shooting 48% from the floor and 43.6% from 3-point range.
It’s a big reason why Utah is winning at a rapid clip. Since Thanksgiving Day, the Jazz have won five of eight games. They previously had won just five of their first 17 games.
His emergence has drawn some attention away from Lauri Markkanen, which has allowed the Jazz forward to be more aggressive on both ends of the court.
The two complemented each other well in Monday’s 140-133 overtime victory over the Mavericks. George scored 24 of his 37 points before halftime. Then Markkanen took over in the fourth quarter and overtime with a slew of big baskets and rebounds that kept Dallas at arm’s length in the final minutes.
Markkanen finished with 33 points and 16 rebounds.
“His stat line looks sort of familiar, but the way that he rebounded the ball, especially late in the game, is something that we need him to channel,” Utah head coach Will Hardy told the Deseret News. “His aggressiveness and physicality to rebound down the stretch of the game is why we won.”
