Lakers looking to clean up communication on defense
EL SEGUNDO — When Lakers coach Darvin Ham changed his team’s starting lineup ahead of Saturday’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, replacing guard D’Angelo Russell with forward Jarred Vanderbilt, he did so with the hope it would further fortify their defense.
That’s yet to materialize during the two games the new starting group (Vanderbilt, LeBron James, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Anthony Davis) has shared the court.
The Lakers (16-15) enter Thursday night’s home game against the Charlotte Hornets (7-21) coming off back-to-back games in which their opponents scored at least 120 points.
The Thunder had an offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 122.4 against the Lakers while the Boston Celtics had an offensive rating of 128.6 in their Christmas Day victory over the Lakers on Monday afternoon. For context, the Indiana Pacers entered Wednesday with a league-best offensive rating of 121.8.
“We’ve just gotta buckle down defensively,” Anthony Davis said after the home loss to the Celtics. “We’re not really a switching team but now we’re getting to it because of our lineup. We’re able to do that. Miscommunication is kind of there. Offensively, we can be fine. But we have to do a better job on defense.”
The new starting lineup, which is defensive-oriented, hasn’t helped in that area, with a defensive rating of 125 in 18 minutes since the starting lineup change.
The Lakers have particularly struggled with their transition defense lately.
“A lot of it was communication,” Vanderbilt said after Wednesday’s practice. “And part of it, we kind of changed the whole defense without a practice, which is tough. So we kind of went out there, tried to figure it out throughout the game.
“But like I said, this practice was a good practice. Kind of what we needed just to kind of settle things in and start to get back on the same page and do some chemistry.”
Ham echoed Davis and Vanderbilt about the communication needing to be cleaned up.
“That’s the only thing that can prevent us from maximizing what we have on the floor, is a lack of communication,” Ham said. “It starts in transition. We get cross-matched, guys communicating where the help is and when the shot goes up, just getting hits and trying to box out and support one another.
“Communication is at the root of everything.”
VINCENT’S KNEE
While no official announcement had been made as of Wednesday evening, Ham addressed reserve guard Gabe Vincent’s looming knee surgery that’s expected to keep him sidelined for 6-8 weeks.
“It’s definitely impactful,” Ham said. “But on the flip side of that, we’re pleased that now it’s going to be a huge light at the end of the tunnel, in terms of him getting his stuff cleaned up. We’ll check on him, nurse him back to health and get ready for a big contribution once he’s cleared.”
Vincent confirmed to the Southern California News Group on Monday that he’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He wasn’t available for the games against the Celtics and Thunder because of the left knee effusion (swollen joint) that previously sidelined him for seven weeks.
Before returning to the lineup in the road loss to the Chicago Bulls last Wednesday, Vincent had been limited to just four games. He missed the previous 24 (including the In-Season Tournament championship game that didn’t count in the standings).
“I told him in OKC you have to do what you got to do man so you can put this behind you and that’s the biggest thing,” Ham said. “Trying to manage it and do different things, have these little micro setbacks, it’s like it’s too much. So, the fact that we can go ahead and get it alleviated and put it behind us, it’s great for him, great for us.”
HORNETS AT LAKERS
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM