The new-look Lakers are far from being a good defensive team. With the majority of the roster being veterans, the players are not giving their best effort on the defensive end and the statistics support such conclusion.
As observed by Trevor Lane, the Lakers are 18th in distance traveled on defense and last in distance traveled per game. They are also near the bottom in average defensive speed but are 17th in defensive rating which points to the fact that the players are giving their all in defense.
Lane gave two examples of the Suns and the Celtics as two solid defenses where the players are connected and are not in need of flying around to cover open opponents.
The Lakers are also near bottom in points allowed per game. With 112.6 points that they allow in their basket a game, the y are 26th in the NBA.
