If you’re going to be out of town for two weeks, the packing list gets long. The Lakers brought four variations of their uniforms, packed in bag after bag in a huge trailer.
But what can help them the most is putting together their defense, starting the game by Thursday against the top scorers in the league.
The Lakers are ready for another convincing game with the Milwaukee Bucks (9-5), a team that started a new season with astronomically offensive numbers (a 117.7 offensive rating) and a promising effort to finally by breaking into the NBA Finals behind two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it’s a shrinking head with three of the NBA’s best players.
But what coach Frank Vogel asked for during the film session on Wednesday was to pay more attention to the basket: with fewer traditional centers patrolling the paint, the Lakers are more dependent than ever on defensive assistance, pulling the low men in their scheme not their weight.
“I would say that the last few games, three or four games, even though we won, were not at a high level in my opinion,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. We do overall good work on the side of the ball, but you can always get better. ”
This is a responsibility usually assigned to the great men of the Lakers at baseline, including Davis and James. As drivers penetrate, they must swing inward to challenge shots against the edge. That’s one of the reasons Davis has had at least three shots in seven of his last eight games.
In terms of blocks, the Lakers (6.5 bpg) are not far from their 2019-20 mark this year (a best 6.6 bpg league). But this is not a number that tells the whole story. Last season, they allowed 58.9 percent to shoot within the 5-foot point, which was the fourth best in the NBA. This season, they allow 59.7 percent to shoot within 13 yards (13th in the league) – and 61 percent over the past five games.
On Monday night, the issue against Golden State came to an end. Of the Warriors’ 24 baskets in the second half, 14 came within 3 feet of the edge. Even for a Lakers team that does not have the skin protection of last year’s roster, that is not a good number. Clippings from the rides to the edge show indecision, confusion or even inaction on the part of the Lakers players to challenge the drivers on the edge as the last line of defense.
That was the focus of the Lakers’ morning practice before flying to Milwaukee to begin their seven-game, 12-day trip.
“The short man has not been as big as the whole season,” said Kyle Kuzma. “So little shortage of it, but it’s something we need to return to.”
The opening game against the Bucks will be a stress test: Milwaukee is one of the best finishing teams within 65 yards (fifth in the NBA), thanks to Antetokounmpo. There are few players who can put as much pressure on the rim as the 6-foot-11 forward, who is known for his hard low in the basket, and the Milwaukee attack has a player in the ‘dark’ spot on the baseline, waiting to jump if Antetokounmpo pulls too much help and becomes extinct.
It requires, perhaps more than anything, discipline – something the Lakers did not always start during their 11-4 season. Vogel said he can see how the disappointment of Golden State in the fourth quarter could inspire an extra effort from his group, though he wishes it was not necessary.
“If you look at a silver lining that will get us excited about going to the Milwaukee game, there might be something there,” he said. “But I think if you play against one of the best teams in the league, you’re going to play edgy anyway.”
MATTHEWS BACK TO HOME, OLD TEAM
Wisconsin is the place where West Matthews grew up; that’s where he went to study at Marquette; last year it was the place where he played again and won 56 games in the regular season. And yet, for most of his career, Matthews was also a stop on the road – meaning that coming home did not feel as much like coming home as one would think.
‘Truth, it’s a business trip. That’s how I attack it, ”he said. “Milwaukee has always been a road race for me in just one year.”
The 34-year-old was an appetizer and a valuable wing for the Bucks last season, but he quietly underestimated the significance of the game. Asked if it was a test for the leading Lakers, he said every game on the schedule is a test. Asked about two caps with the Lakers last season, which are seen as potential previews of the final, Matthews said he simply wants to beat everyone.
Perhaps the most informative perspective on Matthews’ tenure has been offered by his former teammates. Khris Middleton said Matthews is valued for his selfless play because he was focused on defensive effort and won rather than how many times he touched the ball. Matthews had a voice in the Bucks’ locker room that turned weight on the court – he was one of the key figures when the team decided to postpone its playoff game in Orlando after the shooting of Jacob Blake.
“You can see that was really the case for him, because it happens in his backyard, in his home state, a place he grew up in for years,” Middleton said. “He definitely expressed his opinion on how hurt he was about everything that happened. And he still preaches and fights for his community. ‘
Matthews said he remains socially active in Wisconsin. He said the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday helped give him hope that divisive times could turn in America, but he also said he did not intend to abandon calls for social change.
“It’s always going to be home. I will always have roots there, ”he said. ‘I will always strive for the improvement of the state which I can proudly claim. It does not change, regardless of the uniform, regardless of the condition in which I live, the city in which I live. The effort continues. We need the effort to keep going. ”