The Lakers are near the bottom of the league in defensive field goal percentage, as teams are shooting 48.5 percent against them. They know they need to improve their defense and rebounding to be true contender. The Lakers face Phoenix in an NBA Cup matchup on Tuesday.
“Our personnel isn’t, you know, I think if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, isn’t the best defensively,” Austin Reaves told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “Obviously we’ve got AD (Anthony Davis). That covers up a lot. But we have to be physical out on the perimeter and especially when boxing out. We got to be a better defensive rebounding team and transition as well.”
We have more Western Conference news:
- The Spurs have officially listed Devin Vassell (left knee bone bruise) as out for Tuesday at Utah, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News (Twitter link). It’s not a cause for concern, as he’s expected to return Wednesday against the Lakers. Vassell hasn’t played since Nov. 15.
- Mavericks guard Klay Thompson missed his first game this season on Monday due to left foot plantar fascia, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. Thompson is averaging 13.2 points in 17 starts for Dallas this season. Without Thompson and Luka Doncic, the Mavs still defeated Atlanta, 129-1119.
- Michael Malone passed Doug Moe as the winningest coach in Nuggets history with his 433rd regular-season victory on Saturday as his team defeated the Lakers. Malone reached that win total in 56 fewer games than Moe, according to the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando.
Klay is cooked…
It’s a shame Klay never really developed a skill besides shooting. Not a good rebounder, not a good facilitator, hasn’t been a good defender in years. Now he’s a shooter who can’t shoot.