Lakers news: Defense has become an emphasis during the off season

The latest Lakers news has given fans a peek into what the Lakers are working on this off season. Unsurprisingly, it is defense that is getting increased emphasis.

Second-year player Brandon Ingram and rookie Kyle Kuzma are feeding into a new defensive philosophy in Los Angeles. According to the latest Lakers news, both men are looking to improve on the defensive side of the ball.

Actually, the whole team is working on their defense and improving. These two players are the ones who were vocal about improving their individual defense.

Both of these players have similar and different reasons for wanting to work and focus on their defense this season. First, for Brandon Ingram, he wants to work on improving his defense because he believes it will help his offense.

Ingram is one of the young stars the Lakers have been building around. Ingram is a balanced player, who more so excels on offense than defense. By improving his defense that will in return improve his offense. Defense does lead to offense. Ingram is nowhere close to his massive potential, and defense may help him reach it.

Additionally, he recently said he believes he will have a breakout season. By improving his defense,   making his offense better, it can lead to his breakout season. This could be the season where he proves to all NBA fans and critics he is the next super star of the NBA. He will have the chance to do this going against the best small forwards in the league.

In other Lakers news rookie Kyle Kuzma is the other player looking to focus on his defense this season. He has yet to play in a regular season game.

Kuzma stood out as the biggest surprise of the 2017 NBA Summer League. Like with Ingram, the sky seems to be the limit for Kuzma and he very well could become the biggest steal of the 2017 NBA Draft. While the Summer League is nowhere near the same as the regular season, it is a positive precursor to Kuzma’s rookie campaign.

Kuzma will be coming off the bench looking to work his way into the rotation. The rookie is already very strong offensively and rebounding the basketball, so a defensive improvement may take him to the next level. Also, one area of his game he is looking to improve after this season is his defense.

These two being vocal about improving their defense will rub off on their teammates. Then they will want to work on their defense and LA can be a great team when that happens.

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It is a matter of time before LA becomes known for their defense. As their defensive prowess grows, the limitless potential in Los Angeles will become an even clearer reality.