Los Angeles Lakers: Three things LA still needs to add to win the title
By Jason Reed
2. A better defensive one guard
One thing that the Los Angeles Lakers lost in the Anthony Davis trade that they did not get back was the potentially elite-level defense of Lonzo Ball. Ball showed some serious flashes of brilliance defensively this past season and one day in the not so distant future could be an All-Defensive player.
The Lakers have good defensive players, though. Anthony Davis has Defensive Player of the Year capability, Danny Green is your textbook three and D guy and LeBron James can be a great help defender when he wants to be.
The one area that is really missing out is having that good defensive one guard. It does not even have to be elite, just above average that way the Lakers can counter some of the elite point guards in the league.
Again, I think the Lakers could add internally here and give Alex Caruso an extended look. He has the size at six-foot-five and has always been known more for his defense rather than his offense.
Without a better defensive point guard, Danny Green is going to have to take on the other team’s best two or three with Davis guarding the best big man.
For a team that has two lethal players in the backcourt, such as the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers are going to need that defensive point guard.