What Was That? Dare I Say Swarming Defense?

It was a thing of beauty. Now I'm wondering why they weren't playing like that before.

 

Yeah, there were some very nice takeaways from last night's game, IMO. First, just like you said, they actually starting clicking on team defense which was great to see. They took control of the game by imposing their will on defense which is something we haven't been able to say for a very long time.

Next, it seemed like the conditioning work is starting to pay off. Utah looked flat in the second half and we looked fresh. It was a nice change up to that second Golden State game where we had scrimmaged earlier and it showed with us having dead legs. I didn't love that, but again, it was too early to question Byron's methods which seemed to have paid dividends last night.

A few other things I really liked - it was cool to see Kobe setting some screens out there for Price and others. Good stuff. Also Kobe was really finding Ed Davis in the post and giving him sweet passes while he had position. Obviously Price's defensive intensity was huge for us. What a breath of fresh air to have a PG out there taking charges ala D. Fish, creating fastbreaks off of steals, getting floor burn by diving for any and all loose balls. It was awesome. Also Randle and Davis really hit the glass and got up on the blocks.

We have good pieces. If only we could get a few key guys back in the fold. We need a bench scorer - and it sounds like Swaggy will be back before X will. One of the two will do. And we need Lin back ASAP. Otherwise I think we're ok. I don't see much room for R. Kelly, and Clarkson is just a rook. Nash hurts the squad more than helps.

Bench scorer and Lin and we're good to go. The rest is gravy.

 

I didn't even realize Hayward and Favors only played the 1st quarter until I saw it on Twitter. Not playing their 3 best players (Trey Burke also out) could have a little to do with it but it was still fun to watch.

 

A few big factors went into this:

1. Price's energy. The guy was absolutely everywhere. He dove for loose balls, he attacked the rim, he moved the ball. Fantastic effort from a 31 year old veteran journeyman. He really put Exum through the ringer.

2. Things starting to click defensively for the team. People understanding their roles, their spots, and how to execute the fundamentals that Byron has been pushing on them.

3. The Jazz took out their bigger players in the 2nd half. Now obviously the Lakers aren't at full strength either, but it helps that we were playing against Gobert and not Favors. Gobert is good at a lot of things, but offense isn't one of them. Kanter's brain works a tick slower than a normal person's. We were able to wreck havoc out there because a couple of their prime ball handlers sat through the second half. That being said, we did exactly what we should have done to the players they trotted out.

 

So this happened again in stretches tonight. This team has some fight in them and it's nice to see. After getting destroyed 3 games in a row, they fought for a win vs the Jazz, and then fought all game tonight each time they got behind a little. Maybe Byron is getting through to them, maybe they're getting in shape, learning to play together, I don't know, but I hope it keeps up.

'Antoni lost this team, as did Brown, and it was ugly, the blowouts didn't stop. So far this team has rebounded in that they look like they have the energy and desire to play defense and not get destroyed if they can help it, even when the shots aren't falling. Hell, even old man Kobe has played better and harder on defense than I've seen in years.

 

Love watching defense again. Phil's teams didn't play regularly great defense. I don't know that we've seen a great defensive team since the 80s. Those Show-Time Lakers were underrated defensively (even though defense in the 80s was a different animal than it is now).

The rotations are getting there. Guys are still late when they get tired, but you'll see that no matter what. Helping the helper and forcing guys into tough shots though, those things are becoming regular and I love it.

 

Were they? I don't remember. I just don't think I ever identified them as a defensive team. A good team defensively when called upon, but I like that we're building a culture that's defense first. I like that a lot.