An interesting breakdown explains the Lakers' poor defensive rating
Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation posted a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the team's defensive rating, and it has been rather solid, except in the fourth quarters of games.
Key points
- Lakers Def Rtg by quarter, h/t @LakersReporter: 1: 106.9 (8th in NBA) 2: 116.2 (16th in NBA) 3: 103.4 (4th in NBA) 4: 128.5 (28th in NBA) Up big in 4th = foot comes off the gas and/or 3rd string is in.
- While their defense may be at least somewhat flawed, their offense has been dynamite -- they rank first in points per game, offensive rating and field-goal percentage, and they're third in 3-point accuracy and seventh in fast-break points per game.
- Part of why LA's overall DefRtg (113.6, 17th) is lower than the eye test — Trevor Lane (@TrevorLane) November 12, 2026 The Lakers nearly blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead a couple of weeks ago against the Toronto Raptors, and they also gave up a good portion of the large lead they held on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Coming into Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers were ranked 18th in defensive rating.
In addition, much of L.A.'s defensive troubles have apparently come in garbage time, as it has had some problems holding onto leads in the final minutes of games when coach JJ Redick has inserted players who are deep on his bench.
Additional details
- At first glance, this would make it seem as if they're a weak defensive team, as they were last season when they ranked 20th in that category.
- Still, the Lakers are 11-2, which ties them with the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA's best record.
- For starters, the Lakers have excelled at forcing mistakes and turning them into points.
- Redick has elected to keep his starters, including Luka Doncic, on the court until the true waning moments of games, and while he has been criticized for doing so, it is clear why he doesn't trust his end-of-rotation players to come in during what should be garbage time.
- They rank second in opponents' turnover percentage and first in points off turnovers per game, as well as third in blocks per game and first in steals per game.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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