The Lakers could have had plenty of excuses for a bad performance Monday. They were without Reaves and Quentin Grimes<\/a>. They were groggy after flying in from Detroit<\/a> that morning. Instead of falling back on those reasons to lose, they discovered ways to win<\/a>, uncovering new layers to a team still in its early stages.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery game is going to present different challenges, and that\u2019s why every game you learn something new,\u201d Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> said. \u201cAnd you hopefully grow from whatever you learn. That\u2019s the beauty of this. And after 82 games, hopefully you\u2019re a pretty darn good team.\u201d<\/p>\n But only 12 games in, what kind of team are the Lakers?<\/p>\n All things Lakers, all the time. <\/p>\n Get all the Lakers news you need in Thuc Nhi Nguyen’s weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n Dozen-game progress check<\/p>\n On offense, the Lakers are who we thought they were. They\u2019re as efficient as expected for a team that got its wish-list center to pair with Doncic and Reaves. They\u2019re first in NBA offensive rating<\/a> (121.5), points per game (121.9) and field-goal percentage (50.5).<\/p>\n The defense is also as most expected. That is, it\u2019s the team\u2019s weak spot. The Lakers entered Monday 21st in defensive rating. The only other team with a winning record outside of the top 13 was Denver (5-4).<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can be way better than 21st,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cI think we have the potential for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Doncic said the Lakers, who inched up to 19th in defensive rating<\/a> (113.9) after Monday, relax after building big leads, allowing opponents to claw back. They survived comeback attempts from Detroit and Atlanta, but Stephen Curry and the Warriors<\/a> burned them.<\/p>\n The Lakers\u2019 biggest defensive flaw is rebounding. Despite making a massive sign-and-trade to add center Walker Kessler, the Lakers are 29th in the NBA in rebounding (40.3 per game). Giving up 13.5 offensive rebounds a game, the Lakers allow 18.2 second-chance points a game, the third-worst in the league.<\/p>\n Redick said before the Lakers played the Clippers on Oct. 28 that the team needed Kessler to pick up his rebounding rate, especially defensively. The 7-foot-2 center has responded with six double-doubles in the last seven games.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of it is about timing, a lot of it is about hitting the guy first, not getting pushed under the rim,\u201d Kessler said of finding his rebounding rhythm. \u201cAnd I got to do a better job of those balls that I get my hands on, securing the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker Kessler, here tangling with Portland\u2019s Donovan Clingan, has been a standout on defense for the Lakers.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Kessler, who still wears a wrap on his left pinky after missing part of the preseason with a jammed finger, had four turnovers against the Pistons<\/a>. Even when he got both hands on the ball, it would get stripped.<\/p>\n The Lakers try to mask the rebounding woes by forcing turnovers. They\u2019re second with 18.6 turnovers forced per game and third in steals with 10.8 per game. Matisse Thybulle<\/a> leads the team with 2.1 steals per game. Doncic cares more about people knowing he\u2019s averaging two steals per game than the fact he was the first player since Wilt Chamberlain<\/a> to average more than 40 points per game through nine games.<\/p>\n Kessler\u2019s rim presence has allowed the Lakers to dial up their defensive pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes he may not block them, but just the shots that he alters allows us to get out and run and get stops,\u201d guard Collin Sexton<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s a big part of our defense and he\u2019s the anchor on the back line. You go down there, you got to deal with Walk.\u201d<\/p>\n Kessler has won many of those battles. Entering Monday, opponents were shooting 45.1% within six feet of the rim against Kessler, the lowest mark in the NBA among players defending at least 50 attempts from that distance, according to the Lakers.<\/p>\n The fourth starter Ziaire Williams reacts after sinking a three-pointer against Portland last month.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The starting power forward spot was one of the biggest question marks heading into the season. The Lakers have found two strong solutions.<\/p>\n Lineups with Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Thybulle and Ziaire Williams<\/a> have a 132.5 offensive rating, the best in the league for any five-man group that\u2019s played more than 50 minutes. The second-best offensive group is the starting lineup with Jake LaRavia<\/a> in Williams\u2019 place.<\/p>\n But adding LaRavia into the starting group has profound defensive impact: Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Thybulle and LaRavia have a defensive rating of 93.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, the third-best five-man lineup that has played more than 50 minutes. As a result, the LaRavia group has the best net rating in the league (30.9 compared to 16.8 with Williams).<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a winning player,\u201d Redick said of LaRavia\u2019s sometimes unnoticed contributions. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s simple as that. Puts the team first always, whether he\u2019s starting, coming off the bench \u2014 12 minutes, 20 minutes \u2014 you know you\u2019re going to get A-plus effort. Now, having been with us for two years, you know he\u2019s at the point where you\u2019re typically going to get A-plus execution of our schemes and our communication and our rules.\u201d<\/p>\n For a weak rebounding team, LaRavia adds a much-needed jolt on the boards. Averaging 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 offensive boards per game, the Lakers have a 53.2% rebounding rate when he\u2019s with Doncic, Reaves, Kessler and Thybulle compared to 42.1% when Williams is in the group.<\/p>\n Williams, who missed three games with a foot injury and hasn\u2019t returned to the starting lineup since, is trusted to guard on the ball and gives the second unit a scoring punch with his hot-shooting start. The Lancaster native is shooting 45.2% from three while taking the fourth-most three-point attempts on the team.<\/p>\n He was four for eight from three-point range Sunday, but frustrated Pistons fans swore he didn\u2019t miss a shot. He knocked down two early threes to contribute to the Lakers\u2019 26-point lead in the second quarter then staved off the comeback with another clutch three-pointer after the Pistons cut the lead to one during the fourth quarter. He added an emphatic exclamation mark with a cutting dunk off a Kessler assist with 93 seconds left.<\/p>\n Williams just knows how to pick his spots.<\/p>\n On tap<\/p>\n Wednesday at Bucks (1-9), 5 p.m. PST<\/p>\n Former Miami Heat mainstays Tyler Herro (22.3 points per game) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16.4) lead the rebuilding Bucks after the Giannis Antetokounmpo era. While a mismatch on paper, this could still be a difficult game at the end of a tiring three-games-in-four-days trip.<\/p>\n Sunday at Suns (3-6), 1 p.m. PST <\/p>\n The Lakers will enter the game on multiple days of rest for the first time since their season opener. They played their first three weeks without a two-day break. The Suns are without center Mark Williams (shoulder), which could open the floodgates for a big game from Kessler.<\/p>\n Favorite thing I ate this week The pink room pizza from Unc\u2019s in Detroit.<\/p>\n (Thuc Nhi Nguyen \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n In the great pizza debate of thick or thin crust, I go Detroit almost every time. The airy, chewy crust is like biting into a pizza pillow. Since last year\u2019s trip to Detroit, a new pizza place opened downtown, so there was some great pizza right around the corner. Unc\u2019s Pink Room pizza has pepperoni, whipped ricotta, hot honey and banana peppers. Returning readers know I love a sweet and spicy pizza combo.<\/p>\n Asking for a friend: Do you eat Detroit pizza with a fork and knife or with your hands? The gooey cheese pulls create kind of a mess with your hands, but cutting with a fork and knife feels too formal for pizza. (OK, the friend is me.) <\/p>\n In case you missed it<\/p>\n No Austin Reaves, no problem. First-place Lakers beat Hawks for sixth consecutive win<\/a><\/p>\n Austin Reaves steps up in Luka Doncic\u2019s absence to lead Lakers over Pistons<\/a><\/p>\n Luka Doncic\u2019s historic run jump-starts early MVP conversation<\/a><\/p>\n Swanson: Luka Doncic can lead Lakers to a title, but only if his teammates pull their weight<\/a><\/p>\n Luka Doncic scores 53 as Lakers avenge loss to Trail Blazers<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers assign Bronny James, Cameron Carr to G League team<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers win uneven game over Kings behind 40 points from Luka Doncic<\/a><\/p>\n Fun, flowing, not yet flawless: Lakers\u2019 league-best offense still has room to improve<\/a><\/p>\n Until next time…<\/p>\n As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com<\/a>, and please consider subscribing<\/a> if you like our work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where vibes are high. The Lakers (10-2) are atop the Western Conference…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,235078,235080,85592,7225,2873,10213,590,235081,16895,15624,7820,85,235079,3018,6618,187558,28561,14850],"class_list":["post-959705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-big-trade-move","tag-guys","tag-howard","tag-jerami-grant","tag-lakers","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-nba","tag-next-month","tag-pandemic","tag-player","tag-players","tag-sports","tag-talen-horton","tag-team","tag-time","tag-trade-season","tag-tucker","tag-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Walker](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1794339867_436_.jpeg\")
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