{"id":917588,"date":"2026-11-14T23:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T23:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/917588\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T23:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T23:28:16","slug":"while-tied-for-nbas-best-record-lakers-believe-they-can-be-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/917588\/","title":{"rendered":"While tied for NBA’s best record, Lakers believe they can be better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While rocketing toward the top of the league, the Lakers<\/a> have been far from perfect. That\u2019s good news to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big thing that we talk with our players about a lot is being able to learn and get better and try to correct things even when you are winning,\u201d coach JJ Redick said.<\/p>\n

The Lakers (11-2) have won seven consecutive games entering Sunday\u2019s 1 p.m. PST matinee against the Suns (5-6) in Phoenix. <\/p>\n

Using a rare multiple-day break between games to audit their performances, coaches and analytics staffers showed slide presentations to players about both offensive and defensive flaws this week. The lectures left the team with one of the best records in the league feeling as if it was one of the worst, forward Ziaire Williams<\/a> joked.<\/p>\n

Already the top-ranked offense in the league, the Lakers should strive to match that by becoming a top-10 defense, Redick implored his team. Williams is not stopping there.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop 10 should be at least like our standard, if not better,\u201d the forward said. \u201cOur half-court defense has been great. Obviously, rebounding has been one of the biggest things for us, cleaning up transition as well. But the potential\u2019s there. We have the size, the length, the athleticism. It\u2019s just about going out there and executing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers, ranked 18th in defensive efficiency, thrive on forcing turnovers and protecting the rim. Their 18.5 turnovers forced per game ranks third in the league and they average an NBA-best 11 steals per game. Center Walker Kessler\u2019s 2.2 blocks per game rank third.<\/p>\n

But they can\u2019t finish the strong half-court possessions. The Lakers are ranked 28th in defensive rebounding and 25th in second-chance points allowed.<\/p>\n

The Lakers staff rewatched every offensive rebound allowed this season. Lack of boxing out was the biggest fault. Then there were instances when players stood and watched.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, if I stand and watch and try and outjump someone else, I\u2019m probably not going to get the rebound,\u201d said forward Jake LaRavia, who has been an offensive rebounding revelation since entering the starting lineup, averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds in the last nine games. \u201cSo you have to go and be physical and hit bodies, and then just be able to dive on loose balls, finish possessions, it\u2019s really just who\u2019s going to work harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kessler is averaging 8.1 defensive rebounds during the Lakers\u2019 seven-game winning streak \u2014 which is the second-longest in Redick\u2019s head-coaching tenure \u2014 compared to 6.3 during the first six games of the season. <\/p>\n

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who did not play in the first four games of the season, has made the most of his limited minutes off the bench, grabbing 7.9 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes, the second-best rate on the team among players who have played more than three minutes. Vanderbilt, averaging 3.8 rebounds per game in 11.9 minutes, had 10 rebounds in less than 14 minutes against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 8.<\/p>\n

Transition defense is also sinking the Lakers\u2019 defensive efforts. Teams are scoring 20.2 points off turnovers per game, which ranks 24th. Redick credits some of that to the team\u2019s offensive flaws. Although they are the league\u2019s most efficient offense, the Lakers turn the ball over 16.9 times per game, the fifth-most in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers guard Luka Doncic attempts a shot over two Bucks defenders during a win Wednesday in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

(Aaron Gash \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Luka Doncic<\/a>, the league\u2019s leading scorer at 38.6 points per game, also averages an NBA-worst five turnovers a game. Austin Reaves<\/a>, who is day-to-day with a left heel bruise suffered Wednesday against Milwaukee, averages 3.4 turnovers and 24.7 points per game.<\/p>\n

Doncic is expected to play Sunday despite tweaking his right ankle late in Wednesday\u2019s game. Reaves didn\u2019t participate in practice Saturday.<\/p>\n

Guard Collin Sexton<\/a> was a full participant in practice Saturday. The guard wore a thick band-aid over his right eyebrow and had bruising around his right eye after bumping heads with Milwaukee\u2019s Ryan Rollins but said he doesn\u2019t expect to use a mask while playing. He only needs to keep the cut covered to ensure it doesn\u2019t open up again. The rugged guard is familiar with the protocols; Sexton said this was the 11th time in his career that he\u2019s received stitches in his face.<\/p>\n

The short break offered an important opportunity for players to rest after a grueling three-game Eastern Conference trip. They now enter a softer stretch in the schedule. After Sunday\u2019s game in Phoenix, the Lakers play their next four at home against three teams \u2014 Charlotte, Sacramento and Utah, twice \u2014 that have a combined six wins.<\/p>\n

Their next game against a team with a winning record isn\u2019t until Nov. 27 at San Antonio. The 11-2 Spurs, who have won 11 consecutive games, are the only team with an active winning streak longer than the Lakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While rocketing toward the top of the league, the Lakers have been far from perfect. That\u2019s good news…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":917589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[166091,383299,6306,6452,383297,355,15553,383300,17589,113510,5190,383298,99,8915,1599,41606,6601],"class_list":["post-917588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-consecutive-game","tag-good-record","tag-lakers","tag-league","tag-limited-minute","tag-nba","tag-player","tag-practice-saturday","tag-rebound","tag-redick","tag-season","tag-second-chance-point","tag-sports","tag-sunday","tag-team","tag-turnover","tag-wednesday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=917588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=917588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}