With the Los Angeles Lakers adding 11 new faces to the guaranteed roster, developing a cohesive squad on the court will be a process.
Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard, who played for L.A. in 2019, understand what they need to do to succeed in head coach Frank Vogel’s system, but there’s still a lot to learn for everyone else.
Carmelo Anthony is among the new group with no familiarity how Vogel and company like to operate, and the first two preseason games have been rough on offense and defense.
Los Angeles’ defense struggled against the Phoenix Suns, who shot 39% from deep and 94.7% from the free-throw line because of how easy it was to penetrate L.A.’s defense.
Anthony explained after the game how the team is still adjusting to Vogel’s style.
“I think coach Vogel’s schemes, the new defensive schemes that we’ve been implementing, I think is very simple. It’s not hard,” Anthony said. “Lots of clarity, it’s not a one-on-one defense that we’re creating, this is a team defense. This is knowing your space … and that’s going to take some time to kind of get in sync where we know where everyone is going to be at, rotations before it even happens, we’re in the right position.
Anthony said having everyone back on the court will be key to getting things right.
“That’s going to take some time, not too much time, but that’s going to get guys coming back together, playing actually in games, not just in practice, and us figuring that out.”
LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Trevor Ariza have yet to appear in a game, and Ariza isout for at least eight weeks with an ankle injury. Having those three on the court will change the dynamic of the team, but establishing an identity is still imperative, even in games without the stars.
Last season, the Lakers could rely on being an elite defensive team every game, but the personnel is different this year.
