Raptors beat Lakers in LA, play Kawhi Leonard & Clippers Monday night

[JonLP24]

Last edited Mon Nov 11, 2019, 04:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Toronto did it without Kyle Lowry & Serge Ibaka. Posting because the Lakers are in first place while Toronto is #2 in the East behind Boston.

The Lakers’ stellar defense has an Achilles heel, and the Raptors exploited it

One weakness for the team — who it should be noted are still tied for the best record in the Western Conference at 7-2 — actually hides in plain sight within their biggest strength: Defense.

Like the Death Star’s unfortunately accessible exhaust port, the Lakers’ second-ranked defense in the league also has an exposable flaw — stopping the opposition’s transition game. On Sunday night, Toronto shot two perfectly placed torpedoes to make certain the Lakers knew damn sure found out about their oversight.

Coming into the contest, the Lakers ranked first in the entire league in half-court defense, as they were allowing a stifling 80.8 points per 100 half-court possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. Their transition defense on the other hand, has not been as airtight.

On the season, the Lakers rank 28th in their opponents’ transition frequency, and 20th in overall transition defensive efficiency. The Raptors, who rank third in possession attempts that start in transition and first in efficiency in such situations, were a buzzsaw of a matchup even despite playing without Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/platform/amp/2019/11/11/20958875/lakers-defense-toronto-raptors-transition-kyle-kuzma-frank-vogel-lebron-james-anthony-davis

[applegrove]

1. I hope i get the game tonight on the tv. I want to see if they can stand up

to Kwahi Leonard too. We have high hopes for them this year as they have some young guys who are on an arc of improving and thay have not hit the top of their game yet. And they have some old guys who are still very strong like Lowry.