How Does the Lakers’ Roster Deal with Last Season’s Defensive Shortcomings?

One of the misconceptions of last season's Lakers team is all of their problems were on the offensive side of the ball. This shouldn't be a surprise since most teams' success or failure is seen through the prism of their ability to put the ball in the basket, not their ability to stop the other team from doing so.

However, the Lakers' bigger failure—especially down the stretch and into the playoffs—was in their inability to secure the stops they needed.

In the postseason, the Lakers posted a defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) of 106.5, a mark that would have ranked them 27th in the NBA if they'd posted it during the regular season. If you want to put a positive spin on that number, you can take solace in the fact their defense actually improved from the 109.5 mark they posted in April. 

Needless to say, finding a way to improve their defense this offseason was a major priority for the Lakers even if few were talking about it.

Enter Dwight Howard.

In trading for the league's best big man, the Lakers have gone a long way in improving their biggest weaknesses on defense.

Before we get to Howard's specific skills, however, we must understand the type of defense Mike Brown likes to run. Brown's schemes call for a risk averse approach that funnels the ball to the middle of the floor where his team's superior size could contest and block shots. He wants to force teams into mid-range jumpers (the least efficient shot in basketball) and wants his players flying all over the floor to close out on shooters and cut off driving angles.

In Dwight Howard, the Lakers have acquired the exact type of big man they need for the centerpiece of this scheme.

Howard's quick feet allow him to cover massive amounts of ground when rotating to the open man. Furthermore, he can use that quickness to slide with ball handlers on the perimeter on switches and keep good angles in ...