BONUS: Defense Dominates Again as Lakers Beat Kings 103-99

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

In the NBA, it's hard to beat the same team in consecutive games. It's very hard to do it on their floor. And it's particularly hard to do it when in both games, the offense struggles to put points on the board.

Yet that's what the Lakers have just done, finishing off a sweep of their mini-series in Sacramento, beating the Kings 103-99. Offensively, the Lakers were led by LeBron James, who put up 32 despite a bad night shooting from the perimeter. D'Angelo Russell kicked in with 20 points. Austin Reaves, 16.

But this game was won with defense, specifically, and effort more broadly. The Lakers moved with purpose, hit their rotations crisply, made the extra play on the glass (including a huge ORB from Rui Hachimura to help seal the game), and more. And this has been the trend for LA since the incredibly embarrassing loss to the Heat in Miami. Since, the Lakers have been one of the NBA's best teams, winning games despite a bottom five offense. Basically, it's a complete reversal from trends earlier in the year, when the Lakers won with high end offense and a defense that couldn't get stops.

So can they find some middle ground? Holding opponents under 100 points on a nightly basis feels unlikely in the modern NBA, so expect at least a little bit of slip. But the principles of what they're doing—including just playing with more effort and commitment on the defensive side—are sustainable. And if they can just become a consistently decent defensive team, everyone around the org (as expressed by LeBron, Anthony Davis and JJ Redick following the game) believes the offense will come around.

At 16-12, things are definitely looking better for the Lakers now than they did a week or two ago.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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