LeBron Says It's Been 'Challenging' For Lakers Defensively After Loss vs. Clippers

LeBron James said the Los Angeles Lakers have struggled to find their defensive identity throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.

James discussed the team's shortcomings at that end of the floor after Thursday night's lopsided 132-111 loss to the rival Los Angeles Clippers:

The Lakers couldn't string stops together as the Clippers shot 54.8 percent from the field while knocking down 17 of their 27 attempts from three-point range (63 percent). The Clips grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and dished out 32 assists with just 10 turnovers.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has tried a variety of different rotation tweaks, but so far the injury absence of Anthony Davis, who remains without a firm timetable to return because of a foot injury, has proved too much to overcome.

"No stone unturned in terms of trying to find solutions to get this right," Vogel told reporters. "But it hasn't taken shape. There's no quit in us. We will continue to persist. We're trying to adjust and shift and find ways to win with Anthony out. We haven't found that yet. But it's not something that we can't do. We just haven't found it yet."

L.A. ranks 26th in points allowed per game (112.7) and rates 16th in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.

Based on FiveThirtyEight's defensive Raptor metric, only Davis (+2.4) and guard Austin Reaves (+2.1) have made a significantly positive impact on defense this season. Even James (+0.4), a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, is only slightly above average.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Russell Westbrook (-2.5) grades out as one of the NBA's worst defenders this season. Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson took advantage of that on Thursday en route to a game-high 36 points.

The Lakers are running out of time to turn things around, too.

They sit ninth in the Western Conference with a 27-35 record, which leaves them in what's likely a five-team race for two spots in the play-in tournament. They're still two games up on the 11th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, but the gap has closed amid a four-game losing streak.

The challenge doesn't get any easier for LeBron and Co. as they host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.