The Lakers have offensive flaws. They were a bottom-10, 3-point shooting team in the regular season. Their half-court offense can stagnate for extended stretches. They turn over the ball way too much. But even in their toughest moments, they can always lean on their ability to string together enough stops. Spread over three series — against the league’s No. 3 (Portland), No. 5 (Denver) and No. 6 (Houston) offenses — the Lakers only gave up 30 or more points in 14 of 60 quarters. That, in 2020, is getting it done defensively.
“(Vogel) spends hours and hours of watching film, breaking down games, schemes, figuring out what’s the best recipe for us to be successful,” Davis said. “He puts the right players on the floor at the right time. He trusts us that, if someone has it going and he wants to sub someone in, and (we say) ‘Let that unit roll or let that guy keep rolling,’ he trusts us. “He’s a defensive-minded coach. He’s all about defensive rating. It shows. We are a defensive team.”
