SALT LAKE CITY — There’s been a common talking point after each of the Lakers’ last few losses: turnovers.
And not just any kind of turnovers, but specifically live-ball turnovers – a season-long struggle for the Lakers that’s been amplified the last couple of weeks.
“When you have live-ball turnovers, it’s hard to defend that,” Anthony Davis said on Saturday after the Lakers’ 132-125 road loss to the Utah Jazz. “We turn it over and they get out and run and they made us pay for it.”
After struggling with turnover volume for most of the new year, the Lakers did a better job of protecting the ball against the Jazz, finishing the game with just 12 giveaways. The problem was that Utah was uber-efficient on those miscues by the Lakers, turning those 12 takeaways into 23 points.
The Jazz were even more efficient off of the Lakers’ live-ball turnovers – a turnover with no stoppage in play.
According to PBP Stats, the Lakers had seven live-ball turnovers against the Jazz. But the Southern California News Group counted just five live-ball turnovers, with Utah scoring on four of the five possessions following those giveaways for 10 total points for two points per possession after a live-ball turnover.
— Khobi’s Klips (@BballKhobi) January 14, 2024
“If you have live-ball turnovers, it’s tough,” coach Darvin Ham said. “They have a lot of individual players that are threats and you can easily get swayed or caught up in the buddy running as we call it. Like OK, I’m running next to Lauri Markkanen, so I have him under control, but he’s not the problem without the ball in his hand. The ball is the problem, whether it’s [Collin] Sexton, [Keyonte] George, whoever, [Jordan] Clarkson.
“Those guys are the ones that you have to try to account for and it’s just not gonna be one guy. Obviously, you have to have individual pride when you’re guarding the ball, but you need your four teammates out there to be in unison to try to get a stop.”
Saturday wasn’t an anomaly.
The Lakers rank among the worst in the league in points allowed per transition play off steals (1.48) and points allowed in transition per 100 possessions off of steals (2.1).
They’ve been even worse lately, allowing a league-worst 3.9 points per 100 possessions off steals and 1.65 points per transition play off steals in their six games in 2024.
In Thursday’s 127-109 home loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers had 13 live-ball turnovers for 23 Suns’ points. They had 14 live-ball turnovers for 14 points in their Jan. 3 home loss to the Miami Heat.
— Khobi’s Klips (@BballKhobi) January 14, 2024
Those possessions not only take away scoring opportunities but also fuel their opponents’ offense with more efficient looks.
“Some of them have been careless,” Ham said. “Guys are trying to make plays and share the ball. Some of them are due to bad timing. We hold [the ball] for an extra dribble or two or catching the ball on the kick out and it’s another one more opportunity to swing the ball one more. We hold it for two or three extra seconds. So it throws off the rhythm and allows the defense to catch up.
“It puts a ton of pressure on your defense when you’re committing those live-ball turnovers.”
And the Lakers’ transition defense hasn’t been up to par with the increased frequency teams have been getting out in transition against them. They’re allowing a league-worst 22.5 points off turnovers and 19.3 fastbreak points (the league’s third-worst mark) in 2024.
“We just got to be more urgent and more mindful of getting back,” Austin Reaves said, “and talking and then kind of having one another’s back in those type of situations.”
THUNDER AT LAKERS
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV, 710 AM