The Lakers perimeter defense became impossible to ignore when Oklahoma City ran straight through it in May. The Thunder did not need one superstar to expose Los Angeles. They kept finding the next weak spot, then attacking it until the Lakers finally broke.
Even secondary creator Ajay Mitchell torched them, averaging 22.5 points on 56.3% shooting across the Western Conference semifinal sweep, according to NBA.com. In Game 4, Mitchell poured in a playoff career-high 28 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 35 in Oklahoma City’s series-clinching 113-110 win. Those numbers told the story. Los Angeles could contain the first action, but too often the second drive cracked open another lane.
Stung by that sweep, Rob Pelinka spent the summer scrambling for length. He added Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams, giving JJ Redick three very different answers on the wing. Pelinka also rebuilt the paint around Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney.
But simply stacking taller players does not fix the Lakers perimeter defense. Redick now has to decide which combinations can shield Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves without choking the offense. That question will define training camp.
LeBron’s Exit Changed The Entire Defensive Equation
Before diving into individual matchups, the scale of this roster transition matters.
LeBron James is gone. After eight seasons in Los Angeles, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader moved on this summer, closing an era that began in 2018 and delivered the 2020 championship. Rui Hachimura departed as well, removing another large forward from a rotation that already struggled against athletic perimeter teams.
The Lakers did not simply swap a few role players around Dončić. They changed the physical identity of the roster. For years, LeBron gave Los Angeles a 6-foot-9 problem solver who could absorb a switch onto a power forward, call out a back-side rotation and finish the possession with the rebound himself.
Even late in his career, that size covered mistakes smaller lineups could not afford to make. Without him, Redick cannot rely on one oversized playmaker to patch every hole.
That makes the rebuilt frontcourt important. Kessler stands 7-foot-2 and gives Los Angeles the true rim deterrent it lacked for stretches last season, while Looney brings veteran strength and rebounding behind him. Yet neither center can fix a defense when guards surrender the paint on the first dribble.
The equation starts farther from the basket. If Grimes, Thybulle or Williams can make a scorer work for an extra half-second, Kessler can stay closer to the rim. The weak-side wing no longer has to panic toward the lane, and corner shooters receive fewer clean catch-and-shoot looks.
That’s the real goal.
The Lakers perimeter defense does not require five shutdown stoppers. It needs enough resistance at the point of attack to stop every possession from turning into a five-man emergency drill.
Quentin Grimes Should Take The Hardest Assignment
Grimes has the cleanest path to becoming Redick’s defensive pressure-release valve.
At 6-foot-5, he owns enough strength to handle bigger guards without sacrificing the foot speed needed against quicker creators. He also does not need the ball to justify his minutes. Grimes averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, giving Philadelphia useful scoring without demanding star-level touches.
His job in Los Angeles should stay simple: guard the best perimeter scorer.
If Minnesota puts Anthony Edwards on the floor, start Grimes there. When Memphis sends Ja Morant downhill through a high screen, make Grimes take the first collision. Forcing Dončić or Reaves to spend an entire season chasing that caliber of athlete would eventually show up at the other end.
Reaves averaged a career-high 23.3 points and 5.5 assists last season. Dončić carries an even heavier creation burden. Both will still get hunted in switches because every smart offense probes for softer matchups, but Redick can control where those possessions begin.
That’s where Grimes matters.
On offense, he only has to keep the floor honest. Hit open threes. Attack hard closeouts. Move the ball before the defense can reset.
That makes Grimes the ultimate pressure-release valve even on nights when his shot never fully arrives. The best version of the Lakers perimeter defense probably starts with him beside Dončić and Reaves because he asks for the fewest compromises.
Matisse Thybulle Gives Redick A Defensive Fastball
Thybulle plays defense like he sees the pass before it leaves the ballhandler’s hands.
His arms appear from blind spots. He trails without conceding the possession, then reaches back into a play that looked finished. As a rookie in Philadelphia, he even picked LeBron’s pocket during an early matchup, turning what looked like a routine isolation into exactly the kind of disruptive possession that built his reputation.
That chaos still has value.
Los Angeles does not need Thybulle playing 30 minutes every night. Redick needs him for the stretches when one opposing guard starts bending the entire game. Give Thybulle six hard minutes against a scorer who has found rhythm and see whether he can break it.
One deflection can kill an action. A rear-view strip can erase a drive. Even forcing a scorer to pick up the ball with eight seconds left changes how an entire possession feels.
However, the other end remains the problem.
Opponents will dare Thybulle to shoot. Playoff defenses become ruthless when they identify a player they can ignore, and one sagging defender can clog Dončić’s driving lanes or squeeze Reaves’ pick-and-roll game.
So Redick has to use him with purpose. Pair Thybulle with enough creation and shooting to hide the weakness, then unleash him when a particular matchup demands disruption.
He makes the Lakers perimeter defense nastier. His offense will determine how long that nastiness can stay on the floor.
Ziaire Williams Gives Los Angeles The Length It Was Missing
Grimes handles strength. Thybulle creates chaos. Ziaire Williams gives Redick length.
At 6-foot-9, Williams can take assignments that become awkward for smaller guards. That matters in a Western Conference filled with oversized wings who can shoot over defenders or bully them toward the paint.
Los Angeles lacked enough bodies like that last spring.
When a defense starts too small, one mismatch can wreck the entire shell. A guard digs down against a bigger wing, the low man slides toward the rim and somebody suddenly has to sprint 20 feet toward a shooter in the corner. Those rotations look frantic because they are.
Williams can shorten the chain.
Instead of automatically sending help against a tall scorer, Redick can ask Williams to survive the matchup himself. Even forcing one extra dribble gives Kessler another beat to hold his ground near the basket rather than racing outside the restricted area to clean up somebody else’s mistake.
That connection between wing size and rim protection matters. Kessler does his best work when he can wait at the rim, not when he spends possessions chasing breakdowns created 25 feet away.
Rebounding also enters the equation. You cannot talk about the Lakers perimeter defense without discussing how possessions finish. A solid contest means very little if the offense collects the miss and attacks again before Los Angeles can reset.
Williams gives Redick another long body who can crash back toward the glass. After losing LeBron and Hachimura, that matters almost as much as the initial matchup.
The Lakers do not need Williams to become a featured scorer. They need him to defend bigger wings, run the floor, rebound and hit enough open shots to remain playable.
Sometimes the best roster fixes are that simple.
Cameron Carr Deserves A Real Chance To Crash The Rotation
The most intriguing solution may be the youngest one.
Los Angeles moved up to acquire Cameron Carr with the 24th pick in June’s draft. At Baylor, the 6-foot-5 wing averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.4% from three.
The scoring gets attention. The blocks explain why Carr belongs here.
He finished with 45 in 34 games, an unusual total for a perimeter player and a sharp clue about his timing. Carr does not merely have long arms. He already shows a feel for when to rotate and when a ballhandler leaves the ball exposed.
Summer League offered another glimpse. Against Oklahoma City, Carr scored 18 points with a steal and two blocks. Then he dropped 23 against the Clippers.
July numbers fade quickly once NBA veterans start setting real screens. Carr will get bumped off routes. Dončić will manipulate his feet. Experienced guards will bait him into reaching.
Good.
Training camp should make him uncomfortable. Put him on Reaves for a full scrimmage. Make him chase Grimes through staggered screens, then force him to defend Dončić after the switch.
See what survives.
If Carr keeps his balance, communicates and makes the second rotation, Redick should not bury him because of his age. Ten trustworthy rookie minutes may sound insignificant in October.
By April, they could matter enormously.
Carr would give the Lakers perimeter defense another athlete without forcing Pelinka back into the trade market. More importantly, he could give Redick something every playoff coach wants: one more matchup card nobody expected him to have.
Redick Cannot Fall In Love With Three-Guard Lineups
This may become the hardest choice of camp.
Los Angeles has plenty of creators. Dončić needs the ball. Reaves creates off the bounce. Collin Sexton attacks gaps. Jaden Hardy can generate points in a hurry.
Stack enough of them together and the offense can fly. The defense may collapse just as quickly.
A small three-guard lineup gives opponents choices. They do not need to attack Dončić every possession. One screen can force a switch. Another action can drag a second defender away from help. Before long, the offense finds the matchup it wanted from the start.
Oklahoma City showed how exhausting that becomes.
Mitchell’s 22.5 points per game against Los Angeles sting because he entered that series as a secondary creator. In Game 3, he finished with 24 points and 10 assists. Then he scored 28 more in Game 4.
Those are the numbers Redick should remember whenever offense tempts him into shrinking the lineup.
Three guards can work against certain benches. They can also explode for short scoring runs. Yet when the game tightens, one of Grimes, Thybulle, Williams or Jarred Vanderbilt should usually occupy a perimeter spot.
Pelinka bought Redick options.
Now Redick has to be disciplined enough to use them.
The Best Closing Lineup May Change Every Night
There is no single five-man answer, and Redick should embrace that.
Against Edwards, Grimes may become indispensable. A slippery guard who lives in passing lanes could demand Thybulle. Bigger wings may push Williams or Vanderbilt into the closing group.
Dončić and Reaves will almost certainly occupy two late-game spots because Los Angeles needs their creation. Kessler has a strong case for another if his rim protection holds up in every matchup.
The final two spots should be earned by the game.
That sounds simple until the politics begin. Starters build status. Veterans expect minutes. A scorer who hits three shots in the third quarter becomes harder to remove, even when the other team starts hunting him on every possession.
Playoff basketball does not care.
If opponents start hunting Sexton, change the lineup. When Thybulle wrecks the spacing, try Williams. If Grimes keeps an opposing star outside the paint, leave him there even when his jumper disappears.
No ceremony. Not any loyalty tax. No waiting two possessions too long.
The Lakers perimeter defense will improve through those cold, fast decisions more than through one clever scheme drawn on a whiteboard.
That is the part Redick controls.
Training Camp Has To Turn Size Into A System
The Lakers already completed the dramatic part of the makeover.
LeBron’s departure pushed the franchise fully into the Dončić era, and Pelinka responded by surrounding that new center of gravity with different kinds of defenders. Grimes brings sturdy point-of-attack resistance. Thybulle brings disruption. Williams brings wing length. Carr brings upside.
Behind them, Kessler gives those defenders something they badly need: a huge target waiting at the rim when the first line does its job.
Now the work gets harder because the remaining fixes will not appear in a transaction column. They will show up in possessions that never become highlights.
A guard fights over a screen instead of dying on it. Williams holds up alone against a bigger wing, so nobody has to abandon the corner. Grimes turns Edwards sideways for one extra dribble. Kessler stays home, waits and erases the finish.
That is what progress will look like.
Redick must decide how much offense he is willing to sacrifice for defense and how often his team should switch. More than anything, he needs to identify the wing who can live beside Dončić and Reaves without strangling the spacing.
The Lakers perimeter defense will not improve simply because the roster now features more 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9 bodies. Those players have to absorb the assignments that exhausted Los Angeles in May, possession after possession, until the stars no longer spend every defensive trip covering somebody else’s mistake.
Grimes should chase the primary scorer. Thybulle should change games in targeted bursts. Williams must use his length to keep help defenders home. Carr deserves a legitimate chance to force his way onto the floor.
Then Redick has to trust what he sees.
When the ball goes up, the formula does not need to be complicated: protect the creators, keep size on the floor and make opponents work before they ever reach Kessler.
Oklahoma City exposed the Lakers because one clean drive kept creating another crack.
Before training camp ends, Redick has to make sure those cracks stop appearing so easily.
READ MORE: Lineup Versatility Will Define the Lakers’ First Post-LeBron Season
FAQs
Q1. How can the Lakers improve their perimeter defense before training camp?
The Lakers can lean on Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams while using bigger lineups around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
Q2. Who should guard the Lakers’ toughest perimeter opponents?
Quentin Grimes has the clearest path to that job. His size and mobility make him the best fit against high-level guards and wings.
Q3. What role could Matisse Thybulle have with the Lakers?
Thybulle can enter games as a defensive specialist when an opposing scorer gets hot. His shooting will determine how long Redick can keep him out there.
Q4. Could Cameron Carr make the Lakers’ rotation as a rookie?
Yes. Carr could earn minutes if his length, communication and defensive instincts hold up during training camp.
Q5. Why could three-guard lineups hurt the Lakers?
Smaller groups give opponents more favorable matchups to attack. Redick will often need a bigger defensive wing alongside Dončić and Reaves.
