4 things the Lakers need to sort out to make a playoff run

#4 Perimeter defense

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

While the likes of Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram have proved themselves to be above-average to elite defenders, they're all players with overlapping defensive skillsets. Barring Lonzo, none of the other 3 have the instincts, foot speed or size to trouble the best guards and small forwards in the game, though definitely not for the lack of trying on their part.

Kyle Kuzma has to be one of the worst defenders in the league today, showing virtually no progression from his rookie season on that end of the floor. Combined with LeBron's lethargy on the defensive end, this makes for a recipe for a disaster for the Lakers given that their two best scorers are net negatives as defenders.

It's about time for LeBron to pick up Kuzma's slack on the end and reassert his two-way dominance, as everyone who watches basketball knows he can. It might be too late for him to pace himself on defense given their pathetic loss to the Hawks yesterday.