With six and a half minutes left in the second quarter, the Lakers were in a grind-it-out battle against a shorthanded Mavericks team. That’s when J.J.
Redick made a subtle but savvy adjustment - switching from man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone. The result?
Three straight stops, a six-point lead ballooning to 13, and eventually, a blowout win powered by yet another LeBron James triple-double.
Now, let’s not pretend zone defense is the magic fix for everything that ails this Lakers team. Heading into the All-Star break, they’re sitting at 23rd in defensive rating - not exactly the kind of number you want to see next to a team with playoff aspirations. But what the zone has offered is something this roster desperately needed: a workable counterpunch.
Since January 18 - a game against Toronto that seems to have been a turning point - the Lakers have leaned into zone more than any team in the league, using it on 17.6% of their defensive possessions. That’s a massive spike, and it’s not just for show. Opponents are scoring just 0.86 points per possession against the Lakers’ zone, a number that jumps off the page even if it's unlikely to hold over the long haul.
So what’s working?
At its core, the Lakers’ 2-3 zone helps cover up for some of their biggest defensive issues - especially on the perimeter. They’ve struggled all season to contain dribble penetration, largely because of a lack of foot speed at the guard and wing spots.
Zone simplifies those responsibilities. Instead of chasing a man around screens or getting blown by off the bounce, defenders are guarding space, not players.
That means fewer breakdowns and more help in the right places.
You can see it in action. Against Dallas, the Lakers dropped into their zone coming out of a timeout.
The Mavs, trying to probe for openings, were forced to swing the ball around the perimeter. Driving lanes disappeared.
The shot clock ticked down. Instead of getting clean looks at the rim, they were settling for contested jumpers.
Jaxson Hayes, manning the middle of the zone, explained it well: “I feel like it gives all of us a better vision of the offense. We’re all a little back some more, so we can see and communicate better.
We’re not just hugged up on our mans. The paint is a little more crowded, so it’s harder for teams that struggle with shooting to score on it.”
And that matters - a lot. The Lakers have been giving up a league-worst 72.4% shooting at the rim.
That’s not a typo. One way to fix that?
Don’t let teams get to the rim in the first place. The zone has helped do just that, especially against teams like the Raptors, who rely heavily on paint scoring.
Against Toronto, the Lakers' zone clogged up the interior, forcing the Raptors into uncomfortable perimeter shots and late-clock decisions.
Redick has also been smart about how and when to deploy it. Against the Raptors, he rolled out a frontcourt pairing of Drew Timme and Deandre Ayton - not exactly a duo known for lateral quickness.
But in the zone, their size became an asset. Alongside LeBron and Jared Vanderbilt, the Lakers were able to rotate, contest, and force a tough step-back three from Gradey Dick - exactly the kind of shot you want to live with.
“We’ve ran it a few times a game recently,” Redick said afterward. “Sometimes it’s hard, both as a coach and as a player, when you run it, and it’s a good possession of defense, and the other team hits an off-the-dribble three... But we think it could be a weapon for us.”
And that’s the key. The zone isn’t a full-time identity shift - it’s a tool.
A change of pace. A strategic wrinkle that gives the Lakers a different look and keeps opponents guessing.
It’s not without its flaws. Teams with sharp shooters and high-level ball movement can punish a zone.
And rebounding out of it can be a challenge, since box-out assignments aren’t as clear.
But the first and most important step in any defensive shift is buy-in. And the Lakers seem to have that right now.
“Yeah, that thing got us going,” Ayton said. “I think really just talking and communicating, getting the blood flowing, knowing who got your back out there... Just seeing different coverages thrown at the team and seeing what they could throw back at us.”
It’s not a perfect solution, and it’s not going to fix all of LA’s defensive issues. But in a season where consistency has been hard to come by, the zone has offered something tangible - structure, communication, and a way to compete on the defensive end. And for a team with postseason goals, that’s a step in the right direction.