When news broke that Avery Bradley was going to sit out the restart of the NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers lost a player who has arguably been their best perimeter defender this season.
Losing Bradley means that Lakers guard Danny Green is undoubtedly going to have some increased defensive responsibilities.
Green said on his podcast, Inside The Green Room, that he is “very excited” for the challenge.
On Monday, @wojespn reported that JR Smith will join the Lakers as the team heads to Orlando without Avery Bradley.
@DGreen_14 gave @HarrisonSanford his early impressions on what he’s seen from JR & discusses what he hopes is an increased defensive role without Bradley. pic.twitter.com/oZq5acTtJ1— Inside The Green Room (@GreenRoomInside) June 29, 2020
“This is definitely something I’m looking forward to,” Green said. “Obviously Avery made it easier for me on the defensive end of the floor. We were able to switch a lot, he also picks up 94 feet, but being able to take on that challenge night in and night out of being, hopefully, Coach looks at me as the primary defender, is something I look forward to.
“It’s something that keeps me involved in the game, more locked in, and more focused and be able to just play my game. Because my defense usually carries over to my offense. We’ll see how it goes, I hope they pick me, but I really look forward to attack, challenge and embrace being the primary defender on the team. But I’ve got to put the work in, got to be ready, stay healthy, and see who else comes aboard with us.”
Green has been known to be a solid defensive player ever since he entered the league back in 2009. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team during the 2016-17 season.
The Lakers have the third-best defensive rating in the NBA this season, as they are behind just the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.
