There were a lot of reasons for the Lakers' tailspin into 11th place in the Western Conference during the 2021-22 season, but the simplest one to pick out was a complete collapse on the defensive end.After finishing the regular season as the during their 2019-20 title run and the in 2020-21, the Lakers fell all the way down to in the league last season.Incoming head coach Darvin Ham was brought in to rectify those defensive problems, and he laid out his plan immediately. He told reporters on the team's Media Day that they would play what he called a "center field" coverage to defend ball screens.Darvin Ham said the Lakers will largely play a pick and roll scheme he calls Center field, with a dropped big trying to force opponents into tough, contested twos. But theyll also have switch packages to take advantage of guys like Anthony Davis being able to defend guards. Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) That begs the question...MORE: A center field coverage is similar Jorge Posada Jersey to drop coverage, which is the base scheme that many teams around the league use. In a drop defense, the big man guarding the ball screen drops back into the paint to contain the ball handler and roller until the guard can recover.Ham's former team, the Bucks, played a conventional drop when slow-footed center Brook Lopez was in games. They had Lopez wait far back in the paint, below the level of the screen.Center field coverage is similar to a drop with an important distinction rather than starting from a stationary position deep in the paint, the defender guarding the screener plays what is known as "up to touch." That phrase means that the defender starts closer to the level of the screen, so he should be able to touch the back of his man's jersey.The Lakers were defending in this manner in their first preseason game against Aaron Hicks Jersey the Kings. Watch Juan Toscano-Anderson, up near the level of the screen before starting his backpedal.Rather than standing and waiting for the ball handler to come to him, Toscano-Anderson started up to take away the pull-up 3-pointer and used a quick backpedal to stay between two Kings players until Patrick Beverley could recover.Here's a side-by-side look at the difference between the two coverages: Early returns from the Lakers' first preseason game against the Kings were very good.In the first half, when both teams went with a somewhat normal rotation, the Lakers sported an excellent 78.8 defensive rating. That number comes from just a 24-minute sample, but it would be by far the best defensive rating in recent NBA history."To give up 21 and 20 points in each quarter, that's exactly who we want to be, who we have to be. Everything starts on the defensive end for us," Ham said after the game. "Outside of the offensive rebounds, I thought we were phenomenal defensively."It's also important to note that, while Ham has stated that a center field coverage will be the Lakers' base defense, they will Roger Maris Jersey almost surely deviate from that base from time to time.Anthony Davis was playing a deeper drop against a non-threat to pop in Richaun Holmes, for example. And the Lakers were also doing some switching on screens between like-sized defenders like Davis and LeBron James.Davis has said that the change to center field coverage will be a bit of an adjustment for him. He before Monday's game."It's something that I'm trying to transition to. ... Not helping as much," Davis said. "Letting the guys on the ball do their thing. ... Staying out of plays when it's not my a signment."As for how the new coverage will affect other Lakers, it will put more pre sure on Westbrook to fight over screens and get back into plays.Westbrook was fairly active throughout the night, stunting and helping the Lakers close off driving lanes. But he did suffer from a lack of focus that went viral.Darvon ham has his work cut out for him man. The lakers and ru s. Just watch ru sell westbrook on this play. Jamal Cristopher (@JamCristopher) Westbrook will have to be consistent with his effort because Lakers fans will be watching him closely. The Lakers' biggest i sues last season weren't nece sarily scheme-related. Frank Vogel was an excellent defensive coach, and they played at a high level for years.The drop-off last season was more due to a lack of effort, focus and poor personnel than anything scheme-related."I didn't know if they had the will factor," Beverley said of last year's Lakers team. "I don't know if they wanted to make the extra rotation. I don't know if they wanted to get on the floor, get dirty, scrape your knees for a loose ball."Austin Reaves expre sed similar di satisfaction with the Lakers' defense last Lou Gehrig Jersey season, but he was confident that Ham could right the ship."To tell you the truth, it was obvious that our defensive performances game in and game out was not what it needed to be," Reaves said. "But with coach Ham coming in preaching defense, defense, it's good for us. We have the personnel to be a really good defensive team."That personnel note is an important one. The Lakers do have a chance to be a much better defensive team, not only because of their new scheme, but also because of their roster turnover.During the Lakers' championship run, they had much better defenders on their team. James was in his age-36 season. Davis was healthy. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso were all excellent defenders holding down the perimeter.Flash forward to last year. Caldwell-Pope, Green and Caruso were replaced by a sea of over-the-hill veterans. Many of those players, like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, aren't even in the league right now because of their lack of mobility.This year, the Lakers have addre sed those problems. Simply removing a lot of their bad defenders solves much of the i sue. And they have also added good defenders to bolster the bench.Beverley's reputation is well-known. Toscano-Anderson is a solid defender with great positional versatility. Damian Jones gives them some bouncy athleticism as a starting or backup big man.If the Lakers are going to make some noise in what will almost certainly be a crowded Western Conference playoff picture, they will have to do their work on the defensive end.Better personnel, a new coaching voice to hopefully get Thurman Munson Jersey better effort and a new scheme are the ingredients that they're banking on.