How long will it take for Lakers to thrive on defense?

"Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors during a game on Sunday, October 12, 2014 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Ca. (Micah Escamilla/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)"

“Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors during a game on Sunday, October 12, 2014 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Ca. (Micah Escamilla/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)”

ONTARIO — Something chilling has emerged for the Lakers. It goes beyond the flurry of injuries they have already experienced during training camp. Or the cool temperatures the Lakers must have felt during their preseason game on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors at Citizens Business Bank Arena, which also hosts minor league hockey games.

For a team that has put heavy emphasis in training camp on bolstering its defense, the Lakers haven’t seen immediate returns on their investment. The Lakers’ 116-75 preseason loss on Sunday to the Golden State Warriors illustrated just that. The Warriors opened with a 20-4 lead. Golden State converted on two four-point plays. After making three consecutive three-pointers, Stephen Curry threw an easy lob to Harrison Barnes.

This happened a mere four days after the Lakers hosted the Warriors at Staples Center, where Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 45 points.

So much for the Lakers spending most of Saturday’s film session critiquing their defensive pick-and-roll coverages.

“There were a lot of guys we were going at in our session, mostly our bigs because they did a poor job of recovering,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said before the game. “Our pick and roll coverage was mostly soft. That’s not how we want to play. I’m eager to see how they respond.”

Not well.

The Lakers conceded 32 points in transition. They were outrebounded, 44-37. Thompson and Curry again combined for 41 points. The only time it appeared the Lakers could stop the Warriors happened when veteran point guard Ronnie Price inexplicably threw his shoe at Andre Iguodala to stop a fast-break, a sequence in the 8:50 mark in the second quarter that drew a technical foul.

“Honestly man, you need to consider the opposition,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. “We’re not as bad as we look against this Golden State team. They have some exceptional offensive players.”

OK, fair enough. The Lakers held Denver in their preseason opener to 95 points. The Lakers have injuries to Nick Young (right thumb), Jeremy Lin (left ankle), Jordan Clarkson (left calf muscle), Ryan Kelly (left hamstring) and Xavier Henry (back spasms). Steve Nash also played only the first quarter of the Lakers’ loss to Golden State, Scott reporting Nash telling him he “didn’t quite feel right” presumably with his back and hamstrings.

The Lakers also have a pretty new cast of players that have already appeared in three preseason games and gone through two weeks of practices.

So how long does Scott envision this process taking?

“It’s going to take a while,” Scott said. “We understand that. As a coach, you want it to come a whole lot faster. I’m also a realist and understand this will take us a while to gel as a basketball team. We have to get healthy as well.”

Still, it remains to be seen how much that will make a significant difference. None of the Lakers’ injured players are known as elite defensive players. Even if the Lakers are not currently flush with talent, Scott noted the Warriors “got everything they wanted” off dribble penetration either through attacking the basket or draining outside shots.

Plenty of times the Lakers mirrored last year’s team that ranked 29th out of 30 NBA teams in points allowed (109.2), 24th in defensive field goal percentage (46.8) and 30th in fast-break points allowed (16.7). Unlike last year, the Lakers do not have Mike D’Antoni to blame for such lapses.

“You can have all the things in front of us mapped out. But if we don’t execute, they don’t mean anything,” Price said. “Coaches spend all their time preparing us for games and put a lot of work in and effort into scouting. We have the right game plan going in. but as players individually and collectively, we need to execute those game plans.”

So far, those game plans have involved a heavy dose of conditioning and film work.

After initially praising Scott’s conditioning drills, Bryant said the team has “heavy legs” partly stemmed from demanding practices that included a 90-minute session on Sunday prior to the team’s preseason game. Still, Scott maintained “guys aren’t running out of gas” and that his focus in upcoming practices will involve “defense, defense, defense.”

With more time and perhaps meeting less talented opponents, the Lakers believe they will eventually field a defensive team that actually stops teams from scoring instead of allowing them to put on a highlight reel.

“I don’t worry about how long it takes,” Lakers forward Carlos Boozer said. “I just know we’re going to get there. I know we’re going to get there. I have faith in our system and believe in my teammates. We’re working. I know we’re working our butts off in practice. I know we’ll get there.”


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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com