Western Notes: Lakers, Vassell, Thompson, Malone

The Lakers are near the bottom of the league in defensive field goal percentage, with opponents shooting 48.5% against them. They know they need to improve their defense and rebounding to be a true contender. The Lakers face Phoenix in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday.

“Our personnel is not, you know, I think if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s not the best defensively,” Austin Reaves told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “Of course we have AD (Anthony Davis). It covers a lot. But we have to be physical on the edge and especially when we box out. We have to be a better defensive rebounding team and also transition.”

We have more news from the Western Conference:

• The Spurs is officially listed Devin Vassell (bone bruise in left knee) as out Tuesday at Utah, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). That’s not a cause for concern, as he’s expected to return Wednesday against the Lakers. Vassell has not played since November 15.
• Mavericks guard Klay Thompson missed his first game of the season on Monday because of left foot plantar fascia, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. Thompson is averaging 13.2 points per game in 17 starts for Dallas this season. Without Thompson and Luka DoncicThe Mavs still defeated Atlanta, 129-119.
• Michael Malone passed Doug Moe as the winning coach in Nuggets history with his 433rd regular season win on Saturday as his team defeated the Lakers. Malone reached the win total in 56 fewer games than Moe, according to Denver Post’s Bennett Durando.