Last night the Lakers finally got their first victory of 2013 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in impressive fashion. The win ended a six-game losing streak for Los Angeles, and might be a small stepping stone for the team to build on moving forward. One of the reasons the team was successful against Cleveland (other than the fact that it was Cleveland) was the team’s defensive effort, which is something that has been sorely lacking for most of the season.
During team practice on Monday, Mike D’Antoni talked about the team defense against Cleveland, and how they need Kobe to be a more assertive defensive anchor as the season progresses. And while D’Antoni didn’t say that Kobe has been poor defensively this year (he has been), he didn’t really say he’s been good, either.
