For the Los Angeles Lakers to make a push to get back in the postseason hunt, coach Mike D'Antoni says they'll have to improve their defense, with Kobe Bryant leading the way.
Bryant took the primary defensive assignment against Kyrie Irving on Sunday and limited the Cleveland Cavaliers star to just 15 points in the Lakers' 113-93 victory.
"I think that really helped us," D'Antoni said. "It helped us against the Clippers with Chris Paul. (Bryant) wants to take the challenge, and it really helps us."
The duty of playing lockdown defense shouldn't be a difficult task for Bryant being that he's made the NBA's All-Defensive first team nine times and the second team three times throughout his 17 season career.
Though many questions on whether or not Bryant's increased role on defense will have an effect on his offense, the league's leading scorer at 29.8 points per game.
D'Antoni figures Bryant's scoring can take the back seat for a while if it ensures that the Lakers increase their defensive efficiency.
Veteran point guard Steve Nash believes that the greater the defensive responsibility, the better for Bryant and the Lakers. Nash said the more difficult the assignment actually makes Bryant a better defensive player than when he's left to guard someone who is not as big of a threat.
"Kobe's a guy that likes a challenge, so to give him a challenge I think sometimes is best for us," Nash said. "Sometimes when he maybe is guarding someone who isn't going to demand his interest, he can wane a little bit. But when we put him in a position where he's challenged, he can be phenomenal.
"I think it's almost two-fold. I think he was the key to the game (Sunday). He took Irving out of the game and at the same time, offensively he was terrific. So that's the type of player he's capable of being on a nightly basis, as we all know, and I think for our team, his leadership and the way he took that challenge was phenomenal."
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