http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=8844744&city=losangeles

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make a push to get back in the postseason hunt, they'll have to improve their defense.

Therefore, the Lakers have turned to none other than Kobe Bryant to spearhead that defensive turnaround.

Bryant drew the primary defensive assignment against Kyrie Irving on Sunday and limited the Cleveland Cavaliers star guard to just 15 points in the Lakers' 113-93 victory.


In the wake of Bryant's outstanding effort against Irving, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has vowed to use the veteran guard in similar defensive situations.

"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."

While Bryant has the defensive credentials to perform in such a role -- he's made the NBA's All-Defensive first team nine times and the second team three times -- it's a surprising job for the 34-year-old to assume at this stage of his career.

Last season, Bryant was left off the NBA's All-Defensive first team for the first time since 2005, as Paul and Memphis' Tony Allen bumped him to the second team.

The duty of playing lockdown defense also will cause Bryant, the league's leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, to expend more energy that could be used on the offensive end.

However, the Lakers are ranked sixth in the league in offensive efficiency with a 106.3 points per 100 possessions average. D'Antoni figures Bryant's scoring can take a back seat if it means his dedication to defense can help the Lakers' porous defensive efficiency -- 103.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, which ranks 21st in the NBA.

"He disrupts the whole offense on the ball," said D'Antoni, who added that Bryant will draw either Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis when the Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. "He's done that a couple games, so we'll continue to milk that one."

Lakers guard Steve Nash said that a more difficult 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."

The challenge for D'Antoni in bestowing the new defensive responsibilities on Bryant is to try to limit his playing time so that the 17-year veteran doesn't get run down with 45 games remaining in the regular season.

Bryant is averaging 38.7 minutes per game this season, which ranks No. 1 among all guards in the NBA.

"That's what worries me and that's why I took a long time to put him there and that's why, even now, I still have some trepidation," D'Antoni said. "But he's taking the challenge. I told him his minutes got to go down -- they got to go down. He doesn't love that, but he's willing to do anything to make us win.

"He's always going to be focal point or the lightning rod of a lot of things here in Los Angeles. But I've only found a guy that wants to win and as a coach, I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Kobe getting up for a little personal battle here or there doesn't mean he's not gonna do the same 'roaming' conservation shit on D he's been doing for the past few years so he can have energy to get his points on the other end.

These cats can keep telling the press lies about their process while on the road to becoming the most disappointing team in the history of pro sports if they manage to miss the postseason.

When the dust clears, it won't matter.

Time to put up and shut the fuck up.

I'm sure it was a variation on the same nonsense I heard in audio form in my car on the way to work this morning & held the wheel steady while rolling my eyes.

RE: I'm prolly in quicker because I saved time by not reading

>These cats can keep telling the press lies about their process
>while on the road to becoming the most disappointing team in
>the history of pro sports if they manage to miss the
>postseason.

When asked a question, don't even reply.

might make the questions a bit easier to field too.

The specific question was brought up about Kobe on Kyrie and on CP3 late vs the Clipps when we came back in that game...and whether that was something we'd be seeing more often (Kobe denying the offense initiator).

Unless you want to do away with reporters asking specific questions and having them answers...I don't understand what the issue is. I know you're finding all this fun and go out of your way to shit on these guys..but this is silly lol.

like the plan going into the season was to have nash and meeks shut people down on the perimeter.

though it may have taken d'antoni this long to talk about defensive assignments in between instagram and practicing his pout.

I praaayy they make the playoffs lmao

If you believe anything they say, then you're just naive and we don't know what to tell you

Jordan Hill doesn't have a hip problem, I talked to my boy who is the Women's room janitor on the Club Level at Staples and he saw this usher tell the hot dog maker that she heard from Lawrence Tanter's assistant's assistant that Kobe told Jordan to get his punk ass off his team and to cut them bitch-ass dreads too

The "injury" bullshit is an angle to cover for the fact that peanut head doesn't want Jordan playing with him anymore because his name is "Jordan" and Kobe can't play with cats named Jordan because it's a distraction, that's why they've been losing all those games

He'll be traded in the off-season

I mean, that's what's really going on, who you gonna believe, me or your lyin' Laker ears?

_________________________________________________________________________________
The Other.

Now, what's that shit you were saying?

What I wrote IS how you post, though, so if it's "Unfunny" you might want to look in the mirror, bitter man

_________________________________________________________________________________
The Other.

And since I'm so terrible and awful and not lol, I suppose not reading anything I type is an option?

Nah, that'd be too much like common sense

__________________________________________________________________________________
The Other.

better to flub one here than in a writer's room with cash & credit on the line. I see you working & salute you for that. Get Money(c)C.Wallace

peace.

_________________________________________________________________________________
The Other.

the season just beginning (lol)

>while on the road to becoming the most disappointing team in
>the history of pro sports if they manage to miss the
>postseason.
>


i think in the preseason everyone on earth would have thought anything less than a deep playoff run would have been a disappointment
this team not making the playoffs is hard to comprehend even though I'm witnessing the shit happen

>this team not making the playoffs is hard to comprehend even
>though I'm witnessing the shit happen
>
it would certainly make them the biggest flop in US team sports history though. I'm not sure who you could even argue to be there with 'em.

There are still going to be plenty of plays where Kobe still has to play sound defensively off the ball...and that's been the problem the entire year.

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2013/1/11/3864814/kobe-bryant-is-ruining-kobe-bryants-historic-season

the Flakers are done and cooked. oh against a barely 2nd tier team or a 3rd tier team that will work, however against OKC where was he at?

Kobe and Crew are a Lottery team and the 2nd best team in there building and they aren't making no post season,
.

Mike Brown had things all mapped out on the Defense, however he wasn't what they wanted as a coach.

means the shit aint gon happen. kobe hasnt strapped up in years.

all time greats are suspect when they dont draw the toughest assignment in crunch time.

ie tony parker, nowhiteski, kobe

Now that he's not coaching my team...this is great

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTQ4J_ZQy5U

He did go on record about the quality of his teammates at media day. LOL

perhaps the mamba's greatest accomplishment.

lets not act crazy and forget that he was a great defender

He just never wants to anymore.

- Brandon Jennings on Kobe's D.

-anecdotal evidence quotes

Why would Jennings speak to things he hasn't gone through..like playoff d? He's obviously speaking to his own experiences.

Not sure why you care about refuting the idea that Kobe actually can play defense lol.

2) it was brought up as a part of a kobe-plays-excellent-defense-narrative that we know can be true in spurts (what jennings experienced) but he can't keep up all season or handle doing off the ball

3) and who cares what jennings thinks about defense when he's never played the bulls or boston or miami or any western team in the post season when they're trying to win a series, not get through a season?

Hopefully it means he starts making the game easier for himself on the offensive end by sharing the load and ball.

this is classic kobe, and probs to him for his per and to the lakers for their offensive pace, but he'd help the team more by playing efficient defense and taking slightly less responsibility offense.

hero ball and going mano-a-mano on opposite ends of the court may be what it takes to motivate him to play d, but if he could do it every game he already would be.

He has adjusted his game offensively in the past 2 games to balance his energy (much less dribbling) and again...hopefully it lasts. Mike D has also started pulling him earlier in the first quarter as well to manage his minutes a bit tighter.

he can't.