Lakers 118, Kings 108

The Los Angeles Lakers may have beaten the Sacramento Kings 118 to 108 last night at Staples Center, but it wasn’t the type of win fans were expecting. The Lakers offense was their main reason for winning, as their defense was lacking, allowing the Kings 53.4% shooting. Kobe Bryant told the L.A. Times, “I’m not happy with this win. I felt like we didn’t particularly get better tonight. We could have played much more solid defensively.” This game was supposed to signal the beginning of an easy stretch for the Lakers, as it was the first of several matchups against teams with losing records (the Kings have the seventh-worst record in the NBA).

Bryant continued to express his disappointment to the Times, saying, “Offense comes easy to us. Defense is the part we’ve really got to focus on. Whether you have all the guys in double figures, whatever it is, it means nothing. Winning a championship, you have to defend and you go to rebound. We’ll do better next game.”  Sacramento coach Reggie Theus commented on the Lakers defense as well: “They have a couple of guys that aren’t great defensive players. Kobe is a  great defensive player. Trevor [Ariza] is a great defensive player. But they have guys that aren’t great defensive players.” The Lakers improved 11-1 and eight of their next nine games will be against team currently without winning records. Tuesday night the Lakers play against the New Jersey Nets (6-6) at Staples Center.

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