Lakers Need to Step Up Defense

The Los Angeles Lakers may still be leading the NBA in scoring, but the team has slipped to fifth in defense after Sunday night’s win against the Sacramento Kings and fans will be watching to see how their defense fares against the New Jersey Jets tonight.Averaging 105.9 points per game, the Lakers (11-1) have given up 92.7. New Jersey (6-6) is currently sixth in the league in scoring (99.9) and 26th in points given up (103.2).

Lakers coach Phil Jackson focused on defense during yesterday’s practice, telling the Los Angeles Times, “The first sequence that comes in a situation like that is stopping penetration. You stop that and usually the ball stops. We didn’t do a relatively good job on defense, I thought, containing some of the better guards last week.” New Jersey’s guard duo Vince Carter and Devin Harris are in the top 10 in scoring in the NBA (with Carter averaging 24.2 points per game and Harris averaging 23.2) so they will really test the Lakers defense. Check out the game tonight at Staples Center to see what happens.
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