After a difficult five-game road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home to face the Detroit Pistons. While the game was close throughout, Kobe Bryant’s near triple-double led the Lakers to their second win of the season, 97-85.
With Andre Drummond leading the league in rebounding and quickly establishing himself as one of the premiere big men, Roy Hibbert had his most difficult challenge.
While Drummond reached his season averages, Hibbert played well and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. However, he suffered a broken nose in the second half, but will play against the Phoenix Suns in the second game of the back-to-back via Ryan Ward of Examiner.com:
Roy Hibbert said he will play tomorrow night against the Phoenix Suns despite the broken nose
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) November 16, 2015
While the Lakers have struggled through the first 10 games of the season, Hibbert has had at least two blocks in every game this season. With Hibbert focusing on becoming Andrew Bogut for the Lakers, he is also shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line, which is the best among centers.
With the Lakers traveling to face the Suns, Hibbert will have another tough challenge keeping Tyson Chandler off the boards. However, the Lakers will be without Kobe, who will rest after playing a season-high 36 minutes.