The Los Angeles Lakers came away with their first win at home on Sunday night taking down the Detroit Pistons at the Staples Center in convincing fashion. The Lakers played solid team defense with perhaps their best performance this season on that end of the basketball floor.
Veteran center Roy Hibbert stepped up against arguably his toughest challenge yet in Andre Drummond, who is leading the league in rebounding and has established himself as one of the premiere big men in the new season.
With that being said, Hibbert’s defensive performance didn’t go unnoticed with Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy praising the two-time All-Star after the game:
Well, [Roy] Hibbert is a very good defender,” Van Gundy said after the loss to the Lakers. “I mean, he is one of the best rim protectors in the league, something that we need more of, Andre [Drummond] could learn from. Andre does a lot of great things but he is not protecting the rim at all. Hibbert is a great rim protector and I thought he did a good job of that today. That’s what Roy Hibbert does.”
Hibbert finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win over the Pistons. The 28-year-old center continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the paint defensively averaging 2.6 blocks per game this season. Hibbert is currently sixth in the league in that category behind Anthony Davis, Serge Ibaka, DeAndre Jordan, Rudy Gobert, and Hassan Whiteside.
If the Lakers can continue to play well on the defensive end of the floor, Los Angeles might be able to turn things around this season. Along with playing solid team defense in the win over Detroit, the Lakers were moving the ball well and found the best shots on the floor.
The Lakers will be on the road once again tonight with the team traveling to Arizona to face the Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles will try to get their first winning streak of the season going against the Suns without Kobe Bryant, who’ll be sitting out after playing a season-high 37 minutes last night.