After struggling against lesser teams to stop a two-game slide, the Lakers looked like the defending Western Conference champs they are in winning handily against last year's and possibly this year's #2 seed, the New Orleans Hornets.
As perennial prime pistol Kobe Bryant noted, the Lakers match up especially well against the Hornets.
Team D was key as it will have to be to defeat upper echelon teams, and especially if they meet their born-again nemesis the Celtics in the Finals -- admittedly quite a was off. Those Celtics are cruisin' along at a monster 27-2, while the Lakers improved their West-leading record to 23-5.
The Lakers got on top early against the Hornets and stayed ahead, weathering a late surge to win handily.
Continued staunch D is all they need, particularly in the wake of a recent knee injury to Jordan Farmar, necessitating an 8-wk. surgery sidelining.
Mr. Consistency Pau Gasol was once again key catalyst behind Kobe.
Keywords: Jordan Farmar, Kobe Bryant, New Orleans Hornets., Pau Gasol, team defense
