2010 NBA Playoffs: The Los Angeles Lakers Have Survived and Thrived on Defense

Before the NBA postseason began, there were many doubts voiced concerning the possibility of a repeat for the Los Angeles Lakers, and most felt the defending champions would be lucky to escape the first round.

Well, the Lakers did silence the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of their first round playoff series, and after two wins over the Utah Jazz in the semifinals, perception may slowly be shifting about the strength of the Lakers.

The Lakers have been plagued with injuries and questions about their consistency, but it's hard to debate the consistency of the Lakers' defense, because so far it has been the NBA's best this postseason.

The Lakers are holding opponents to a playoff-low 39 percent shooting from the field, and they are also the playoffs' leading rebounding team at 45 per game, a figure which reflects on the interior dominance of the team's terrific post trio.

Pau Gasol has been the leader of the pack, and his numbers are astounding. In the last three games Gasol has recorded 45 rebounds, 32 which were defensive, and he has added nine blocks.

In the same period of time, Lamar Odom has contributed 34 rebounds, 25 of them defensive, and he has eight blocks of his own. Then throw in Andrew Bynum and his 28 rebounds, 20 of them defensive, and you have a recipe for post dominance.

That's a total of 107 rebounds and 19 blocks over a span of three games by just three players, and the fact that 75 of the rebounds were defensive means opponents got limited opportunities for second shots.

If the Lakers' superior defense begins in the paint, then it certainly ends in the capable hands of Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest on the perimeter, as the Lakers are holding the opposition to 31 percent from long range.

The only team with a better defensive percentage from the three point line is the Orlando Magic, and it's no surprise they are the number two defensive team in the postseason, and the only one yet to suffer a loss.

It's a good thing the Lakers have been so dominant on defense, because the offense has yet to find a sustained rhythm, although their dominance in the paint against Utah has been admirable.

But it's an encouraging sign for Lakers fans that the defense is playing at such a high level because the offensive ability of the team is proven, and the last thing anyone would want to worry about in the postseason is defense.

Los Angeles does have issues on the defensive end, and they mainly derive from the inability of the Lakers' point guards to prevent penetration from quicker, stronger point guards.

Artest has alleviated some of this because his tendency to guard the opposition's best scorer allows Bryant to slide over and offer help or even switch assignments as he did in the Oklahoma City series.

Utah's Deron Williams poses a different challenge in this regard because he is not only quicker and stronger than the Lakers' point guards, but he's significantly bigger too.

Bryant and Artest have both had their turns at guarding Williams, and so far they have been able to prevent him from taking command of the game in the same way he did against the Denver Nuggets.

I know it's cliche, but defense is the most important aspect involved with winning a NBA championship, and the evidence is found in the last three champions who were all among the top defensive teams in the league.

The San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers of 2009 all were led by their defensive units, and the three of them suffered only three losses between them in their Finals series.

Of course this goes against the grain for detractors of the Lakers, whose main point of contention questions the physical toughness of the team, but for those who love statistics, the numbers don't lie.

The Lakers are by no means assured of a return trip to the Finals, but it is increasingly harder to argue they are not real contenders to the throne, and defensively speaking, the Lakers' chances to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy are just as good as anyone's.