All in all, it added up to a satisfying, albeit sloppy, win over the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, which the Jazz and their fans appreciate regardless of it happening in the postseason, regular season or preseason.
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However, Bryant made good on his promise from a day earlier, though, and did play for the first time since undergoing surgery for a torn rotator cuff in January.
Randle Returns almost a full year after breaking his leg in the 2014 regular-season opener, Randle hit the court once again and showed rust as well as potential.
Bryant told the media after the game that he feels strong and that he’s just working on getting his timing back. To his credit, Kobe had an excellent response saying, “Who said I ever learned?”
He also had three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers in about 21 minutes. The Lakers lacked consistency in doing last season amid both an injury-depleted and unproven roster. Kobe spent the entire 24-second shot clock to throw up a terrible shot attempt.
But Scott didn’t think fatigue played much of a role in their shooting.
The biggest story heading into Sunday night’s preseason contest between the Jazz and Lakers was how Brandon Bass would fit into Byron Scott’s offensive scheme. However, the team’s future undoubtedly lies in the hands of their young stars like D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle. I don’t feel exhausted at all.
“I thought it was a pretty typical first game for us as a team because we played solid defensively, which I expected us to do going in”, Hayward said. Guard Louis Williams led the Lakers with 16 points.
The score was ugly and almost irrelevant – 90-71, Utah – as the Lakers debuted their hodgepodge of players old and young at the University of Hawaii.
Scott declined to say how many minutes Bryant would play on Tuesday, let alone in the regular season, after averaging 34.5 minutes past year through only 35 games.
Kobe Bryant is finally back to playing in National Basketball Association games, but he didn’t get off to the start he was surely hoping to on Sunday afternoon.
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According to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, Russell didn’t wait for the first practice to start to try and absorb as much information from Bryant.
