Things have not gone according to plan for Kobe Bryant in his 20th and potentially final NBA Season. The team sits in last place in the Western Conference at 2-12 and Bryant is averaging only 15.2 points per game while shooting 31.1 percent from the field.
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Lakers coach Byron Scott played alongside Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the great L.A. “Showtime” teams of the 1980s, but he doesn’t see anything wrong with people trying to size up the one-title Warriors with those teams.
“I haven’t thought about reducing his role”, Scott said Wednesday at the team’s practice facility.
ESPN’s real plus-minus, which measures a player’s impact on team performance per 100 possessions, placed Bryant 379st in the National Basketball Association and 73rd for small forwards, the position that Bryant has largely played this season.
When Scott was hired in 2014, he said that he was going to instill a defensive mentality into his new Lakers team. And that’s what Scott is letting him do. “I don’t see that happening with the upcoming schedule we have”, said Walton, who is filling in for injured Golden State coach Steve Kerr.
Scott added, “As far as knowing him the way I know him and how long as he’s played in this league, I’m not anxious about him finding it”.
Honestly, I hope the Lakers and Kobe find a balance soon, because they have become just hard to watch. He said that they should learn to “play systematically” in order to keep them in ball games. So, I don’t think it’s a matter of him being exhausted or his legs being exhausted.
If this is the route that Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers want to continue to walk, that’s fine.
“In all honesty, it was tough, the shots that I take, pullup shots and jumpers and contested jumpers – those are tough shots to hit at 27”, Bryant said Tuesday. Starting forward Kobe Bryant was held to just four points on 14 shot attempts as the Lakers shot a meager 37.8 percent from the field.
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But the criticism doesn’t stop there, even rookie D’Angelo Russell, who is notoriously even-keel, is beginning to show frustration with Bryant. So, I’m sure it’s been done in the past, but I think our efficiency and obviously our record is kind of showing that it’s a very powerful lineup and a powerful way to play on the court.
