If that’s the criteria, why shouldn’t he get to play in an exhibition that rarely features competitive basketball?
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The San Antonio Spurs did not play like themselves on Wednesday in their road loss to the Toronto Raptors. Forward Kawhi Leonard added 16.
Los Angeles’ Russell scored 13 points in the fourth quarter alone, including a runner in the lane with two seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 114. Guard Lou Williams scored 19. They will have a day off before consecutive road games against Denver (Friday) and Phoenix (Saturday).
Guard Andrew Wiggins missed a turnaround jumper at the horn on the other end but scored four of his team’s nine points in overtime as Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak and finished a four-game homestand 1-3.
Lakers coach Byron Scott was a member of the famous Magic Johnson-led showtime Lakers in the ’80s, and his last season was Bryant’s first. “He has a lot of confidence right now”.
Despite his success in San Antonio, Bryant is extremely popular in the city and a large contingent of fans came to see what could be his penultimate appearance at the AT&T Center.
Bryant hit his first three shots, including a 3-pointer, but hit just two of his next 10 shots.
When Bryant was pressed about if he was he upset about not being able to play in the fourth quarter of the Houston game despite having his game going, he simply smiled and said “I’m not anxious about that”.
Scott’s gig is no easy ride this season as he tries to develop a young roster led by Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell while managing the workload and legacy of Kobe Bryant during his 20th and final season. “Since the first championship, I’ve been a Lakers’ fan ever since, man. A Kobe fan for life”. “But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye”. Jonathon Simmons had yet another promising outing with a couple of highlight plays off the bench, but the Lakers rallied in the last minutes to cut the deficit to single digits.
The Lakers used to play here, y’know.
Then the Spurs reached for something extra that the Lakers could not match.
“He said, ‘Coach, let ’em go”. “I thought our guys got a little frazzled”. But that’s a great team.
The question, though, is whether Russell’s three-game run has happened because Jordan Clarkson has been sidelined by a sprained right ankle.
“Dr. Buss was so generous that he would buy three seats for two guys so they could sit in the aisle and window with nobody in the middle”, Vitti said.
Actually, scratch that, what Kobe Bryant and Nick Young did on Wednesday night was downright shocking – Bryant voluntarily removed himself from the game to give the team’s younger, possibly future franchise players a shot and Young expanded his repertoire to play actually decent defense.
For Bryant’s longtime teammate Metta World Peace, who’s the only player on the roster to win a title with him, the positive reception Kobe is constantly receiving is anything but a surprise.
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The huge support Bryant received from the fans in Washington caught him a bit off guard. “There aren’t too many people who understand how you bring it night after night for all those years at that level”, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
