“He’s going to get to the Kobe that we know”, Scott said. “He understands. He loves the post”, Olajuwon said in 2013.
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At the age of 37-years-old, coming off a several number of injuries, playing all on the 82 games in the final season of his contract has never been in the cards for Kobe Bryant.
The Mavericks opened the game with a 15-0 blitz that included two 3-pointers each by Wesley Matthews and Nowitzki – the latter has made more 3-point shots than any 7-footer in league history (1,580). Point guard Deron Williams missed the game with a knee contusion and is considered questionable for this one. I wouldn’t say it’s not going to happen but he’s going to hit a point in this season that he’s going to have to realize that he has no other choice and his best days are behind him.
While Randle led the Lakers on Sunday with 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals, Bryant scored 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting in 31 minutes.
Yahoo! Sports reported that after clinching defeats against the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the recent defeat against Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers’ start this season has been “dispiriting”. “I can always get to those spots”.
“I thought yesterday, he did a much better job of getting to the basket”, Scott said about Bryant after Monday’s practice. “I want him to take a day off to get away”. “I’m the 200th-best player in the league right now”. They were 11 for 30 from behind the arc this time.
Bryant didn’t offer any specific answer for his shooting slump and so is his head coach Byron Scott. He was on the inactive list for the game after a brief bout with tendinitis in his right knee. When his efficiency with the ball is as low as it is, this is not great, and must surely be a core reason of why the Lakers are 0-3 down after 3 games of the season.
But that garbage fire of a season landed them the second overall pick in this year’s draft, and on top of drafting D’Angelo Russell, the team added a slew of veterans over the offseason, including Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert, and Lou Williams.
Bryant may have his moments over the course of the 2015-16 season, but he clearly isn’t anywhere close to the same player he once was.
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Stellar start: The Mavericks return for Tuesday’s home opener against Toronto after a 2-1 road trip.
