“He’s a rookie, he’s young, inexperienced, so most of these guys are going to go at him”. This year Bryant is putting the blame on himself, saying “the guys are getting me the ball. Tried to rebound, and then we would just go”. John Jenkins scored 17 points in 8 of 16 field goal while Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points.
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“He’s frustrated”, Scott said when hearing Bryant had cursed his own play in front of cameras on Sunday night. “I think at times we relax, and you can’t do that no matter what”.
Three games, three solid performances from a player considered to be an afterthought from the Tyson Chandler trade last summer. Kobe’s three pointers this year have been mediocre and the shooting guard definitely needs to improve his mid range shooting if he wants to persist with shooting for the three pointers.
Bryant may not be playing at his best but it has only been three games in the season. Point guard Rajon Rondo showed off his playmaking with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, eight assists and a handful of up-and-under layups. Randle is the first player to put up such numbers since Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love did so last December 15, and he is one of only six players to accomplish the feat in the past five seasons. He’s strong, he’s athletic, he can finish. This was supposedly the year where the youth would come out blazing in the midst of Kobe Bryant’s career-close.
“I know how hard he plays and on the tape I saw him laboring”, Scott said.
Now, though, Bryant said he’s a changed man.
Why we haven’t seen the playoff kind of Hibbert that he was when he played for the Indiana Pacers is something I have yet to figure out. “I know he’s not happy with it. He’s disappointed with the way he’s shooting the ball”. “I’d rather not have to do that”, Bryant said after that blowout loss, “but you can’t just sit back and watch crime happen in front of you”.
With Rondo running the offense and benefiting from Lakers turnovers, the Kings had a 24-point lead at halftime and continued to pad the lead in the third quarter as they evened their record to 1-1.
The Lakers have taken a lot of 3-point attempts in the first two games.
Despite the re-debut of Julius Randle, the return of Kobe Bryant, the debut of D’Angelo Russell and the continuation of Jordan Clarkson’s dominance the Lakers have yet to get the job done.
As the Lakers have gotten off to an abysmal 0-2 start, Kobe hasn’t been much of a bright spot. “He gave a long speech, and I think he had a few drinks before his speech”, Nowitzki joked…. Youth and inexperience were among the factors contributing to the Lakers’ downfall in their opening two games.
The Kings’ starting five clearly outplayed the Lakers, outscoring them 85-61.
As the first of what now seems likely to be many blowouts mounted on Friday, Byron Scott looked down the slumped shoulders of his bench and considered the options available to him.
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He has to do it, even though the results may be as painful as the loss on Friday, where Los Angeles allowed a mind-boggling 80 points in the paint. The Lakers will be hosting the Nuggets on Tuesday, according to ESPN.
