Bryant has meant so much to the Lakers and seeing him leave would seem to tarnish the legacy that he has in Los Angeles.
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Russell, 19, is now averaging 9.2 points, 2.8 assists and 4.0 per game, went 3-of-9 against Detroit and many pundits and LA Lakers supporters doesn’t think he will develop playing in this team.
Andre Drummond had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who finished a six-game West Coast trip with their fourth consecutive loss.
Of course, while Bryant racking up nine assists was great, he still shot just 6-of-19 from the field, turned the ball over four times and played a whopping 36 minutes. On Monday night, the Suns point guard sent 32-year-old Lakers rookie Marcelo Huertas skating into no-man’s land before he stepped behind the three-point line to bury an easy jumper. “We’ve got to get this win here at home”. He barely made it out of Staples Center, his knees and back buzzing loudly at him as he stood in the locker room afterward. “The first 5 or 6 minutes, I was sitting there thinking I can’t believe this guy was sick the other day, back was hurting a couple days ago”. “I’m not looking forward to walking to the vehicle right now”.
Neither D’Angelo Russell (nine points) nor Julius Randle (eight points) had a major impact, but Jordan Clarkson had an efficient 17 points and Young added 13.
“We needed this one”, Clarkson said. “We really dug down defensively”. It may sound unfair for Bryant, but the fact that he should be relinquishing his take-charge guy persona has to start somewhere for the team to grow and deal with the fact that Kobe will soon be hanging up his sneakers.
Through it all, Kobe Bryant is experiencing the most fatiguing part of his career this season – and for obvious reasons.
“That’s the confidence you have to have in your teammates; either I’m going to get the open shot or I’m going to get you an open shot and we’ll make it”.
Before the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Lakers had already planned a first-half tribute to Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler, who was wearing a Lakers T-shirt when the trio helped subdue a gunman in August.
Bryant, who had right shoulder surgery last season, wore a purple long-sleeved shirt under his jersey in the first half. They received personalized Lakers jerseys and a lengthy standing ovation. The star guard averaged 16.9 points and 3.7 rebounds on 33.9 percent shooting from the field coming into Sunday’s contest, including a 23.2 percent clip from the arc.
Bryant, 37, returned after missing the previous two games with a sore back.
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The Lakers aren’t scheduled to play in the arena and the only other time they’d meet would be in the National Basketball Association Finals, and that’s unlikely. This is at least Hibbert’s second broken nose.
