LOS ANGELES — Here’s one thing Byron Scott has accomplished.
He has left no question about it, and it’s good to know: Kobe Bryant no longer can do everything and be everything for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chalk it up to Bryant’s career mileage, sure, but consider this, too: Bryant never really had a chance to show if he still had it.
That might sound crazy considering Bryant’s league-high 35.8 usage percentage (Russell Westbrook's is higher, but he has barely played half of Oklahoma City’s games) and 37.2 shooting percentage.
Because of how his coach over-trusted and overused him, Bryant never got to ramp himself up for all to see what would’ve been his peak performance—and therefore the Lakers’ peak performance.
By building a team that was all about Bryant, asking him to do more than he was ready for, and casting him in the role of leading man based on past history instead of current reality, Scott guaranteed that Bryant would falter.
I mean, it's the point where the club knows the team not gonna reach the playoffs. this kid shown potential in training. tonight in the win against GS his shots werent falling but you could see he has game. and you could see in his eyes he is absorbing everything around him.
he is one of the players who will be here next year, so why not playing him more minutes. if Price and Elington are hot like tonight so it's ok, but i would like to see what this kid can do with CONFIDENCE.
I really feel like the Lakers front office is trying to hit a grand slam as far as rebuilding. This will make the rebuilding process drag out like it was in the early 90's.
The Mav's were in a similar situation when they tried to get Howard and D-will. They cleared the team except for Dirk and tried to hit a grand slam. Didn't work so they filled the team with a bunch of one year contracts ( sound familiar?) and waited for the next year.
The big difference is they started to aquire pieces, Monta, Chandler, Parsens, now Rondo. Rebuild in full effect. Doesn't mean they will get out of the second round, but It crazy to think how excited we would be with any of the dudes in their starting line up.
I mean, how sad is it we are looking at the up-side of Ed Davis as a positive?
The Lakers front office plan was to hire a coach that had history with the team, so when we sucked this year we wouldn't be screaming for his head. Then try and trade for someone with the nash expiring or...
He can't do what he did for 35 minutes a night, night in and night out any longer. After 19 years, more mileage than nearly anyone EVER, serious injuries, over a year away from the game, fighting and playing through injuries most could not, after revolutionary treatments have kept him on the hardwood, it's time to see things for what they are.
We're too dependent on him, and he's not realistic on his limitations. He has to look at his shooting percentage in the 30's, and KNOW he's hurting the team.
Time to set the ego aside, reduce the minutes, and change the role. Great, you can put up 24-25 a night. But at what price? He is no longer efficient.
Barkley said once this year that some days you have it when you get older, and some days you don't. Time for Kobe to recognize this, and not force everyone to put up with his 3-15 nights. In the old days, you knew if he had a night like that, he'd shoot jumpers all night, and come back with a fury. You pitied the...
