Interestingly enough, Kobe is currently averaging his lowest amount of minutes per game since the 2010-2011 season (not including last year). He's only at 35 MPG right now. Some games he'll play longer than he should but I think he'll still end up around 36 MPG the entire year.
Wasn't he supposed to be working from the mid post? He did that in preseason but ever since that it's been iso from the three point line -.- ... That's also a big point with his shooting-%
We've been blown out in at least 5 games this season off the top of my head. How many minutes would he be at if we kept the game close for the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter? Most games he's logging 30 minutes before the 4th quarter starts. He might be at 35 mpg, but playing 2 full 12 minute quarters and coming back in the 2nd at the 7 minute mark is ridiculous. If every game was close this season he's at 38-40 minutes a game. Blowouts are keeping his minutes low and making the coach look like he's managing minutes, when in reality he's not.
I can live with Kobe playing 35-36 minutes per game, and I've no problem if he sometimes logs heavy minutes. I just don't want him playing regularly playing 38+ minutes.
No focus is made on his sweet spots ... The main difference is he can't create/get easy shots anymore ... that's why his FG% is so low ... 10 attempts a game from midrange and 6 from downtown = poor efficiency
Scott's overplaying him and he's taking too many shots. There's really no debate for either of those things. I hate seeing Kobe become a volume shooter. We all wanted to see Kobe taking better shots than this. If Kobe can't control that urge himself, then Byron needs to reel him in with a better and more solid offense. Those minutes HAVE to come down. This is not acceptable. On a back to back? Not right. Kobe looks gassed and goes too crazy when he is pushing it that hard. It's awful. Doesn't matter that he's capable of greatness even when exhausted. It shouldn't come to that. We are losing these games anyway, and not by small margins. Take him out.
This. We're not going to win now with Kobe killing himself and we're not going to win later if Kobe is hurt. At least if Kobe is safe later in the season there's a chance to win games then. We're not at full strength and we're already a weak team. PUNT THE DAMN BALL! It's like we're at 4th and 15 on our own 30 yard line and Byron is going for it. Just punt the ball! Sit Kobe down and let's buckle up for the young kids. We've got Xavier and Clarkson for a reason.
It's not only the minutes either as pointed out, it's also the usage while in the game. 33 official shots for 28 points? Come on. Run some other plays than 'give Kobe ball, Kobe make offense'.
A lot of people do considering he's 36 years old and everyone said he wouldn't ever be able to lead the NBA in scoring again.
Yeah there sure seem to be plenty of those people . Sure it's remakable, but it's also remarkably s***ty basketball that will ensure we don't win 30 games this year.
The efficiency needs to be better but I'm still amazed that Kobe so far still looks like "Kobe". I thought he would return close to where he was before the injury but it's still amazing to see. We take the good with the bad, but Kobe's determination to always come back in tip top shape is second to none. We and the rest of the NBA won't truly know what we had until He's gone. Kobe is the reason I started watching the nba and the reason I became a Laker fan, that's why for the first time I went out and bought league pass. I want to make sure to cherish these last few games even with the overall dismal performance of our team.
Hold on, we didnt almost beat LAC,PHX,MEM? 3 teams that made the playoffs in the WCF? Yeah,we have by my calculations 3 losses losing over double digits, but please, lets not act like weve got blown out every game and Kobe is going for it down 30. Its still very early in the season, relax on his minutes people because YOU dont truly know how HE feels, and how his minutes are going to be utilized as the season goes along.
How about you stop telling people to relax? I have my opinions based on my knowledge of the medical field and I will stick to them thank you. If you need a second opinion....
I honestly couldn't care less how he feels. Sit his butt down. There's no reason to go all out this early in the season. Ask Popovich how he feels about overplaying his older players, especially early in the season. These games don't matter that much. I'd rather see Kobe healthy at the All-Star break than beat Memphis in November.
"@DrRobertKlapper: KOBE. His minutes must be WATCHED! It is not his Left Achilles that is a concern but his Right Achilles!!" ^^ This quote that Doc mentioned has been on my mind as well. The tendency when you blow one Achilles out is that the second may follow according to a doctor friend of mine. Piling on the minutes for Kobe just isn't acceptable or responsible. Byron said he would limit his minutes and that's what he should be doing - not following what Brown and D' Antoni did which was dumb. You are tempting fate with this kind of nonsense. I do not want to see something like that happen.