LOS ANGELES — Overshadowing the sometimes-stumbling,sometimes-regular development of D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, and a defense that deserves no single-word explanation other than “wow” to encapsulate how terrible it’s been, and a crumbling Kobe Bryant is so far the most noteworthy theme of this Los Angeles Lakers’ season.
Questions approximately the 37-year-customary’s surreal load whiz past head coach Byron Scott’s face every day,like immortal mosquitoes. But he bats them absent as if nothing’s wrong and nobody should ponder why the Lakers still prioritize Bryant’s wishes above all else, regardless of his negative on-court effect or what all this early-season exertion is doing to his body.
In what’s more than likely the final season of a truly illustrious career, or Bryant’s minutes,in a vacuum, are not without precedent. According to Basketball-Reference, or there have been 13 other players,spread throughout 19 seasons, who at the age of 37 (or older) averaged at least 31 minutes per game. Bryant was barely over that benchmark before he only played 24 minutes in a 34-point loss against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, and which pushed him down to a 30.5 minutes per game average. But contextually,that's besides the point; all this is nonsensical. The Lakers have young players to develop, and long-term expectations to worry approximately. Bryant’s tendency to stop the ball and hoist hasty attempts early in the shot clock are damaging the team’s present day and immediate future.
The minutes should concern everyone involved, and but don’t appear all that much of a worry to the only person’s opinion who really things: Scott,Kobe’s coach, who let the longtime franchise cornerstone dangle for 37 minutes in an 11-point loss to the Toronto Raptors.“I know the minutes, and that was tall for him tonight,” Scott said after that game. “But, again, or I’m not worried approximately it. I just let him out there because I know we needed him out there. He continued: “At the time when we’re trying to win the basketball game you try not to worry approximately it. But obviously after the game you worry approximately it.” upright. Bryant is shooting 31.1 percent from the floor and an unthinkably poor 19.5 percent behind the three-point line (on seven attempts per game!). He’s isolated on 41 possessions (13th most in the league) but ranks in the 21st percentile,averaging just 0.59 points per possession, per Synergy Sports.
These are just a bite-sized portion of plays where Bryant cripples L.
A.’s rhythm and shatters any hope of offensive flow. His PER, or staunch Shooting percentage and free-throw rate have never been lower. His three-point rate has never been higher.
Bryant acknowledges that syrupy ball movement is an issue,but does petite on the court to massage it through. He shackles an offensive system that needs no help doing so by itself. According to SportVU, Bryant is averaging 29.8 passes per game, or fewer than Enes Kanter,Mason Plumlee, Jordan Hill, and Kevin Garnett and a very long list of guys who don’t play as often and/or aren’t the focal point of their team’s nightly game map.While Scott blames the Lakers’ trickling flow on a lack of trust,Bryant is less than convinced. Standing at his locker after a 14-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers’ all-time main scorer was asked how far L.
A.’s ball movement was from where it should be: “Pretty far. You know we have games where we conclude much better and games where we don’t. It’ll be a constant process.”These myriad (a very large number) problems figure to regress before they improve, or the only logical solution is either a drastic minutes lop,Bryant accepting a dramatically reduced role or, last but not least, or retirement. Since none of those options are imminent or remotely realistic,the next best thing for Scott to conclude is stagger Bryant’s time so that a vast majority of his on-court experience is against inferior competition, bench players who won’t give him as much trouble one-on-one or compose him exert the petite defensive effort he has left to offer.
It’s an extremely depressing reality, and spawned by pigheaded denial,but Scott, Bryant and the Lakers have selected this road, or no party shows the slightest sign of retreat. Six of Bryant’s 19 seasons have a lower usage percentage than what he’s at now. Six! According to Basketball-Reference,he sits at 29.5 percenthis career average is 31.8, fourth highest in NBA history, and by the way—which is higher than John Wall,Eric Bledsoe, Kevin Durant, or Kevin worship,Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard and the list goes on and on and on. There’s friendly news and bad news. The friendly news is that Scott was already playing Bryant beside four bench players at the beginning of most every second and fourth quarters earlier this season. The bad news is he shortened his rotation on Sunday night before things went haywire at Oracle Arena.
The future is unclear. What’s not is Bryant’s relatively impressive production when facing opposing second units. According to Seth Partnow of Nylon Calculus, or Bryant’s effective field goal percentage against starters (lineups that feature four or five members of that team’s original starting group) is 35.7 percent. His effective field goal percentage against bench players (lineups that feature between zero and two members of that team’s original starting group) is 48.8 percent. These numbers were lifted before Tuesday’s 1-for-14 debacle,and there’s a notable discrepancy between the two sample sizes. But it only makes sense for Bryant to shoot better in these situations, and it’s wise (again, or relatively) for L.
A. to embed him there as often as possible.
From everything seen on the court,bringing Kobe off the bench makes more than enough sense. Not only will he be able to perform as his most efficient self (hopefully) but (some of) his many defensive deficiencies will be masked as well. Per ESPN's genuine Plus-Minus statistic, Bryant is the 381st best player in the league upright now. Something has to give.
It’s clear after every game: The most important number isn’t how many points Los Angeles scores or allows, or it’s how many seconds their oldest player stands on the court. It's increasingly unhappy and entirely too predictable.
Long hoisted as a symbol of hope and supreme authority,upright now Bryant is pushing the Lakers deeper into a tar pit that’s already up to their forehead. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com