On Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, Kobe Bryant suffered one of his worst performances of the season as he shot 8-for-30 from the field and committed nine turnovers. After the 108-101 loss in Sacramento, head coach Byron Scott mentioned that he will consider sitting the five-time champion for a game or two.
After practice on Monday, Scott said he is not going to sacrifice Kobe’s well-being for the Lakers to win games via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Byron Scott: "I'm not going to sacrifice [Kobe's] well being for W's" Scott says he may be making decisions in the future Kobe may not like
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 22, 2014
While it will be difficult to sit Kobe as the five-time champion acknowledged that he wants to play all 82 games for the fans, Scott responded with the following:
Scott re: Kobe's comment & if he feels the same way: "At home, it definitely impacts my decision. On the road is a totally different story."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 22, 2014
At the age of 36 and coming off two major season-ending injuries, Kobe is averaging 35.4 minutes per game which ranks 15th in the entire league. While the minutes are on par with his career average, Kobe has talked numerous times about how he doesn’t have his legs. He is also on pace for the worst shooting percentage of his career.
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After recently giving Kobe rest between quarters, Scott moved away from that rotation and played him the entire first and third quarters against the Kings. While the Lakers had a double-digit lead late in the third quarter, Kobe didn’t have enough lift on his shot and committed numerous turnovers down the stretch.
[divide]Lakers Byron Scott On Kobe Bryant’s Fatigue, Nick Young Ejection