UPDATE (November 16, 3:55 PM PST): ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne has confirmed that Kobe Bryant will play tonight against the Golden State Warriors despite flu-like symptoms:
After how sick Kobe was on Friday, there was some question if he'd play Sunday vs. Warriors. No more. He's playing tonight
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) November 16, 2014
After one of the worst performances of his career, a 1 for 14 shooting effort on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs, it was revealed that Kobe Bryant was suffering from some sort of illness on Friday night.
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Kobe didn’t practice on Saturday and was excused from the team’s shootaround on Sunday morning. Afterwards, head coach Byron Scott said the decision to play against the Golden State Warriors will likely be up to Kobe according to Mark Medina of the LA Daily News:
Byron will likely defer to Kobe on if he plays. But Scott said, "If I see him laboring, I will have to change my strategy as far as minutes"
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 16, 2014
Kobe Bryant has developed the reputation of being able to play through anything, so it would seem likely that he would at least try to give it a go. The Lakers offense struggles to generate points as it is, but playing without Bryant against a top-notch Warriors defense would be tough.
It’s also important to note that Scott seems prepared to cut down Kobe Bryant’s minutes if he is ‘laboring.’ Bryant’s minutes have been a major point of contention so far as Kobe is still playing relatively the same amount of minutes he has his whole career.
Even if he does play, Bryant still won’t be himself tonight so the Lakers will need some guys to step up. Jeremy Lin and Wesley Johnson will obviously have to take bigger roles, while players like Xavier Henry and Jordan Clarkson would be relied upon more if Bryant’s role is decreased.
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