Earlier this off-season, Kobe Bryant spoke about having to adjust his game. As he has gotten older, he understands his athleticism is not what it used to be and he will have to account for that. Nonetheless, he believes he will be more efficient this season.
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Another person who believes that is Lakers assistant coach, Paul Pressey, who spoke to Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell about Kobe facilitating a little more this year:
But to see him, this year, facilitate a little more and helping getting these young guys involved and showing them how to play, because he can do it with the ball or without the ball […] that’s the beauty of having him is the fact that he can cause problems either way.
Bryant’s ability to hurt teams on and off the ball will surely help the Lakers, but as Pressey also pointed out, the rest of the young players have to get used to playing with Kobe:
The biggest thing for us is to get our young guys to adjust to the way he is accustomed to playing at such a high level, so these young players have to do a lot of work to get to that point where they can be in the right place at the right time when he’s making moves. And when he’s making moves off the ball, (knowing) where is he at all times.
Obviously, Bryant will be the focal point of the team on offense, but the Lakers do have a few playmakers capable of creating for themselves and others.
As the leader, it will be on Kobe to lift these players to a higher level and if this off-season is any indication, he will be up to the challenge.
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