The Los Angeles Lakers grabbed two nice wins in the past couple days and are now looking for more as the news and rumors ramp up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Bryant Looking to Facilitate
Kobe Bryant’s impressive distribution against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons helped the Lakers get the two wins, and Kobe said he’s open to similar games.
But he also noted that his teammates need to make shots, something they have not many other games.
“The difference is, when they make them, I don’t have to force the offense. When you miss them, and you go down 12, 15 points, then I’ve got to try and force the issue a little bit and keep us in the ball game,” he told ESPN.
“But when they hit shots like that, it makes my job easier.”
Bryant had his first triple-double since 2013 against the Raptors, finishing with 31 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.
“He got a lot of people going and got them in a rhythm different from the way they’ve been playing,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.
Teammates complimented Kobe as well.
“Kobe’s playmaking gave us a chance,” said Lakers forward Carlos Boozer, who scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. “They put two people on him, and it gave us a chance to eat early. We were aggressive with the ball, and it kept going throughout the game.”
The Raptors game came after Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley noted that the Lakers were difficult to guard when Kobe was facilitating for them in the first half of the game against the Grizzlies. But the offense reverted to a whole lot of Kobe in the second half, and the Lakers lost.
Kobe, meanwhile, said that he spends a lot of time taking care of his body to be able to play more than 40 minutes on some nights at age 36.
“It’s 24-7 in terms of maintenance & therapy & taking care of my body,” he told reporter Mike Trudell. “Dude: when I say it’s around the clock, it’s around the clock.”
Coach Byron Scott said Kobe “looked exhausted” on Monday’s flight, so he gave him off on shootaround on Tuesday before the Pistons game. But Kobe played, garnering 12 points, 13 assists, and 5 rebounds as he helped the Lakers improve to 4-0 against Eastern Conference teams this season.
Bryant looked flustered for most of the first half, as his passes weren’t connecting, his shots weren’t falling, and his Lakers were locked in a back-and-forth struggle.
But vintage Bryant showed up, albeit briefly, in the third quarter to hoist Los Angeles out of its rut for a 106-96 victory Tuesday night.
Bryant scored all 12 of his points in a row. The Pistons held the NBA’s leading scorer without a point in the first half, but still lost their ninth in a row.
“I was tired,” Bryant said. “The first half, I missed a couple of easy ones. The rhythm of the game really wasn’t there.”
“Just paced it out a little bit and came out in the second half and let the game come to me. I made a couple shots and stepped on the gas,” he said.
Bryant had been averaging almost 27 points per game. His burst helped the Lakers take an 81-65 lead heading into the final period and eventually win 106-96.
“It was a critical juncture where we could stretch the game out, and we were able to do that,” he said.
Scott Discusses Lin
