Kobe Rest: The Good and Bad

Kobe Bryant is seeing what everyone else is seeing. His shots are short, his elevation is missing. Easy buckets are no longer easy buckets-nothing is simple anymore. It’s not Kobe’s shooting percentage (37%) that is the rallying cry for rest. Michael Jordan, at age 38, saw his shooting percentage plummet 8 percentage points, from 49% to 41%. Kobe’s has fallen in a similar range, 8 percentage points off his career average.

Shots fall less efficiently as you age, that is a given. It is the damage to the human body on behalf of Kobe’s will that is the primary problem here. His mind has to take a back seat to his body.

Dec 2, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) during the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

There is a cost for anyone who averages 24 points a game at the age of 36. Getting beat up enough to be the fifth most frequent free throw shooter in the NBA wears you down. Consistently double teamed on every single offensive possession, does things to the body after 19 years. And none of it is good.

Sometimes, Kobe looks exhausted from one quarter to the next. Sometimes, he makes miraculous threes or fade-aways that have been the staple of his career. And sometimes, even after going on one of his patented scoring binges, he looks old.

Resting seems inevitable and it is not a punishment. Kobe’s biased view is one of letting the air out of the balloon. Fans have bought tickets months in advance to see him on the court and he cares enough not to want to disappoint them. But, from a purely basketball point of view, taking game(s) off is logical given the evidence of his season trajectory.

Kobe Bryant has played more minutes this year than 420 NBA players. He has taken more shots than every NBA player. He was guarded by Andre Roberson and he scored 9 points. He was guarded by Ben McClemore and he missed 22 shots. He is being aggressively double teamed night in and night out and for good reason. It wears him down so by the fourth quarter he has nothing left. Nothing.

Kobe is not just the Lakers leading scorer. He plays the hardest, has the highest basketball i.q. and is their most versatile player. He gets assists, rebounds, he gets to the line, he scores. He is the object of the other team’s scouting report. Giving him a night off- call it a Christmas present- against the best team in the Western Conference, makes all the sense in the world.

Even with Kobe, the Lakers are overmatched against the dynamic Warriors. At 6-7, Klay Thompson can rise and shoot over every Laker defender. The Lakers sorrowful point guard collective has a third of the talent and skill level of a Steph Curry. No one on the Lakers is as efficient as Harrison Barnes. Draymond Green has stepped in and made everyone forget about David Lee. Andre Iguodala is only averaging 7 points a game. But if he was on the Lakers, he would be their second best player. So the Warriors will overwhelm the Lakers just as the Lakers, a decade ago, overwhelmed the Warriors.

Resting Kobe: The Good

His sore body in recovery mode, Kobe can assess the kind of team he has. Obsessed with processes by his own admission, Kobe can submerge himself in watching his teammates play from a distance. It will give him a better idea of where they thrive. As it is, Kobe has pure trust in just four players: Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Ronnie Price and Wesley Johnson. Analyzing what the rest of his teammates are capable of will go far in helping him understand what they need from him besides taking 22 shots a game.

Players who normally don’t get the ball will have their chance to fill in the gaps. But, they won’t have their usual built in on-court excuse. When things get rough for the Lakers or when they are stressed, they use Kobe as their bail out. It takes the pressure off of them. They don’t have to be accountable or take the blame.

When Jeremy Lin dribbles the ball up the court, without Kobe’s presence, he is going to have to do something of consequence. He just can’t hide at the three point line and wait. Lin will have to create a plan to make his teammates better and then execute it. He has to facilitate. Lin loves to talk about ball movement even when he is a prime offender of dumping the ball into Kobe’s hands and getting out of his way. Without Kobe, let’s see what he really believes in.

Resting Kobe: The Bad

Who makes up the 24 points?

November 1, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 127-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

No one on the Lakers will be double teamed so wide open looks on the perimeter will disappear. The Lakers next two opponents (Warriors, Bulls) are top 10 defensive teams. They move without the ball, rotate and recover and contest shots. They smother the ball handler, which for Lin, creates another problem. He struggles when he is double teamed in the paint, his vision suddenly drops to zero. Often, his mind is made up when he drives the ball.

Lakers announcer, Stu Lantz, says of Lin, “he is predetermined.” And that’s when Lin creates turnovers.

The Lakers go to the free throw line more times than 25 other NBA teams. Kobe gets there 8 times a game, fifth highest in the league. Without him, Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer are the only other players with a physical enough game to get fouled. The ability to get easy points is going to be reduced dramatically.

Even after 19 years, teams are hyper conscious of where Kobe is every minute he is on the floor. That sort of attention, with his absence, will be gone. Can Nick Young rein in his emotions when he is the one defenses look to stop? Nick salivates at the idea of being the main guy. Except he translates that to mean taking as many shots as he wants. Nick Young’s career assist average is 1.

Resting Kobe: The Fans

Kobe’s fan loyalty is what makes him revered all over the world. Over his career, he has played through a variety of hardships, conscious of the fans who paid their money to see him perform. It’s even more pronounced now that fans accept he is near the end. They want to see a glimpse of him as much as he wants to honor his commitment to them. That said, fans are realists. They are aware of the situation as it relates to Kobe’s body drowning in fatigue.

All fans want is reciprocity. We will cheer for you, if you are committed to us. And if you play hard. Fans expect the Lakers to lose but to give effort and exhibit self pride. Fans want a top 5 pick in the draft. The consequences of Kobe taking games off- meaning lots of losses-is that fans will forgive him. Besides, it’s not a situation in which home court advantage in the playoffs is at stake.

So what happens when you take away a team’s toughest player and their hardest worker? Who takes his place? Jeremy Lin seems to think the Lakers will move the ball more without Kobe. But the truth of it is, for every two minutes the starters are on the floor, they get an assist. Nearly every three minutes the bench players are on the court, they record an assist.

Last week, after he broke Michael Jordan’s record, Kobe talked at length about being average, and to his dismay, how many people are comfortable with it. Being average requires nothing, nothing extra, nothing difficult, nothing stressful. Nothing is ventured so nothing is gained. But this is just as true. Without Kobe, it will finally be clear, once and for all, who on the Lakers really is average. And who is not.

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