After his successful opener in the first preseason game this year, Kobe Bryant won’t up his minutes for the second game.
Byron Scott sticking to 20 mins apiece for Steve Nash & Kobe Bryant. Lakers will take on the Warriors at Staples tmw at 7:30pm. #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 8, 2014
This is the right move for the Lakers and Bryant despite the great performance against the Nuggets. For most players, as the preseason goes on, the minutes will increase with the player reaching peak minutes as the regular season starts.
For Bryant, though, the situation will be handled differently. Aside from coming back from injury, he’s 36 years old and has tons of minutes on his body.
In the best case scenario, Bryant plays roughly 25 minutes a night, so he’s already near optimal minutes. Bryant needs to be used efficiently by Byron Scott in order for him to last 82 games or anything close to it.
If Bryant can’t match his production from the last outing though, the Lakers will be thrilled. In just under 20 minutes, Bryant looked like the Bryant of old, hitting fadeaways, finding teammates, and controlling the game. It was a comeback few expected, and it will be fantastic if he can match that production and efficiency night in and night out.
What do you think? Should Bryant play 20 minutes a night? 25? Should Scott be increasing his minute on a nightly basis? Decreasing? Let us know in the comments below!