A few weeks ago, Byron Scott finally came out and admitted the extremely (emphasis on extremely) obvious: Kobe Bryant was playing way too many minutes earlier in the season, and those heavy minutes have clearly taken a serious toll on him.
But what is unacceptable is the fact that Scott did not have a competent plan coming into the season on how to manage Bryant’s minutes, and didn’t modify his “plan” until almost two months had passed.
Why was this unacceptable and, frankly, bordering on reckless?
Let me count the ways by stating some universally known facts. Bryant began this season at the ripe age of 36 years old. He was entering his 19th season in the league. He has had long playoff runs in many of the seasons he’s played and he is coming off two major injuries in each of the past two seasons.
But what really makes it unacceptable is the fact that from day one of preseason, EVERYONE was asking Scott about what Bryant’s minutes were going to be like this season. I mean, seriously, everyone. And they weren’t asking out of morbid curiosity. They were asking because everyone expected Bryant’s minutes to be limited for the obvious reasons outlined above, and were curious as to what Scott’s “plan” was going to be.
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Furthermore, as the season raged on, the ridiculous amount of minutes Bryant was playing, and the effect it had him, was also talked about. To put it differently, it was the worst kept secret that Bryant was playing way too many minutes.
In the 27 games before Scott finally saw the light that everyone else had seen a month ago, Bryant was averaging 35.4 minutes. This included 4 games in which he played 40 minutes or more. In other words, absolute insanity.
For perspective, let’s look at some of Bryant’s elder brethren. Dirk Nowitzki, also 36 years old, is averaging 29.6 minutes this season. Shawn Marion, another 36 year old, is averaging 22.7 minutes. Paul Pierce, at age 37, is averaging 26.4 minutes. Manu Ginobili, also 37, is averaging 25.2. Even 34 year old David West is only averaging 29.1 minutes.
Other than having their minutes better managed, what else distinguishes these players from Bryant? They’re all on teams contending for playoff spots. The Los Angeles Lakers, on the other hand, are not. So what was Scott’s excuse for playing Bryant those minutes?
Given how daunting the Western Conference is this year, it has been crystal clear that the Lakers playoff chances were about on par with a snowball’s chance in hell. So again, what exactly was being gained by playing Bryant all those minutes?
Presently, as a result of Scott’s overuse, Bryant is sitting out multiple games in a row now. So management’s $48.5 million dollar investment can’t even play regularly. (It must be noted Bryant was given his contract to keep fans interested).
And now Scott’s talking about shutting Bryant down if the Lakers aren’t in playoff contention in March (note to Scott: the Lakers won’t be). So much for the fans who, by the way, are paying top dollar to come to games to see him. (Lakers average ticket price this season is $102.25).
And to make matters worse, Bryant sitting out games to make up for the minutes played earlier in the season doesn’t seem to be helping to counteract the damage done, which apparently Scott believes is the only viable solution.
Indeed, after sitting out last Monday against the Trailblazers, Bryant returned the following Wednesday against the Clippers and shot 2-12. After sitting out two games last week, Bryant returned on Tuesday against the Heat and shot 3-19.
Furthermore, Bryant still played 31 minutes against the Heat, and over his past 6 games (post “revelation” by Scott), he has still averaged 31.33 minutes per game. It seems Scott fears death more than playing Bryant less than 30 minutes a game.
But who knows, maybe Bryant sitting out for the rest of the season to rest his damaged body will help the Lakers keep their draft pick this year, i.e. help them “tank tank and tank tank tank” (for reference, see this clip at the 2:13 mark). It may also preserve Bryant for next season where the Lakers will likely be much more competitive (assuming that, you know, they actually spend money on quality free agents this offseason).
Just don’t tell me this was all part of Scott’s plan this season, as it is pretty clear he didn’t have a competent one.