Kobe Bryant drew the ire of Nick Young after the Warriors throttled the Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors ran the Los Angeles Lakers off the floor on Tuesday night in ORACLE Arena. Golden State jumped out to a 30-11 lead over the Lakers and, even if it doesn’t seem possible looking at that score, things only got worse for there for the Lakers. It was a disappointing, troubling effort from the Lakers, but nothing was quite as concerning as the performance of Kobe Bryant.
Just days after head coach Byron Scott made curious comments about Kobe having the privilege to take as many shots as he wants, the 37-year-old exercised that privilege with the worst shooting night of his 20-year career. Bryant took 14 shot attempts on Tuesday versus the Warriors—seven of them threes—and converted on only one to finish the night with a meager four points.
That’s a staggering level of inefficiency at that volume of shooting from Kobe. There’s no mistaking that the issues with ball-movement and high-volume shooting with the Lakers is costing the team even the chance at being competitive; those problems start with Bryant’s role in the offense right now and even his teammates are aware of this.
After the loss to Golden State, Nick Young was asked what the Lakers’ biggest problem was on Tuesday night. Though he didn’t mention Kobe by name, it was pretty clear who he was referencing in his unflattering response:
.@LAIreland asked Nick Young what LAL can do better, his response: “We can’t let one guy determine everything. We have to play as a team"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 25, 2015
Swaggy P went on:
Nick Young continued: "It can’t be like a video game & you’re playing w/ your favorite player, you know? We’ve all got to share the ball.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 25, 2015
Young, normally an incredibly light-hearted guy, making those types of comments speaks to a larger problem with the Lakers right now. That he recognizes that Kobe is the problem in the offense right now, but won’t call him out by name and can’t particularly do anything about it indicates that there is a tremendous lack of leadership with this team. Many people, because of his tenure, view Kobe as a leader, but Young’s comments seem to indicate that the team may not look at Bryant in the same light.
Next: 7 Things Byron Scott Is Doing Wrong With the Lakers
With players calling out teammates in Los Angeles after 34-point losses, it’s hard to imagine things getting any worse for the Lakers right now. Where things go after these comments from Young and in terms of Kobe’s role on the floor will be something to watch in the immediate future and even the rest of the season.