1. I Repeat, Kobe Needs His Rest
It is repeatedly baffling how asinine many of the game-to-game decisions of Byron Scott are for the Lakers. However, the most baffling as of late has concerned the workload of Kobe Bryant as he continues to inch closer and closer to his impending retirement at the end of the regular season.
With the Kobe farewell tour, the primary goal has been and should always be that he finished the tour at full health and able to give the fans as many opportunities as possible to see him one last time. If the team is going to focus on his retirement and even sacrifice player development to a certain degree because of that, it would make sense that they put emphasis on making sure it plays out to completion.
Yet Bryant played 31 minute against the Kings and was trotted out in the fourth quarter of a game that the Lakers had no chance at winning. This has been a continuing perplexity of the Lakers rotation as of late and something made even more puzzling by the fact that Kobe is also still nursing a sore Achilles.
Next: Midseason Grades for Each Lakers Player
This has to change and sometime soon. Everyone just wants Kobe to finish the season healthy and be able to deliver the nostalgia that this season is so clearly about. At this rate, that’s going to be much harder to accomplish unless something changes with how he’s used in the rotation.