Kobe Bryant will be ready to go from Day 1 for the Lakers this season, but they shouldn’t plan on him being there all season. Based on the Lakers’ roster, and the competitive nature of Bryant, he will likely demand too many minutes for his body to handle.
The Lakers should improve a bit from their disastrous campaign last season. Julius Randle is back, and Roy Hibbert is a capable body at center. Plus, they’ll have a full season from young point guard Jordan Clarkson. Still, none of them are shooting guards, and it’s hard to imagine Bryant taking extra rest so Nick “Swaggy P” Young can hop on the court and shoot the Lakers into double-digit deficits.
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Bryant is going to believe he is the Lakers’ best chance to win, and so far the team isn’t instituting any sort of minutes restriction on him.
Bryant has played in 41 games combined over the last two seasons. He tore his Achilles at the end of the 2012-13 season, fractured his knee after just six games the following year, and last year tore his rotator cuff.
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In 35 games last season Bryant played like an unrepentant chucker, averaging 22.3 points but shooting 37 percent on 20 shots a night, and sinking only 29 percent of his 3-point attempts. His assist totals also dropped from the previous two years.
Young replaced Bryant as the two-guard, and played 23.8 minutes per game. He scored 13.6 points, and shot 36 percent from the field. The numbers are not too dissimilar from what Bryant offers at 37, but don’t say that to the Black Mamba.
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