Los Angeles Lakers: Another Christmas Loss Without Kobe Bryant
By Shane Young
Last Christmas, the Los Angeles Lakers were unlucky in December. They lost Kobe Bryant mid-way through the month to a fractured knee, which ruined his chances at suiting up for their Dec. 25 game vs. Miami.
Bryant missed the alluring matchup with LeBron James at Staples Center, and Mike D’Antoni’s Lakers had to suffer through another loss to Miami. More importantly for Christmas, fans had to suffer from the absence of a superstar.
Exactly one year later, the results were replicated. Only this time, it was in the house that Michael Jordan built, the United Center. How perfect could this have been for Bryant, to explode with a rampage where his idol (Jordan) has his own statue right outside the building? Knowing he only had two Christmas events left, the thought of lighting up such a profound city was music to his ears.
Just an hour before tip-off, Byron Scott defaced the Lakers, and NBA Christmas. He told reporters the news of Bryant having to sit out vs. Chicago for resting purposes.
It automatically dented the Lakers’ national image, since the casual fan out there (who typically watches Christmas games) would only know one consistent thing about the franchise: No. 24 with a relatively bald head. The rest has changed year after year.
Bryant would miss his second straight Christmas Day game, something abnormal for the 16-time All-Star. He’s appeared in the most Christmas games of anyone in NBA history, playing in 15 of them throughout his lengthy career.
Sure, that’s a lot. But, he’s also came ready to perform for the holidays. To him, it’s not just “any other game.” He’s averaged 25.5 points in his Christmas matchups, giving him 383 total points on the greatest holiday of the year. It’s the most of anyone in history on Christmas, and it’s also a lot of presents he’s been able to give Los Angeles since 1996.
However, after telling Scott that he’d been feeling sore all around his body Thursday morning, coach believed it was necessary that Bryant sat in a red suit on the bench. So, Bryant wasn’t sporting those hideous, third-grade style Christmas jerseys the NBA has forcefully made players wear.
“It’s extremely difficult, especially playing here, playing on Christmas Day and playing in this city,” Bryant said. “I love playing here. The fans have always been great. There’s always a lot of energy in the building. At the same time, I’ve just got to try to be smart. It’s really going against my nature, but I’ve got to be smart about this.”
The team had to continue on without Bryant. Confident they could actually pull out another win without him in the lineup, they played aggressively after the tip to make things interesting.
Nonetheless, for the fifth time in six years, Los Angeles fell to defeat on Christmas. Their only win in the last six Christmases was actually during the year of the most disappointing and underachieving Lakers roster … the Dwight Howard saga.
Hosting Miami, loss. Hosting Chicago, loss. Hosting Cleveland, loss. Hosting Knicks, win. That has to sting, and be the cherry on top for New York fans. The only team these Lakers have defeated on Christmas since 2009 is you guys, who have now become the example of how to run a team into the soil.
Despite their collective efforts — five Lakers finished in double digits — they didn’t have enough offensive power to fight through Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls on Thursday.
The shocking part of the Lakers’ loss was that they actually appeared to be a cohesive offense for majority of the 48 minutes. Without Bryant on the floor, drawing double teams and making errant passes, they only committed four turnovers for the entire game. You can say that Byron Scott was very grinch-like, not wanting his team to give Chicago a lot of Christmas presents by coughing up the ball.
Los Angeles’ four turnovers were the least amount of any team that played on Thursday, since you never truly see ball control at that level in the NBA.
However, it’s exactly what this team is predicated on; making smarter passes, feeding the bigs where they’re comfortable in the post, and running smoother screen-rolls than they did under Mike D’Antoni.
It’s translated into a top four team in regards to keeping control of their possessions. In fact, only the Pelicans (11.6), Raptors (11.4) and Hornets (10.3) turn the ball over more times per game than Los Angeles. As the Lakers force 13.8 turnovers on the other end, it’s given them the fifth best turnover differential in the league.
The only problem is, they fail to execute offensively on nights where everything else is in their favor. It really has to be agonizing for Byron Scott.
As was the case against Chicago, when they took a single-digit deficit into the fourth quarter. The Bulls had fooled around with their double digit lead and slipped up in the third quarter, when they gave up five turnovers to the Lakers and started hacking them in the halfcourt. Thibodeau takes pride in having a defense that defends without fouling — Chicago only commits 19.2 fouls per game, which is the fifth lowest across the league.
The Bulls seemed to fall apart defensively in the third, as they hacked the Lakers six times and sent the purple and gold to the free throw line for 11 trips. Free points will get you back into the game in a hurry. In addition, Chicago racked up five turnovers in the third quarter alone, causing Los Angeles to crawl back in and make it a holiday treat for fans enjoying Christmas dinner.
But, you always wait for the moment where the talent overrides the heart. Chicago actually had more of both traits to close the game on Thursday.
The Lakers not only had their worst quarter of the game during the fourth, scoring just 16 points, but they only managed to shoot 7-of-24 from the field and missed all of their 3-point attempts. It caused them to get out-scored by 14 in the fourth, the worst point differential they’ve had in any quarter for the last four games. For the most part, facing Golden State, Oklahoma City, and Sacramento, they’ve been competitive throughout each night.
Perhaps the Lakers were missing their superstar in Bryant, who’s had the reputation of giving huge fourth quarters to the fans.
Exactly two years ago, it was Bryant who ignited a second-half rally and redemption on the Knicks, as he scored eight points in the fourth quarter to down Carmelo Anthony.
That Kobe was 34 years old, without a repaired Achilles and fractured knee. This Kobe is 36, and Father Time just got one more jab in before the round ended.
“[It’s] old age,” Bryant somewhat joked. “My knees are sore at this stage of the season. “My Achilles are sore — both of them. My metatarsals are tight, back is tight. I just need to kind of hit the re-set button.”
He may have been referring to all the pundits that label him as over the hill, but he was being serious. There’s no more time to keep fighting it back and denying the fact he’s old for a superstar shooting guard.
Bryant’s minutes desperately need to be cut — pretty significantly, not just by one or two — if he and the Lakers community want him to finish his career at sustainable greatness. The way he’s playing as of late, even Bryant would tell you it’s been inadequate. His Wins Above Replacement level (per ESPN.com) has only been 0.17. It puts him 44th overall in shooting guards, and 231st in the entire league.
To issue context, Jeremy Lin (who we all ridicule for being a bottom-tier floor leader) has a WAR level of 0.78, which is 129th in the league. For even more perspective, the league leaders in WAR are above the 4.50 mark. So, there’s a huge dropoff from the top players in the NBA to the Lakers’ backcourt.
Bryant is still the biggest name on the biggest stage, and still brings a sensational set of scoring skills that 99 percent of the league doesn’t have. He is still third in the scoring race, battling James Harden and LeBron James for the 2014-15 scoring title. While it would probably mean more to him than ever before — since he’s in his 19th season and loves to prove people wrong — he’s finally realizing that all of his other traits as a player are diminishing.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Every player ages. Every player is entitled to a “bad” season once they’ve hit the 19th year mark. Does everyone just expect these players to avoid a transitional period? Surely nobody thinks these stars are truly gladiators, and they can defy the aging process.
It’s going to happen to LeBron. It will happen to Carmelo. It will happen to Durant (in 10 years). For once, let’s not act as if this is Bryant becoming a harmful player just out of nowhere. He appears to be a detriment to the team only because of the enormous mileage put on his body, and the lengthy time he’s been on the floor this season.
Of the top 13 players in the league when it comes to minutes per game, there are distinguished names; James Harden, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Trevor Ariza, etc. The list of those 13 ranges from Jimmy Butler (40.1 minutes per) to Tobias Harris (35.5 minutes per). The average age of those 13 guys is a whopping 26.2 years.
Sounds pretty low and favoring for young blood, right?
There’s NO way Kobe Bryant, at age 36 (10 years above the average) should be sitting directly behind those guys at 14th overall. There’s no way to defend playing a guy in his 19th season that many minutes (35.4 per game).
It makes zero sense, if Byron Scott has indeed been on board with preserving Bryant’s body for one more final run next year. It’s not to say that he’s intentionally tried to bury Kobe by running down his body, but something has to be said for the lack of discipline with your rotations.
For people concerned about Bryant’s status this season, there shouldn’t be too much concern. He’s not nursing a major injury, or even a minor one. He’s simply resting to make up for the lack of time he’s had to relax this season. 27 games into the year, he should have been at the 29 or 30 minute threshold each game. While we understand there are circumstances you can’t always control — if Bryant’s hot in the second half, you don’t dare jerk him from the game — it’s important for Scott to manage his minutes in the first half.
They’ve had conversations about reducing Kobe’s minutes, and it appears Scott is planning to keep him at a strict mark for the rest of the year.
“We’ll formulate a plan that suits him so when he is on the court, he can go out and play at full strength instead of trying to will his way through these games,” Scott said this week.
A new plan is not only necessary. It’s imperative. Especially if the Lakers are actually producing more efficiently when Bryant is on the bench, resting those legs.
It’s nothing too alarming, right now. Bryant’s motor is just overheating.
For the sake of $23.5 million and getting the absolute best from the guy you’re dishing the money to, the Lakers better tread lightly.