Could the Los Angeles Lakers have played any better without Kobe Bryant?

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When Byron Scott decided to sit Kobe Bryant in order to rest the fatigued 36-year old star, the rest of the Lakers knew that they had to step up. Not because they didn’t want to be embarrassed by the Golden State Warriors, but to show what they can do as a team.
They knew that this was an opportunity to play more freely without Kobe Bryant calling (and taking) all the shots.

If you follow the NBA, you know what happened and it Nick Young, Ronnie Price, Carlos Boozer, Wayne Ellington, Jeremy Lin, Wesley Johnson, and the rest of the Lakers couldn’t have come up with a better outcome.

Not only did the “short-handed” Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Golden State Warriors, the best team in the NBA, they gave the Warriors a thorough beating throughout most of the game.

Not just that, the win was even more special considering that the Warriors pummel the Lakers in their two previous games by 23 and 21 points. Those losses came WITH KOBE BRYANT.

Not just that, the Lakers without Kobe Bryant:

  • Defeated the best team in the NBA
  • Boasted seven players score in double figures
  • Passed for a season-high 29 assists
  • Shot 51.7% from the field
  • passed the ball 313 times before that they averaged 273, 3rd-fewest in NBA .
  • The Warriors trailed by double-digits after the first quarter for first time this season

Nick Young half-joked after the big win: “Some guys just played like Django Unchained … from the locker room to the court, we felt good. Some guys just played free tonight and did their thing. They had no handcuffs on them.”

Young went the next step and said “Pretty much going to have to tell Kobe to pass me the ball, pass us the ball. Tell him to take the backseat for a little bit.”

I wish you luck with that, Swaggy P. Good luck with that.

 

 

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