The Los Angeles Lakers just dropped another game against the Dallas Mavericks, 92-80, but the bright spot was that Kobe Bryant was back in action after sitting out two games on account of a sore back.
One would think that the return of Kobe Bryant would somehow help the Lakers’ cause, but the outcome remained the same. With the loss, the Lakers are no 1-8 and many are not too happy with their state.
Are the Lakers headed towards another disappointing season?
Unless Lakers coach Byron Scott thinks of something to turn things around for the ballclub, it seems to be the imminent course. And if so, it may not just be because of the rebuilding mode tag the Lakers carry but the inability of Scott to work with a young team that was meant to help the Lakers establish a whole new roster for winning campaigns.
Just last week, Kobe Bryant said that he was stepping back to allow young players like D’Angelo Russell and sophomores Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle to mature and make decisions on his own. He may be willing but the fact remains that Scott isn’t.
Winning is important of course and that includes playing a 37-year-old star extensively with the risk of seeing him burn out or worse, suffer another injury. So in a way, the outlook of Kobe and Scott are in conflict.
Scott has a lot on his mind, but the obvious is that he is looking to win not with an up and coming group but with an old egg who has been known to be dangerous once he gets going.
But doing so seems to be in contrast to preseason plans the Lakers were sharing and now the master plan is in dire straits. The shift has proved to be devastating thus far and the Lakers haven’t improved a bit from the previous two seasons.
With that said, could it be time for Kobe to take on a diminished role? Rather than starting with the young guys and some of the new faces at this point wouldn’t hurt.
Kobe can still play but perhaps with the second unit. It may sound unfair for Bryant, but the fact that he should be relinquishing his take-charge guy persona has to start somewhere for the team to grow and deal with the fact that Kobe will soon be hanging up his sneakers.
The move could work or prove costly but with the Lakers at the tail-end of the Western Conference standings, changing up doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Putting pressure on the young guys could work somehow, not to mention the fact that the Lakers have nothing (more) to lose at this point.