Lakers coach Byron Scott spent one hour on the team plane thinking about it. He spent some time with Kobe Bryant talking to him about it. And Scott spent all night sleeping on it.
Yet, Scott has not outlined a clear solution on how he will manage Kobe Bryant’s playing time and workload amid his recent struggles with fatigue and shooting accuracy. Even more pressing: will Scott actually sit Bryant out for a game?
“It is difficult because I want him out there. I know how much he wants to be out there as well,” Scott said on Monday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. “But he’s in agreement with however I want to do with him as far as sitting him down a game or whatever.”
Yet, Scott said he remains undecided whether Bryant will play when the Lakers (8-19) host the Golden State Warriors (22-3) at Staples Center. After giving Bryant the day off from Monday’s practice, Scott said he plans to have more follow-up conversations on this issue.
“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. “He’s such a competitor that he tries to will his way through it no matter how his body feels. I want him to get to the point where his body feels a lot better than it does right now.”
Bryant posted 25 points on 8-of-30 shooting and nine turnovers in 38 minutes in Sunday’s loss against Sacramento, marking a five-game stretch where he has shot 29.2 percent from the field. Bryant did not speak to reporters on Monday, but he sounded amenable toward resting following the Lakers’ loss to Sacramento. Yet, what that plan entails appears open ended.
Bryant’s 35.5 minutes per game average fits Scott’s self-imposed restriction between 30 to 40 minutes per night. But Scott suggested he won’t exceed Bryant at 38 minutes a game and will no longer play full quarters, such as when Bryant played the entire the first and third periods against the Kings. Scott also floated the possibility that Bryant will sit out the second night of back-to-backs, such as when the Lakers visit Dallas on Friday.
There aren’t easy answers. Imagine how the NBA will feel if Bryant rests when the Lakers play on Christmas Day against the Chicago Bulls in a nationally televised game. Imagine how Lakers fans might feel if Bryant sits during any of their home games at Staples Center.
“At home, it impacts my decision because he knows how he wants to play in front of the fans,” Scott said. “I know how much the fans would love to see him. That’s definitely something we have to take into consideration. On the road, it’s a totally different story.”
Yet, Scott stressed that his decision will mostly address a more important variable.
“I’m not going to sacrifice his well being for W’s,” Scott said of Bryant. “I have to look out for Kobe to make sure I make it through this season without killing him and playing him too much. There might be some decisions I make that he won’t be real happy with. I’ll have to live with that. But for me, it’s always going to be my players’ best interest.”
Scott had talked leading up to training camp about conserving the 36-year-old Bryant after he played only six games last season amid injuries to his left Achilles tendon and left knee.
Yet, Bryant’s workload still seems pretty heavy. In recent weeks, Bryant has taken over point guard duties, with Scott attributing inconsistent play from Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price. Earlier this month, Bryant had missed practices and shootarounds all together. But in the past two weeks, Bryant has participated in some practices in hopes of helping team chemistry. Meanwhile, Bryant averaged 24.6 points on a career-low 37.2 percent from the field.
“That’s probably the hardest part”to take that workload off of him. From a mental standpoint when the game is going, he feels like he can get it done,” Scott said. “The most part he can, but when you’re playing four games in six nights, your body is saying you can’t. He’s trying so hard. That can equate to doing too much.”
Scott has mostly defended Bryant’s approach. Scott has defended the Lakers’ star by citing his past success, his aggressiveness and his teammates’ inconsistency. Despite Bryant’s high-volume shooting against Sacramento, Scott argued that Bryant’s nine turnovers showed he still tried to facilitate.
Yet, Scott pinned the fault on Bryant and his teammates as “50-50” for the the Lakers’ failure to produce consistent offensive balance.
“He thinks his teammates are not getting it done. I told him, ‘I think at times you have to let them fail, just like you’re going to let them succeed. You have to give hem a chance and see what happens,'” Scott said. “He has to understand. We talk after games where he apologizes. But his will and desire to win is so great that he forgets about everything else on that basketball court.”
But how should Bryant’s teammates elevate their play?
“Be a little bit more aggressive. Just show him they are willing to take on that responsibility,” Scott said. “If you sit back and allow him and say, ‘Here Kobe. Here is the ball,’ then he’s not going to have that faith in those guys. Say, ‘when you’re double teamed to me, throw it to me.’ I got it. That confidence goes a long way.”
Yet, Scott hardly sounded confident about his own plan that will entail maximizing Bryant’s talent without overburdening his body.
“All of this is new to both of us,” Scott said. “There’s a lot of things we need to talk about in the next day or so.”
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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com