Lakers’ Byron Scott unsure if Kobe Bryant will play against Golden State

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, right, looks to shoot as he is pressured by Sacramento Kings' Ben McLemore during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, right, looks to shoot as he is pressured by Sacramento Kings’ Ben McLemore during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

After having extensive conversations with Kobe Bryant about his recent fatigue and inefficient play, Lakers coach Byron Scott said Bryant’s status for tonight’s game against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center still remains in question.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Scott said on Tuesday after morning shootaround. “We had a good talk yesterday. It went really well and he was pretty much in agreement with whatever I wanted to do. I told him I’ll talk to him today and go from there.”

It also appears unclear if Bryant’s playing status for when the Lakers visit the Chicago Bulls on Christmas Day. Or if Bryant will rest in Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks to conserve his energy on back-to-back games.

“I haven’t made my mind up yet,” Scott repeated.

Yet, some clarity regarding Bryant’s role emerged after Scott’s phone conversation with the Lakers’ star on Monday. After Bryant averaged 24.6 points per game this season on a career-low 37.2 percent clip in 35.4 minutes, Scott plans to trim his playing time to 32 minutes per game. He also said Bryant will not play full quarters in the first and third period, something he did with added frequency in the past two weeks after Scott believed the Lakers’ star showed more energy.

Lakers reserve Wayne Ellington will start in Bryant’s place should Scott opt to rest him against Golden State. If this happens, Scott also said he will tell Bryant to rest at his Orange County Residence instead of going to Staples Center to reduce the wear and tear stemmed from traveling.

But Scott warned not to get ahead of possible contingency plans.

“The first question I’m going to ask him is ‘How do you feel? How is his energy level? How does his body feel?” Scott said. “Then, I’ll go from there.”

Yet, Scott reported that Bryant sounded “more agreeable than I thought” about his playing restrictions.

“He said, ‘Coach whatever you want to do.’ It makes me feel better,” said Scott, who mentored Bryant his rookie season 18 years ago. “I know he trusts me and he knows I have his best interest.”

What that best interest entails remains undetermined.

Bryant has averaged 20.6 points per game on 29.2 percent shooting in the past five games. He has also shot 11 of 45 in the past two contests, an abysmal 24.4 percent.

In one breath, Scott reported that he instructed Bryant to defer more to his teammates. Scott also said he will run fewer plays that involve Bryant running the offense.

“There’s going to be times where I say, ‘Kobe, let them play. We’ll see if they’ll be successful or not,'” Scott said. “I think you have to give them a try and let the other guys be involved a lot more and feel they have a shot toward the end of the game that we can win and we’ll rely on them more.”

But in another breath, Scott said he remains undecided if he will trim Bryant’s point-guard responsibilities in favor of Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price. Scott also dismissed the Lakers’ plus-minus ratings that suggest the team plays better without Bryant. L.A. has yielded a (-)13.3 rating when he plays as opposed to a (+) 11.1 when Bryant sits.

“It’s a whole lot of different components that could be involved in that. Who else is on the floor when he’s off the floor as far as the other team as well their second unit compared to our second unit,” Scott said. “Our second unit has been pretty good. So they’ve been able to hold their own pretty well. I just don’t give that much respect for numbers and all that crap goes. That’s just me. I’m old school. It’s more what I see and what I feel.”

How Scott feels about resting Bryant tonight against Golden State seems undecided. But it’s clear there is one gift Scott would like to give Bryant for Christmas.

Said Scott: “Rest.”

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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