Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, Ronnie Price to sit against Phoenix

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. Several athletes have worn "I Can't Breathe" shirts during warm ups in support of the family of Eric Garner, who died July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, in Los Angeles. Several athletes have worn “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during warm ups in support of the family of Eric Garner, who died July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

PHOENIX –Lakers guards Kobe Bryant and Ronnie Price will sit out for the second consecutive game when the Lakers (12-29) visit the Phoenix Suns (24-18) on Monday at U.S. Airways Center.

Bryant will have missed eight of the past 15 games amid the Lakers’ recent quest to “preserve” the team’s 36-year-old star. He only played last week against Miami and Cleveland.

“Just trying to get his body to be not as sore and hurting,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “Like he said the other day, ‘it aches everywhere.’ It won’t be the point to where three or four or five days of rest means he will come back and feel great. But he feels good enough to come out and play against Cleveland. It’s about trying to preserve him as much as possible.”

Bryant did not travel with the Lakers on Sunday to Phoenix. Scott reported Bryant plans to fly to Phoenix for Tuesday’s practice where he will complete light shooting drills in hopes to play in Wednesday’s game in New Orleans. Meanwhile, Price will practice on Tuesday to see if the pain in his aggravated right elbow has calmed down. The Lakers’ starting lineup against Phoenix will feature Jeremy Lin (point guard), Wayne Ellington (shooting guard), Wesley Johnson (small forward), Ed Davis (power forward) and Jordan Hill (center).

Scott downplayed whether the quality of opponent dictates whether Bryant will sit. The Suns currently are on pace for the Western Conference’s eighth playoff spot, while the New Orleans Pelicans have a 20-20 record. Instead, Scott wanted to maximize Bryant’s rest after sitting out in Friday’s back-to-back loss in Utah.

“Anybody that you play right now will be tough, especially in the West,” Scott said. “I don’t look at the quality of opponents. I look at his rest periods and how much rest he has gotten to this particular point and if I can give him another day or so off. That benefits him more than anything else and is what I base it on.”

All of which serves as a higher purpose in hopes that Bryant enters the final year of his contract for the 2015-16 season with much better health. The Lakers also will try to spend this offseason revamping their roster so that Bryant has less responsibility.

“He obviously can still play at a very high level,” Scott said of Bryant. “To try to get as much out of him as much as possible and get to that point next year where he can play at that high level again and not spend everything he has. If he plays every game, that’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to go out and play the hardest he can possibly play. He’ll take the whole summer to recuperate and that’s not him either. He wants to continue to work to get better.”


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