The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the most stunning wins of the season, and it seems like they tried to prove a point about Kobe Bryant in the process.
The Lakers slammed the Warriors, who entered the game 23-3, 115-105 on Tuesday night and they did it without their marquee player. Kobe was given the day off by coach Byron Scott following consecutive games where he failed to shoot better than 27 percent from the field.
Even though the margin of victory does not look overwhelming, this game was over in the fourth quarter when the Lakers were up by as much as 24. Steve Kerr even pulled many of his top players well before the game ended.
Bryant, 36, is still averaging 35.4 minutes per game, though Scott intends to lower that number over the course of the season through minutes limits. He also plans to give Kobe more days off. Bryant is shooting just 37.2 percent from the field, which is a horrible number and by far the lowest mark of his career.
Many Lakers players have indicated that they would like to see the ball shared more rather than having Kobe take such a high percentage of the shots. Bryant’s poor play have led many to question whether the team would be better without him, or at least with him sharing the ball more.
On Monday, Zach Lowe posted this note that shows stats prove the Lakers are much better this season without Kobe on the floor:
Still lots of noise, but the sample size keeps getting bigger: pic.twitter.com/OLMNbcxcRo
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 22, 2014
On Tuesday, we got to see that the Lakers, indeed, appear to be better without the high-priced former MVP holding them down.
Kobe may have ripped his teammates during a recent Lakers practice, but the truth is they might not be as bad as he thinks they are. Maybe he learned that after watching Tuesday’s game.
“We felt like kids in a candy store. We had a chance to get out and play our game tonight,” Nick Young said after the game.
Young scored 15 points and was one of seven players in double figures.
