MIAMI—The Los Angeles Lakers (1-5) face the Miami Heat (4-3) on Tuesday evening, so the team convened at the American Airlines Arena for morning shootaround ahead of the 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time tip-off, and as one would expect, Kobe Bryant dominated the discussion.
Lakers coach Byron Scott said he had yet to revisit his recent discussion with Bryant regarding possibly sitting out games during the season, as the 37-year-old had insisted on playing every game in what is likely his final season in the NBA.
"He was adamant about trying to play every game," Scott said about Bryant on Tuesday. "Yesterday, when I woke up, I was like, let's talk about this again. We're still at that stage where it's undermined. It might be one of those things where I say, you know what? KB, let's play these two and let's see how you feel. And then, let's go from there."
The two Scott is referring to are games against the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic in a back-to-back scenario, meaning the team does not receive a day off for rest.
"A lot of it is going to be determined on how he feels," Scott admitted. "He's always been truthful with me. That's the one thing I don't worry about."
When asked if the number of minutes per game could come down to accommodate Bryant's desire, Scott said the on-going dialogue between player and coach would determine whether minutes would be reduced.
Scott added, "Nothing is etched in stone when it comes to how many minutes Kobe is going to play."
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
The coach has already made adjustments with regards to Bryant's playing time. At the onset of the current road trip, Scott began to sit Bryant earlier in the first and third quarters and bringing his superstar back to start the second and fourth quarters. In order to not fatigue the 37-year-old, Scott pulled Bryant after a few minutes of those second and fourth quarter and brought back the 20-year-old veteran to finish each half.
"He said he was getting stiff," Scott explained on Tuesday. "The process was really bringing him back so he doesn't sit there for long periods of time. The first quarter, I would bring him out probably with about 4-5 minutes in the first quarter and bring him back with about 7-8 minutes in the second quarter, and he said, really, at times, that could be about 20-30 minutes of him sitting there."
Bryant even partially blamed his poor shooting on sitting for prolonged periods of time. According to the coach, Bryant decided to voice his concerns with sitting for too long.
Scott said, "So he said, can we figure out a way where I kind of come in and out? And I came up with some numbers, and he said that would be perfect. And it keeps him around the same number of minutes."
So far, the results have been positive in Scott's eyes.
Scott continued, "We talked in the Brooklyn game, he said it feels much better: 'This is much better. I'm not sitting there getting all tensed up and tight. I still feel like when I come back in the game, I'm still a little loose.'"
The coach added, "The last couple of games, he's felt better about those minutes."
