The latest news from Laker camp is that head coach Phil Jackson seems to feel that Kobe Bryant might be playing on some tired legs. Of course, this would make complete sense, considering the workload he's put them through over the past year or so. Besides playing in all 82 regular season games in 2007-08, with the Lakers making it to the NBA Finals, that meant 21 additional games of pounding those legs would have to take. After that, there was little time to rest, as Kobe joined the Olympic squad and helped Team USA bring the gold medal home from Beijing.
So with the busy year that Kobe's had, it would be completely understandable for Phil to see some tiredness in his superstar, and make comments like these after practice:
"Kobe still looks to me like his legs might be a little bit tired," Jackson said. "So I constantly ask him if he wants to take a day off or if he needs a day off. I check in with him."
And when it was pointed out that Kobe's only shot 9-25 over the first three preseason games:
"That's all legs," Jackson said. "He's got to get his legs into it."
Hey Phil, here's an idea. If Kobe indeed has tired legs as you suspect, then why have him play in the team's preseason games ... at all? You're the head coach, remember? Instead of checking in with him to see if he needs time off -- an offer which the fiercely competitive Kobe wouldn't dream of taking you up on -- how about sitting him out of the rest of the pre-season to give those "tired legs" some much needed rest?
Phil had hinted that he wouldn't play Kobe (or even Pau Gasol) in preseason games, so obviously the thought has crossed his mind. It's curious to me why he wouldn't stick with that thought process and keep his star on the sidelines, in order to get him some more rest before the grind of the regular season starts.
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The Lakers appear to have another extra-long season ahead of them, as many predict that they're poised to make another run at the Finals. That'll be awfully tough to do if Kobe's fatigue finally catches up with him, and Phil Jackson should consider stepping in and doing something about it instead of simply voicing his concerns after practice.
