Sitting Kobe Bryant out for the sixth time in 11 games, Byron Scott came prepared to stand in front of a bus on Sunday night. The Lakers never expected to beat the Portland Trail Blazers, but Bryant sitting out for the third time in four games required answers.
The white beams of the pregame press conference served as the fast approaching headlights of the bus, but this particular deer understood this world well. Scott played under bright lights as a player, and he'd answered tough questions about bad teams as a coach. However, Sunday night present the 53-year-old with something new.
Under his discretion, Scott had again benched Bryant because his body still required rest after the coach had worked the 19-year veteran into the ground over the first 27 games of the season. Over that stretch, Bryant averaged 35.9 minutes per game and averaged running 2.3 miles per game. At the time, Bryant had run the most distance on the Lakers and ranked 15th in the NBA in total distance covered.
"I didn't take in serious consideration [Bryant] almost missing a whole year and getting back and playing," Scott took responsibility. "I should have figured out that it would have taken a little time, but watching his workouts and watching what great shape he was in, I think I got a little too confident…expecting that he could handle those minutes."
Scott had looked at the 36-year-old Bryant and believed the legend of the unbreakable warrior. Watching the flashes of speed, the competitive fire of a champion and the confidence of a one of a kind superstar, Scott quickly forgot about the Achilles injury and the fracture in his knee.
"I was wrong," Scott said. "[Bryant]'s minute number was totally better than what I thought."
At best, playing a 36-year-old for 36 minutes per game was reckless. Considering Bryant's recent injuries and the level of energy he expends on the court, Scott's actions should have been illegal. Hopefully, those actions did not cause significant irreversible damage. No one wants to see Bryant go out like Steve Nash.
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"[Bryant]'s a basketball player who's played a lot of years, so I have to be a little concerned about that," Scott added. "That's the reason I've taken such a precautionary measure as far as not allowing him to play so many games. I want him to be right not only for the rest of this season but next season, as well."
The coach admitted that he had ignored his star player's earlier suggestions of cutting minutes and treating Bryant's return with greater caution. Sadly, this situation likely could have been fully avoided.
The coach did not know how far back he'd set his superstar in terms of playing consecutive games and being able to sustain a consistent level of play, but Scott sounded like he had finally grasped the proper gravity of his position. Bryant trusted his coach--especially this coach--to make the proper decisions.
"[Bryant is] leaving it up to me, so I'm just trying to, I guess, make up for all the minutes I played him early," Scott laughed. "I wish I'd kept him minutes at 30, 32 minutes. Back-to-back games: I wish I'd probably just sat him down."
Scott had accepted fault and now, he needed to look ahead.
"It's our first time together," Scott said. "[Bryant] trusted me, and playing those minutes and not complaining one bit, which is, you know Kobe."
Yes, we know. Bryant's legend of mentally overcoming physical pains had grown so grand that China seemed all too natural a fit for the sports star. Then, hearing him openly admit fatigue felt about as foreign as a bowl of chow mein in Mexico.
Without fully committing, Scott all but tossed out the idea that Bryant would ever play another back-to-back. In terms of shutting down Bryant for the season, Scott said that subject had not yet crossed his mind, but he'd potentially entertain discussing it with the player after the NBA's All-Star break in February.
Of course, the night ended with the Lakers losing to the Blazers. Bryant came to Staples Center, but he did not appear on the team bench. Likely, he was in the trainers' room receiving treatment. As Bryant watched his Lakers suffer their 26th defeat in 38 games, Bryant likely figured out that the Lakers needed to win 19 straight games in order to squeeze into the final Western Conference playoff position.
Less than halfway through his penultimate NBA season, Bryant goal became crystal clear on Sunday night: find the formula to keep himself healthy for one last season in 2015-16.
