These Awful Kobe Bryant Possessions Summed Up The Lakers’ Rough First Week

Don’t believe the rumors. Kobe Bryant is never going to retire. Not as long as he’s still physically capable of completely taking over possessions like this one. The NBA has seen its fair share of irrational confidence guys over the years, but for Bryant, at this stage of his career, coming off multiple injury-plagued seasons, and currently shooting 2-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-6 from downtown, to show absolutely zero hesitation about taking his man – Wesley Matthews, one of the NBA’s elite defenders at his position; one-one-one and trying to force a contested, turn-around mid-range jumper on the baseline behind the basket, well…

Granted, there was a time when a play like this was an automatic bucket, the bread to Kobe’s butter. But if the disastrous result here is any indication, that time may very well be behind us. Which is a shame, really, as we loved watching Kobe make amazingly difficult shots like this throughout his Hall of Fame career just as much as the next guy. We might see flourishes of the old Kobe as the season progresses, but more often than not, the outcome of these types of plays might look a lot more like this.

But who knows. Kobe will definitely try to prove everybody wrong about this. And it will be just as entertaining to watch him try.

But what will be even more entertaining is witnessing the development of second-year forward Julius Randle. After missing his entire rookie season to a broken leg, Randle is back and has been one of the bright spots in Los Angeles despite their 0-3 start to the season. He led the Lakers against the Mavericks Sunday night with a huge double-double: 22 points and 15 rebounds, to go along with four assists, four steals, and a monster chasedown block on Zaza Pachulia.

Randle is part of the youth movement in Los Angeles, which is cause for considerable optimism about the franchise’s future.

But with youth also comes inexperience and inconsistency, and that’s been on full display through the first three games of the season. Randle, for instance, had just three points and two rebounds and was a minus-27 in the Lakers’ Friday night loss to the Sacramento Kings. And that was after putting up an impressive double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) in the regular-season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell has likewise been a mixed bag so far during his first week as a pro. In his NBA debut, he had just four points and two assists but followed that up with a solid 13-point outing Friday night. One player who has been consistent so far is sophomore combo-guard Jordan Clarkson, who is averaging 18 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from downtown during his first three games of the season.

But he’s also averaging just a little more than one assist per game, which poses a problem. The Lakers essentially have a quartet of scorers at the two-guard position: Clarkson, Bryant, Nick Young, and Lou Williams. A second unit lineup that consists of Young, Williams, Clarkson, Brandon Bass, and Ryan Kelly is the team’s third most used lineup so far this season, and they’re giving up nearly 124 points per 100 possessions.

Yikes. Through three games, the Lakers are 29th in opponent’s points per game, though with all those scorers on their team, they’re currently ranked seventh in scoring. But with all those scorers, they’re also ranked 24th in assists per game.

Though it’s still far too early to tell, these are troubling trends, and something will eventually have to give. Don’t be surprised if Nick Young is no longer in a Lakers uniform by the All-Star break. These types of lingering questions about lineup configurations are going to be a major sticking for Byron Scott as the season wears on, and there’s only so much tinkering you can do with the personnel you have on hand. In short, it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride for Lakers fans this season.

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