Los Angeles Lakers welcome rusty Kobe Bryant back into action

Raul Neto was impressive whenever he had the ball in his hands, but he did not handle the rock as much in the second preseason game. Sunday saw the return of 37-year-old Laker star Kobe Bryant. He was not anywhere near the same kind of player, and it was clear that he was physically limited. It was the five-time National Basketball Association champion’s first in-game action since he tore his rotator cuff in January, marking the third straight season that ended prematurely for the veteran due to injury.

As the losses continued to accumulate at a violent rate, the fanbase had no choice but to focus on individual positives in order to maintain their sanity.

Basketball matters to Kobe Bryant, but he’s long kept an eye on the business end of things.

“[There’s] a lot of upside [on this Lakers team]”. Were the new-look Lakers worth the wait?

Jazz head coach Quin Snyder also deserves credit for this victory, as he was coaching his young team up until the final buzzer, making proper substitutions and drawing up exquisite plays. This, in turn, angered Lakers center Roy Hibbert, so the seven-footer came over to confront Booker. He’ll admit it wasn’t his best year, but the narrative probably goes too far.

Burks, who is an incredibly underrated player, missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.

Carroll was a free agent signing by the Raptors from the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason. Help this team full of youngsters win games.

The Jazz’s corps of bigs grew over the summer, with rookie forward Trey Lyles and German center Tibor Pleiss joining a group that included Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Trevor Booker.

Bryant said “We have talented players in their respective position”. “My 37 (years old) isn’t MJ’s 37 (when he returned after taking two seasons off to play for the Washington Wizards), you know what I mean?” They have to stick to their playing standards and keep their defensive pressure on the Lakers. Put it this way: His PER was higher than Kobe, he shot more efficiently than Kobe from the field and 3-point range, and he has a ridiculously great skill for drawing whistles.

After the game, which the Lakers lost 90-71, Bryant told the Los Angeles Times that he felt strong. “I don’t feel exhausted at all”.

The Lakers will be better, but they still have to seriously overachieve for a playoff berth.

The league and most especially his team expects much from Kobe as he would be leading a less experience and younger generation of LA Lakers. Bryant also had words of praise for his young teammates, saying Julius Randle was “an animal” out there, and noting Randle’s “terrific combination” of competitiveness and athleticism.

But, the results from the Lakers during his first year were more alarming than those comments from the 2014 preseason. If Kobe can remain healthy and is effective, would he consider pushing ahead with the young talent he’s grooming and cap space to welcome All-Star talent with? We (gave) up so many points in the paint (last year), it was really an Achilles heel for us.