Kobe Bryant set to retire after this season

Many games remain, but the hope here is that Bryant doesn’t stray from this approach, that less-is more-becomes the norm from here on out until the very end.

Jordan Clarkson left because of a sprained ankle after stepping on Andrew Wiggins’ foot.

Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of the San Antonio Spurs’ 109-87 victory Friday at AT&T Center. “You start to question yourself, is it really time to do something else?” said the Laker alum, whose career ended in injury.

“I said, ‘I’ve made plenty of them and missed plenty of them, too”. “It’s just about opportunity”. Coach Byron Scott had said that Russell and fellow prospect Julius Randle would only be playing 20-25 minutes a game or so the other night, but in the third quarter Kobe made Scott change his mind.

“I feel pretty good”.

Five-time National Basketball Association champion Bryant was given a standing ovation as he left the court, and speaking afterwards he said: “Wow! Wow!”

More will come Russell’s way. At this point there is nearly zero doubt that the Lakers will retain him as he is one of their very few bright spots but the question now becomes how big of a pay raise is he in for.

“The beginning of the game, he was definitely in that facilitating mode and trying to get the ball moving and get the offense going and get guys shots”, Scott said.

Still, Russell added another line on his resume.

Notably, he hit D’Angelo Russell in stride for a fastbreak basket and craftily fed Larry Nance Jr. for a dunk after appearing to go up for a shot.

Still, Russell had some limitations.

Ray McCallum started at point guard for Tony Parker, who was held out of the game by Popovich to rest for Saturday night’s game at Atlanta.

On the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves average 101.1 points, 44.8 rebounds and 20.3 assists per game. “He plays the game the right way”.

As for Russell, he believed his success stemmed elsewhere. Asked about it this week, Mitchell laughed and said, “I coach for the Timberwolves now”. “I may be a rookie coming into this league”. “I thought our guys got a little frazzled”.

Those developments overshadowed Bryant, who sparked an equal mixture of both boos and chants.

The Lakers finish their road trip 1-7, and will (finally) return home to Los Angeles for two days off before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks. “There aren’t too many people who understand how you bring it night after night for all those years at that level”, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

“Those years with he and Shaq were great”.

But at a certain point, Scott needs to understand what Bryant does, that the future of the Lakers organization is with these young players, and they need time to find their stride on the court.