Los Angeles Lakers Shooting Guard Kobe Bryant Stepping up His Game

When you see players like Randle and Clarkson, the Lakers are in great hand, not only do you have a core group to build around, but they are so young that they will only get better as they mature.

“Those guys looked like they were scared tonight or intimidated by [Kevin] Durant and [Russell] Westbrook“, Scott said, following the game, according to ESPN.

Another source of discontent between the head coach and the players is the fact that Byron Scott is so harsh on D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle for mistakes that they make, while giving completely free reign to Kobe Bryant, even when he is playing poorly and shooting the team out of games. “I think I can, ‘” said Bryant after the game. The Los Angeles Lakers guard is only averaging nine points this season.

“I lick my chops for whoever comes in”, Durant said on not being able to face Bryant.

Bryant, who began his LA Lakers career as an 18-year-old in 1996, stands third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list behind fellow Americans Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. “We didn’t have any energy”.

“I’ve been very fortunate to play in so many All-Star games”, he said.

Kevin Durant had 22 points and eight rebounds, Enes Kanter had 19 points and 14 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 118-78 on Saturday for their eighth consecutive home victory.

Durant finished the first quarter with 14 points as Oklahoma City led 35-15.

Russell Westbrook had the go-ahead basket that night and had 27 points with 10 assists Thursday, but the difference was the bench as Oklahoma City had a six-game winning streak snapped.

“(In the) last three years, I haven’t really had the chance to play that much in the National Basketball Association and the timing is off, the rhythm is off, things like that”.

The Los Angeles Lakers are a long way from being the dominant juggernaut that we have all been accustomed to seeing in the past few decades.

Bryant said the shoulder was troubling him even before he threw down his first dunk of the season against Houston on Thursday no surprise since he had surgery to fix a torn rotator cuff in the same shoulder earlier this year.

Bryant, 37, wanted to play all the Lakers’ remaining games after announcing he would retire after this season. This was the largest margin of victory for the Thunder this season. Unfortunately for those who dished out the big bucks for a seat, Bryant was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup due to a sore shoulder. “I came into the league when there were still many great players playing, like John Stockton was still playing”.