Kobe Bryant set to retire?

The Warriors are the third National Basketball Association team to start the season 15-0 and the first defending champions to do so. “We’ve been playing like s-. I understand how young he is, so at times, I’ll go up to him and give him a hug and talk to him about some of the things”, he said.

One element Bryant particularly preached Friday was ball movement, which he felt was lacking against the Raptors.

If the Lakers are going to change for the better, both now and into the future, Bryant will need to act as more of a facilitator for those around him.

“I tried to be everywhere, a ball-seeker”, he said.

He added, “I can’t believe I’m saying this s–“. Toronto restored its double-digit lead before Bryant’s 3-pointer brought the Lakers to 97-91 with 1:48 to go.

Next, the Lakers play against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Staples Center. “You know you have an issue”. Even at this early stage of the season, it can not be ignored that the presently have just a 1.4 percent chance of making the playoffs, per our algorithms.

After only a handful of games into the Los Angeles Lakers season, it’s safe to wonder if Kobe Bryant is going to make it the entire way. When looking at the bigger picture – player development – the Lakers got strong performances out of Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell.

But there were lessons learned on the trip as well, the kind of lessons that if learned and stored away will make them a better team later in the year when it really counts. They don’t have that championship hangover.

Raptors starting centre Jonas Valanciunas broke a bone in his left (non-shooting) hand when Kobe Bryant fouled him under the Toronto basket in the final minute of the first half. “It’s scary, because they’re not living on previous year”. “He played with a little more confidence”. “They’re doing something great right now”. And it’s not like Bryant should openly admit to imminent defeat, either – that’s no way for any professional athlete to think, let alone one of the most notoriously competitive players in National Basketball Association history. Redick returned Friday after missing three straight with a back injury, though he finished 3 of 12 from the field for a season-low seven points. “We have to battle from the start to the end, even if we have a big lead”.

“Maybe two games ago it became a conversation in the locker room”, Curry said. Who is holding Scott accountable as he pretends to hold others accountable?

“I worry about it now”, Scott said at his postgame press conference. Unfortunately I don’t have that luxury Tuesday. They play for one another.

With Valanciunas, the fourth-year veteran, set for a spell on the sidelines, backups Bismack Biyombo and Anthony Bennett could potentially be in line for more minutes as the Raptors deal with Valanciunas’ absence. 500 during Doc Rivers’ two-plus seasons as coach was after his first game on the job, which they lost to the Lakers before winning their next three. Stranger things have happened.

Or Bryant could just want to win more games.

Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports.