Kobe, Clarkson lead Lakers past Pistons 97-85 for 2nd win

The Lakers won their second game of the season against the Pistons after losing four straight games and moving forward the team has the Suns, Raptors, Trail Blazers and Warriors next on the schedule.

One would think that the return of Kobe Bryant would somehow help the Lakers’ cause, but the outcome remained the same.

Kobe Bryant had 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons 97-85 Sunday night for their second win and to avoid the worst 10-game start in franchise history. He played the entire fourth quarter because it was a close game, but looking ahead, that may not be the best strategy.

Considering this may be Bryant’s final season, Los Angeles is likely inclined to do all it can to win for its longtime legend.

“Right now, I’m barely standing up”, Bryant said after scoring 17 points against Detroit, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. While playing in a few, Kobe has equally sat out the others citing his back, legs, and other parts of his body as reasons why he can not play. “Just wanted him to go the rest of the game and see if we could get the ‘W'”.

Even after Sunday’s victory, Bryant’s complained about the tough walk back to his auto.

Bryant, 37, is averaging 16.9 points on 33.9 percent shooting. “As well as we’ve been playing defensively, we’ve kind of fallen down in certain areas”.

Bryant was rewarded for his effort on a personally important night.

Roy Hibbert may be 7-foot-2, but he has the free-throw stroke of a guard. “A lot of the time they didn’t really cause to turn over the ball”, he said.:It was just us being careless with the ball.

The Suns are trying to catch up to the Clippers, a team that they are within a game of completely catching up to. Sadler wore the same shirt to this game.

Lakers: They outrebounded Dallas 42-41. Not that Bryant should play every game but the option to play should always be there without injury serving as a reason not to play.

The Lakers continue to lose and the frustrations continue to pile up for head coach Byron Scott. Meanwhile, Bryant cooled down considerably as the game progressed, going 1 of 8 after his 6 of 7 start to conclude with 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Bryant doesn’t want a farewell tour, he’s already talked up playing for Team U.S. in the Olympics this summer, and he’s yet to confirm retirement plans even though just about everyone around him (including the team that signed him to a two-year, $48.5 million extension) seems to be urging him to wrap it up in a tidy package.

Say this about the Lakers, they’ll do the same thing regardless of whether Kobe Bryant plays. Bryant just makes them slightly worse.