I have been saying that Kobe needs to rest for a while now. He has a broken index finger, a sprained ankle, and back spasms. I had figured that losing games would be worth it so long as Kobe got his rest.
Well Kobe has finally sat the last three games, and guess what the Lakers are 3-0. Not only that but they beat three quality playoff teams. Lamar and Pau have been coming up huge. Not wanting to belabor the point I will only look at the rebounding. Against the Blazers the two of them pulled down 30 rebounds, against the spurs 29, and tonight against the Jazz they got another 30 (for the season they average about 21)
However more importantly, Kobe's absence is allowing the young Laker point guards an opportunity to get more touches and develop. Against the Blazers Farmar and Brown got 31 points, against the spurs they got 21, and against the Jazz they put up 29 (for the season they are averaging 15.2)
Are the Lakers a better team without Kobe? Of course not. But will the Lakers be better off if Kobe continues to rest? I think so.
I totally agree! He needs to rest because we are going to need him in the end. I love how the team is able to step up when he is injured. We have such an awesome bench! I love how we beat the Jazz with 2 of our starters out. Granted the Jazz were having a bad game... but still... its a good morale booster right?!
ReplyDeleteFirst off the Jazz were on a back to back (first game on the road) when they played the Lakers just to defend my Jazz. I think it is fine to rest Kobe. No one in the west is going to catch up with the Lakers, a virtual lock for the #1 seed. Remember those years when the Rockets won the championship and the Spurs, they rested players and it worked. A fresh Kobe is a worth a few closer games.
ReplyDeletePS - Adam I like your weekly column, keep it comming and now you got me wanting to write one.