ESPN: EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- What will the Lakers do without Kobe Bryant?
Don't worry.
They still have Nick Young.
"Just give me the ball and get out of the way," the outspoken reserve guard said with a laugh after practice Monday, not long after the team announced that Bryant will have surgery Wednesday morning to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
A timetable for Bryant's recovery won't be known until after the procedure, but Lakers coach Byron Scott said that "we know Kobe is probably not going to play" again this season.
While Scott said he has “no idea” who will step up to help fill the void left by Bryant, and didn’t mention who would start in place of Bryant, no doubt more is expected of Young, who averages 14.1 points per game, second among Lakers players to Bryant’s 22.3.
"It’s a big responsibility," Young said. "I’ve got to go out there and play to the best of my abilities every night."
Young spoke after apparently suffering a sprained ankle during practice when guard Jordan Clarkson stepped on his foot. Young said his ankle was "throbbing, but I’ll be all right." He said he wasn't sure if he'd play Tuesday against the Washington Wizards.
However, Young's mention of "responsibility" came at an interesting time. The Lakers guard was benched in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Houston Rockets for what Scott described as a lack of effort.
"The message I was sending [Sunday] night was, 'You basically didn’t look like you wanted to play,'" Scott said. "'You weren't defending. You were just standing around.' He was throwing the ball all over the place. So I chose not to play him, because if you look disinterested, with body language and things like that, to me you don’t want to play."
Young, who didn't speak to reporters after Sunday's game, discounted the notion that he didn't want to be out there.
"There ain’t a day go by that I don’t want to be out there on the court," Young said. "I love being here, love playing basketball. I get a joy out of playing and seeing the fans, hearing them chant ‘Swaggy P.’ That’s what drives me. [Scott] sees what he sees. I’m not in no situation to go back and forth with the coach because I would never play. That’s his judgment."
On being benched, Young said, "It was very frustrating. It just brought back some old memories, like being a rookie. It happens. I guess [Scott] wants the best for me. I came in [Monday] with the mindset of not having no negative energy. ... I think I’ll be all right."
Young also admitted that the Lakers' losing ways have affected him. The team has lost a season-high eight straight games, their longest losing streak since losing eight in a row in March 2005.
"We’ve only won 12 games this year," Young said. "Losing can catch up to you. I’m still a human being. I’m still going out there trying to fight. At the same time, you get tired of getting beat up."
Young said he and Scott talked about his demeanor, and Young stressed that he has to do a better job when being double-teamed by defenders, which he said he expects even more now that Bryant is out.
"It’s tough, but we’ve got to go out there and still fight," Young said. "We’ve still got to give fans a show. It’s a chance for other people to step up now. There’s a lot of players with contracts. Even though it’s tough for Kobe, it’s a blessing in disguise for other people out there to get a chance. They’ve just got to take full advantage of it."
I'd love Swaggy P if he were good. But he's literally one of the worst shooters in basketball. He ranks incredibly low in shooting percentage so the Lakers should probably have a better game plan in mind without Kobe. OR you can give him the ball all you want and land a lottery pick in the draft in June.
The thing is, when you aren't good you can't say shit like this. In the NBA, anything goes as far as cockiness and arrogance -- as long as you're ACTUALLY good. LeBron can get away with being a huge douche because he's won four MVPs and two championships. Kobe can call his teammates pussies because he's one of the greatest players of all time and has five championships. BUT when you're Swaggy P who averages 14.1 points per game and has an abysmal shooting percentage, you can't say "give me the ball and get out of the way." Obviously the guy is athletic but ya gotta be realistic with him at some point and tell him that he sucks. He's so goofy about being cocky too. It's like he knows he sucks but still acts like he's good so he laughs at himself. He thinks he's fooling people. He thinks he's convincing people that he's good, but everybody already knows he sucks. But whatever, I don't really care about the NBA. Just thought that was an absurd thing to say from such a shitty player.
P.S.
This is what happens when you give Swaggy P the ball, and get out of the way.
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