Los Angeles Lakers might rest star players in the game against Sacramento Kings – NBA Update
The Los Angeles Lakers might rest their star players in their Season Finale against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. The Lakers coaching staff would probably use the match to assess their younger players as the team heads
into the playoffs.
The decision will be made after input from the players, as Lakers coach Mike Brown said after the practice:
“We'll probably rest guys, but it won't just be me saying, 'Hey, I'm going to sit you down,' I give guys some ownership in this."
Lakers star player Kobe Bryant might not want to sit out of the game. Although the Lakers have locked the 3rd seed in the Western Conference and even with a win, cannot move any higher, Kobe Bryant has a personal motivation
for playing the game. Bryant is currently at 2nd place in scoring for the season, with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant at the top spot. Durant is currently averaging 28.03 points per game, while Kobe averages 27.86.
The Thunder have finished their regular season. Durant is well on his way to clinching the league scoring title for the 3rd time straight, making him the first person since Michael Jordan to do so. However, Kobe Bryant
can still spoil the party for Kevin, as he needs to score 38 points in the final game against the Kings to take the scoring title. Kobe has already said that winning the scoring title is “not that important”.
He has already won the title twice in his 16 year career in the NBA, but a third one would not hurt after all. Kobe is also interested in playing the game because he has not had much action in the past few weeks. He came back into
the team last week after missing 7 straight games due to a shin injury. He would want to regain his rhythm and dust off any rust before the playoffs commence.
“I'm not on vacation, I was hurt. If I'm healthy, I play” said Bryant after returning to action against San Antonio last week.
Bryant, Pau Gasol and Matt Barnes all sat out of Wednesday’s practice. Barnes did not make the trip to Sacramento with the team, staying behind in Los Angeles to rest his right ankle that was sprained. Pau Gasol has also said that
he would welcome a rest if the coach decided to go with it. Andrew Bynum was also of the opinion that if the coach decided to give him extra rest before the playoffs, he would not mind it.
The Lakers will be playing without Metta World Peace, who will sit out of the 1st of 7 games he has been suspended for elbowing Oklahoma City guard James Harden in their matchup a few days ago. They are also thinking
of resting Ramon Sessions, who has been playing with a sore left shoulder and a bruised right index finger for the past few weeks.
If Session is also rested, it will either be Kobe starting the game with 4 bench players for the Lakers. If Kobe decides to rest, his place will be taken by Christian Eyenga to complete a bench starting five for the Lakers on Thursday
night.
Tags: