As if the Los Angeles Lakers weren't having a tough enough time playing on the road this season, on April 7 they attempted it without their superstar Kobe Bryant. And that attempt, might I add, was the biggest failure thus far of the Lakers' season. If anything, the loss proved to the world—and the team—exactly how crucial Kobe Bryant still is to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the beginning of the year there were several who doubted Bryant's knee would hold up throughout the season and the injured ligament in his right wrist only furthered people's cases that he was "falling apart." However, Bryant has so far proven most of the doubters wrong, leading the league in scoring with 28.1 points per game.
The Bryant-less Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns on April 7 by a final score of 125-105. The Lakers' starters didn't have bad games, but the bench contributed just 10 points, leaving the Lakers 20-points light against the Suns. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum put up nice scoring performances—with 30 and 23 respectively—but Bynum's shooting percentage wasn't up to par, shooting just 37 percent from the floor.
Bryants' replacement, Devin Ebanks, scored 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting. With Ebanks taking so few shots, it meant the Lakers had to rely on other players to put up the shots Bryant would normally take—and usually make. Bynum and Gasol combined for 52 shot attempts, by far the most they have put up together this season. In fact, while being the league's leading scorer, Bryant also accounts for 28 percent of the team's points—and 28 percent of the team's field goal attempts.
The shin injury that Bryant has been playing with needs to be rested. I saw what good it did to rest Andrew Bynum with his ankle injury, so resting Bryant and losing this one game will benefit the Lakers in the long run. Sure, they have lost two straight games and the Los Angeles Clippers have crawled within a half-game of the Lakers, but I'd much rather go into the playoffs as the fourth seed, than have Bryant miss any time during the playoffs. Although, I'm not sure Bryant would allow for such a thing to happen.
If anything, I think that Bryant's absence from the team reminded the Lakers what it is like to have to play without him. Bryant is the glue that holds the Lakers together and I will never back down from the fact that I think he is the greatest player to play the game since Michael Jordan was around. He is far too important to the Lakers to risk a long-term injury by not resting him as the head trainer recommends. As long as he is in L.A. he will always be the most important Laker.
The Lakers will have a chance to redeem themselves on April 9, when they face off with the New Orleans Hornets in Louisiana.
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where fresh content is posted daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions - all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
NBA.com. Lakers vs. Suns Recap . NBA 2012
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San Francisco Giants Announce 25-man Roster: Fan Questions
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