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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Caps off brilliant career with 60-point effort
Kobe Bryant registered an NBA season-high 60 points (22-50 FG, 6-21 3Pt, 10-12 FT), four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block over 42 minutes in Wednesday's season-ending 101-96 victory over the Jazz.In the final NBA game of his career, Bryant couldn't have asked for a better possible ending, as he put on a show to remember for the Staples Center crowd that had feted him for 20 seasons. Bryant shook off some early jitters from the field to catch fire by the second half of the first quarter, finishing with 15 points in the period. He also came up clutch when it mattered most, pouring in 23 of his 60 points in the final quarter to aid the Los Angeles Lakers to a comeback victory. Of course, the 60-point outburst came with plenty of caveats. For one, the Jazz, who were eliminated from the postseason minutes before Wednesday's contest started, weren't exactly playing with much motivation and rested their top two rim protectors, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, which presented little resistance for Bryant as he drove to the tin. And secondly, Bryant's Lakers teammates fed him the rock incessantly throughout the night, as he needed a whopping 50 shots -- a single-game record in the modern era -- to get his point total. In that sense, Bryant's final game was a microcosm of his polarizing career; his supporters surely reveled in the 37-year-old's dedication to take the game into his own hands, while his detractors likely viewed the finale as the ultimate embodiment of his lack of efficiency and unwillingness to keep his teammates involved. The debate regarding Bryant's legacy figures to continue well into his retirement, but there's no denying that the 18-time All-Star was one of the top players of his era and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Among a long list of achievements, Bryant will end his career as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, a five-time NBA champion, and a two-time NBA Finals MVP.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Expects to play season-high minutes Wednesday
Coach Byron Scott plans on giving Kobe Bryant his most minutes all season during Wednesday's regular season finale against the Jazz, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report reports.The struggle with utilizing Bryant all season has been his fluctuating availability and playing time, but he's been able to produce nicely while actually present on the court. His season-high in minutes is currently 37 on Nov. 20 against the Raptors, so the soon-to-be retiree will have plenty of opportunities to produce during his final NBA game, assuming Scott holds true to his word.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Aggressive on offense versus Rockets
Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 35 points (10-22 FG, 11-11 FT, 4-11 3Pt) to go along with two rebounds, two steals and an assist in just 27 minutes during Sunday's loss to the Rockets.The Black Mamba seemed to savor his head-to-head matchup with James Harden, who finished with 40 points of his own, as he delivered one of his finest offensive performances of the season. Bryant will play in each of the Los Angeles Lakers' final two games, and he appears focused on finishing off his illustrious career on a high note.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Will play in both games of back-to-back
Kobe Bryant will play in both games during Sunday and Monday's back-to-back, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.Braynt has struggled with shoulder soreness for much of the year, and often has been restricted on minutes during back-to-back games, but it seems he'll play both. Bryant has been determined to play in all of the final games of this season. He has struggled to score lately, but he's likely to not be discouraged by this and continue to take a lot of shots. Bryant continues to be a risky daily pick due to the wear-and-tear of the season's effect on his body.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Will take the court Friday
Kobe Bryant (shoulder) will play in Friday's matchup with the Pelicans, Mark Medina of L.A. Daily News reports.Bryant pledged earlier in the week that he would suit up for all of the Los Angeles Lakers' remaining games, so it comes as no surprise he'll take the court Friday. Bryant has struggled recently, posting averages of just 12.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.4 steals over his last four games. Don't expect that to discourage Bryant, though, as the future Hall-of-Famer will still get off his fair share of shots. As long as his shoulder doesn't act up during the game, Bryant should play a full minutes load Friday.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Questionable for Friday's game
Kobe Bryant (shoulder) is officially listed as questionable for Friday's game against the Pelicans, Brett Dawson of the New Orleans Advocate reports.Bryant has repeatedly pledged over the past week that he plans to suit up in all of the Los Angeles Lakers' remaining games in his final NBA season, so it's expected that he'll find a way to make his last career appearance in New Orleans. If Bryant's chronically sore right shoulder proves to be too much of a nuisance during the game, coach Byron Scott could look to limit the former MVP's minutes a bit. Bryant seems to have hit a wall over his last six games, as he's averaging a meager 13.5 points (on 29.3% shooting), two rebounds, 1.3 three-pointers, 1.3 steals, and one assist over 23.8 minutes. With the exception of the steals category, all of those figures are lower than his season-long marks.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Shoots 2-for-12 from field in loss
Kobe Bryant tallied six points (2-12 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT), two rebounds, and two steals over 22 minutes in Tuesday's 103-81 loss to the Clippers.Bryant was far from the only Los Angeles Lakers player to lay bricks on a night when the team's five starters combined to shoot a putrid 10-for-51 (19.6%). While Bryant is capable of delivering big scoring nights such as the 34-point effort he turned in just two days earlier against the Celtics, his 35.4 percent and 28.2 percent season marks from the field and three-point range, respectively, often ensures that he needs tons of volume to produce significant totals. His lack of efficiency hasn't deterred Bryant from firing away at any point this season, so don't expect him to take a backseat offensively over the final five games of his career.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Plans to play Tuesday
Kobe Bryant plans to play Tuesday against the Clippers, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.Bryant has dealt with nagging injuries all season, with a sore right shoulder being the latest culprit to cause him to miss games. However, he's been able to play in each of the last seven contests, and has stated that he intends on playing in all of the Los Angeles Lakers' remaining games in his final NBA season. While it looks like Bryant will play Tuesday, coach Byron Scott said he would limit the veteran's minutes in one of the back-to-back games against the Clippers either Tuesday or Wednesday. Bryant is a bit of a risky daily pick due to the uncertainty of his minutes, but he's coming off one of his best games of the season, a 34-point effort in Sunday's loss to the Celtics.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Drops 34 points in final game against Celtics
Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 34 points (11-28 FG, 4-11 3Pt, 8-10 FT) to go with four rebounds, one assist and three steals in 33 minutes during Sunday's loss to the Celtics.We expected Bryant to play his vintage maniacally competitive style and he did exactly that against the Celtics on Sunday. The future Hall of Famer wasn't shy with his shot, hoisting 28 attempts for the second time this season. He shot relatively well, however, and was visibly aided by the Los Angeles Lakers' three day break this weekend. Statistically speaking, this could likely be the last relevant fantasy game in Kobe's career.
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by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Lakers' Kobe Bryant: Playing in Sunday's game
Kobe Bryant will play in Sunday's game against the Celtics, CBS Los Angeles reports.Though it hasn't been much of a rivalry the past five years, Bryant surely wanted to face the Celtics one last time. He only played nine minutes Wednesday against the Heat, but he did log 23+ minutes in each of the previous five games.
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