Kobe Bryant to start, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle benched against Raptors
Kobe Bryant will get the start against the Toronto Raptors, while D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle will be on the bench.
Byron Scott has officially lost his mind.
While the Los Angeles Lakers are on the Kobe Bryant farewell tour, outside of one game, Bryant has been absolutely terrible for the Lakers this season. In fact, Bryant has been so bad this season, that he has the second-lowest PER on the team.
So that’s why it seems crazy that against the Raptors, Bryant will get the start and D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle will be on the bench when the two teams tip off in Canada.
D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle will come off the bench tonight, Byron says.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) December 7, 2015
It’s understandable that Russell might not start against Toronto, as he is still adjusting to life in the NBA. Why is Randle starting on the bench? He leads the team in rebounds and has been improving as a player in the league. The Lakers are bad and the only way they’re going to get better, would be to give their young players important playing time.
That means getting Russell and Randle on the court against a good Raptors team. It’s understandable that Bryant would start as this is his final farewell and it’s the last time people in Toronto will see him play, but he’s been more of a hindrance to their success on the court this season.
When Kobe retires, he will go down as one of the greatest to play the game, but there’s no way it would tarnish his legacy to bring him off the bench and help the team that way.