Mike D’Antoni: Less Scoring By Kobe Helps Lakers

Kobe Bryant played one heck of a game in his 14-point, 14-assist and nine-rebound performance against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, snapping a four-game losing-streak with a 102-84 victory. Bryant may have had a season-low in scoring, but he wasn’t trying to score that night. Bryant showed that he could sacrifice his statistics to help get a win for the purple-and-gold. The Black Mamba facilitated the ball nicely and it led to people calling him Kobe Johnson, as if he was like Magic Johnson himself with his sick passing ability. Head coach Mike D’Antoni was proud of Bryant’s performance and says that it can definitely help the Lakers in the long run. “If you win, is it really a sacrifice or is it, ‘Yeah, you played the right way?’ ” D’Antoni told ESPN Los Angeles. “I don’t know if it was a sacrifice, is all, but (Bryant) set the tone. There’s no doubt about it. He played like Oscar Robertson played back in the day — 14 assists, nine rebounds, and he got easy shots all over the place. Some nights it’s 14 points, some nights it’s 30 points, but he’ll read the defense.” Bryant even agreed himself that passing the ball more often can help the Lakers: “@imjustsam_: @kobebryant you should pass more often bro”u know what? In this situation, I think u r 100% right — Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2013 Bryant could give Steve Nash a run for his money of who can actually perform better regarding passing the ball. Although he has only averaged around five assists for his career and this season, Bryant has shown that he can get in the double-digits when it is needed. Center Dwight Howard performed well in the win, getting 17 points on eight-of-12 shooting. “I think for a lot of bigs, when we’re fed and we eat a little bit, we’re happy,” Howard said on Saturday. “Just like men. Give us some food, we’re good. We don’t eat, we’re grumpy.” Howard says Bryant making this adjustment has helped the whole team. “We have to play for each other to win,” Howard said. “All of us have to sacrifice part of who we are, part of who we’ve been, especially on the offensive end for the team. Still bring the same kind of energy, but we have to figure out a way to all put it together. I’m sure everybody on this team wants to be the guy to score, make plays and all that stuff, but we have to figure out ways to do it together. If you get everybody else involved early and throughout the game, it just makes it tough for teams to guard. “(Bryant) did a great job of that (Friday) night. When he plays that way, it makes it tough for teams because he’s passing. He’s throwing lobs. He’s picking the defense apart. Now he can get the chance to go one-on-one, where he’s dangerous.” It seems like everyone is satisfied with this new style of play. If the Lakers can do the same on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, maybe they do have a shot at finally making things right.