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Kobe:
Growing Pains Not Always
Easy
Mon, May 24, 1999
INGLEWOOD (SCN Monday, May 24, 1999)
- Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers
finished off the regular season in pathetic
fashion on Sunday, getting swept out of the NBA playoffs
for the second straight year, making some wonder how
long will they have to wait for the growing pains to be
finished.
Bryant turned in the best season of his brief three-year
career, notching career highs in all three major categories
points (19.9), rebounds (5.3) and assists (3.8), but
unfortunately, his flashes of brilliance are too few and far
between.
The 20-year old swingman was the Lakers second leading
scorer in 1999 behind Shaquille O'Neal, but on too many
occasions, he would account for costly turnovers that
would put the Lakers in a deep hole.
The blame for the purple and gold's inadequacies cannot
be solely placed on the All-Star guard's shoulders, as
there are plenty of prime candidates to point fingers at in
1999.
O'Neal's annual inability to hit his free throws, the Dennis
Rodman fiasco and a blockbuster trade that sent guard
Eddie Jones and forward Elden Campbell to the Charlotte
Hornets for Glen Rice and J.R. Reid can also be attributed
to the Lakers' demise.
If that's not enough, L.A. also made a coaching change,
firing veteran coach Del Harris in favor of untested Kurt
Rambis.
All this happened in one season, leaving an immature
team with little chance of success until the growing pains
have stopped. |
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