Kobe Bryant’s Offensive Needs Will Be Well Taken Care Of

Now that some balance has been restored to the Lakers’ offense and firepower will be coming from players like Jordan Clarkson and whoever they pick at No. 2 in the NBA Draft, we’re going to see a whole new Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers’ most notable player this side of the century, Kobe Bryant, will not have to worry about having a mediocre farewell season, as it was expected to be not too long ago.

There was no way to know this for sure, because the chances of them having an excellent season were, in a way, decided by the roll of the dice.

After all, that’s how they landed the No. 2 pick, but hey, it’s all good.

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Over his illustrious career, Bryant has put up 25 points, five assists, and five rebounds and will obviously be looking to put up numbers in that ball park to make sure he goes out with a bang.

But that’s not even close to the end of it for him.

With all sorts of weapons around him on the perimeter and down low, Bryant’s assists are sure to go up.

The thing about Bryant is that the way he plays is the ultimate two-way street.

One game he can be the best distributor of the ball we’ve ever seen, and then the next contest he turns into the galaxy’s biggest ball hog.

I’ll let you take a guess which one the Lakers need more.

That’s right, the first one.

At least to get into the playoffs, anyway.

Once the Lakers are able to (hopefully) snag a playoff berth, we can expect Black Mamba to just do his thing — and by then I don’t think many players would want to get in his way.

Of all people, Kobe simply doesn’t like to let himself down above everyone else.

He could care less what people in the media, fans, or sometimes even teammates think of his game, and it might end up being a good thing.

Why though?

It’s because he understands he needs to have high expectations for himself.

Per a Bleacher Report analysis, when Bryant is able to be the distributor, then good things happen.

But there’s always a dark side to watch out for, so Bryant has to be aware of it.

It’s his surroundings.

We’ve seen it happen to even the best of players, more recently with LeBron James and his return to Cleveland. What Kobe can’t afford to let happen to him is to make it clear that this season he is not what James is to Cleveland, simply because he doesn’t have to be.

If you’ve watched any part of the 2015 NBA Finals, you’ll remember that James’ name comes up quite a lot when the play-by-play guys are doing their thing.

Your ears aren’t deceiving you.

Bottom Line: With Bryant back, the Lakers can contend with anybody

Bryant will not have to average at or close to a triple double to save a team, and that’s good news knowing that he’s on his last leg.

Here’s to a full recovery and an epic farewell for the history books.