Kobe Bryant will miss his 5th straight game tonight due to a shin injury. Bryant’s injury must be pretty bad for him to miss his 100th game today when the Lakers take on Dallas. After Bryant missed the first two games everyone assumed he was just resting up for the playoffs but now it’s seeming more serious. It’s got to be killing Bryant to not have a good solid lead for his third NBA scoring title, he at 28.1 points per game with Oklahoma’s Kevin Durant at 27.8. Durant still has six games left to beat Bryant, which just might happen if Bryant keeps sitting out. For now Bryant is helping out with coaching duties from the sidelines.
I thought I would take this rare opportunity of seeing the Lakers Bryant less to see what we have learned about the rest of the team:
1. We learned that Devin Ebanks, who is now filling in for Bryant, is still on the Lakers. Who knew since he hadn’t played more than 20 minutes for the entire season. Instead of being an amazing story like Jeremy Lin of a kid coming out of no where and carrying a major team, Ebanks has contributed little.
2. The Lakers are lucky to have kept Andrew Bynum around, who did a career high of 30 rebounds on Wednesday against the Spurs. That means in that game alone Bynum got 42% of all possible rebounds.
3. Without Bryant, Metta World Peace is a different player. Against the Spurs he scored 26 points, which is a season high. Not only that but he seems more focused and together on the court.
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