Nothing goes as planned in Kobe Bryant’s return to Lakers
LOS ANGELES – Three big, sharp elbows whizzed by Kobe Bryant’s head before the fourth one from Dwight Howard connected on his chin. With pound-for-pound boxing champion Floyd Mayweather sitting courtside, an angry Bryant began barking at his ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammate while both were being held back.
“I know you!”
“Try me!”
“You’re soft!”
Bryant’s words were the most fight the lackluster and already injury-riddled Lakers displayed in a 108-90 season-opening loss Tuesday night to the Houston Rockets.
Howard took the high road after the incident and now appears to have made the right decision in getting away from these Lakers.
“What do you want me to say?” Howard said about his altercation with Bryant. “I’m not going to give you nothing. That’s stupid. We won the game. That’s over with.”
The NBA, of course, had to schedule the Rockets as the opening opponent in Bryant’s first game back since suffering a season-ending knee injury in December. Howard represents a cold reminder of a crushed Lakers dream from which they might not recover for years.
It was just two seasons ago that the Lakers opened with Howard, Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash on their roster with talk of a 17th NBA championship. The team started 1-4 and Mike Brown was fired. Lakers executive Jim Buss let his ego get involved as he opted against hiring Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson to replace Brown. Mike D’Antoni was eventually brought in and Howard wasn’t fond of his offense. D’Antoni resigned last offseason.
Overwhelmed by the pressure of playing for the Lakers and the drama that came with it, Howard departed to the Rockets two summers ago. The criticism that followed was strong. While not seeing eye-to-eye with Bryant appeared to be a big reason for his departure, Howard begged to differ when talking to reporters during Tuesday morning’s shootaround.
“I didn’t leave L.A. because I was afraid of Kobe Bryant,” Howard said.
Howard and James Harden led the Rockets to the playoffs last season and appear primed for more now. Bryant played just six games last season due to knee and Achilles’ tendon injuries. The Lakers missed the playoffs and won just 27 games last season.
But with 16 NBA championship banners hanging from the Staples Center rafters and the return of Bryant moments away, Byron Scott may have been a little too excited as he addressed the fans before his first game as Lakers head coach.
“On behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers organization, myself and this great team we have over here, we’d like to welcome y’all to tonight’s game,” Scott said.
“Great” isn’t a description for this Lakers team, even with Bryant back.
Veteran point guard Steve Nash is out for the season because of a nerve issue in his back and likely has played his last game. Swingman Nick Young is out with torn ligaments in his right thumb. And to add to the nightmare, heralded rookie forward Julius Randle broke his right leg in the fourth quarter of his first NBA game. The seventh overall pick was one of the few Lakers to actually be excited about.
“I just told him to keep his spirits up. Try not to think about this too much right now,” Bryant said.
Bryant walked into the Lakers’ locker room about 2 1/2 hours before the game as the epitome of cool, wearing sunglasses, a custom suit and sporting a smile. The Lakers’ all-time leading scorer was supposed to be the headliner, but he played just OK, scoring 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting and making seven free throws in 29 minutes.
However, Bryant’s return was a side note to Randle’s injury, the Lakers’ bleak outlook and his dustup with Howard.
Bryant and Howard’s smack-talking episode took place with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter. Many Lakers fans had already begun heading toward the exits as the Rockets led 99-74. Bryant and Howard were both slapped with technicals for the incident. Bryant was also given a personal foul, while Howard was given a flagrant foul 1.
“That was fantastic,” said Bryant, who reported feeling good after the game and is expected to play at Phoenix on Wednesday night. “That’s the game. It’s all part of the game. Elbows are part of the game. Trash talking is part of the game.”
A day earlier, Scott questioned whether Howard had the same drive to win a title that Bryant possessed, highlighting one of many differences between the stars. “They don’t like each other,” Scott said. “It’s as simple as that.”
But once the game ended, Bryant and Howard put the unused fists down and calmed down.
“We won the game. It’s over. It’s basketball. I’m not even focused on it,” Howard said.
Said Bryant: “He’s a teddy bear. He’s a really nice kid and I really mean that. When you’re competing, you have one goal in mind. I know one way to get there.”
The goal Bryant speaks of is to win a championship, and he has five rings to show for it. For Howard, there is realistic hope of competing for his first championship with these Rockets. The outlook for the Lakers might have been reversed if Howard had stayed, but his decision to depart proved to be a sound one.
“I went to a good situation for myself,” Howard said.
With Howard, Gasol and Nash gone, Bryant is essentially alone with perhaps the biggest challenge of his Hall of Fame career: finding a way to win.
“It’s tough,” Bryant, 36, said. “I’m coming off an Achilles’ injury and I’m old as [expletive]. You have two things working against you. But I sit here and I can honestly tell you I feel completely fine.”
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