More than 12,000 people flooded the turnstiles of the ipayOne Center on Sunday, all to get a glimpse of him in action: Mamba. Mister 81. Kobe. Sadly, they were only witness to the man, not the mystique.
The Los Angeles Lakers made their annual trip to San Diego to play a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 22. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant sat out as he rests and rehabs his right knee after arthroscopic surgery in July. It was rumored that he might make his preseason debut vs. Phoenix, but was held out.
“We’re just kinda taking our time,” said Bryant. [The knee] is feeling better now than it was a couple weeks ago. So we’re just taking our time with it and trying to get it 100 percent.”
Despite the absence of their perennial all-star, the Lakers were able to comeback from an early deficit to win 94-91.
In addition to Bryant, several other Lakers were donning street clothes. Forwards Kwame Brown and Vladimir Radmanovic and center Chris Mihm were all out with various ailments. Brown and Mihm will not be ready for the team’s regular season opener against the Suns on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
San Diego native Luke Walton led the team with 19 points, including a timely three-pointer with 36 seconds left to put the Lakers up by four. He also came up with a big offensive rebound to keep possession after the Suns had cut the lead to two.
“The thing with our offense is it’s set up for motion and to get open shots, and I mean, I hit the big shot, but LO (Lamar Odom) set it up for me,” Walton said. “And when other people cut to the basket, it’s set up for you to get the rebound, so I was just in a good position for the offensive board.”
Another pleasant surprise for the Lakers was the play of second-year big man Andrew Bynum, who scored 16 points (8-9 FGs) and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. He had several authoritative dunks, which reminded some of a former Lakers center, who now resides in Miami. He’ll be called on to make a big contribution early as both Mihm and Brown will miss the first few games of the year with injuries.
Reigning league MVP Steve Nash led all players with 11 assists and scored 10 points for the Suns. Leandro Barbosa paced the team with 19 points.
With so many injuries, it may be difficult for the Lakers to start quickly. Bryant isn’t expected to fully be “Kobe” for at least a few more weeks, and the front line will be called on to play well. Still, Bryant is nothing if not optimistic.
“We just want to continue to play together and get better,” he said. “As the season goes on, we’re going to continue to improve. I think that’s really the key.”