Kobe Bryant had his best all-around performance this season as the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their second win of the season over the Detroit Pistons. Kobe nearly tallied a triple-double as he had eight rebounds and nine assists to go along with his 17 points.
Although nearing his first triple-double of the season, Bryant also played a season-high 37 minutes in the victory, which is significantly higher than his season average.
With the Lakers set to play Phoenix on the road in a back-to-back situation, head coach Byron Scott said that Kobe will sit out on Monday according to Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell:
Kobe (37 minutes vs DET) won't play tomorrow in Phoenix. His back stiffened up a bit, but Scott indicated he would have rested him anyway.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 16, 2015
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Kobe has already rested a couple of games due to some back issues. Even if Kobe had played closer to his season average he would have sat, but after a 37 minute night, it makes no sense for Kobe to suit up against the Suns.
Kobe was extremely effective against the Pistons mainly as a facilitator. He had a number of impressive passes to both Roy Hibbert and Julius Randle, and the ball movement on offense was impressive.
The goal for the Lakers is to make sure Kobe makes it through the entire season healthy and sitting him out in games is going towards that goal. It is likely that Metta World Peace would step into the starting lineup in place of Kobe as he has the last two times.
