Ahead of tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Rick Carlisle, arguably one of the most respected coaches in the league today, had only high praise for superstar Kobe Bryant.
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The former NBA Coach of the Year has seen his fair share of dominant performances from Kobe in the past with Carlisle at the helm in Dallas ever since taking over for Avery Johnson back in 2008. Although Carlisle certainly doesn’t want to see another offensive explosion from the five-time NBA champion, the Mavs Coach doesn’t deny he’s one of the best we’ve ever seen, via Mavs beat writer Dwain Price:
#Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on Kobe Bryant: "You’re talking about one of the all-time great competitors that we've ever had in this sport.''
— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) November 21, 2014
With 12 games in the books for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe is currently leading the league in scoring at 36 with 27.5 points per game. An impressive feat considering no other player in NBA history at his age has been able to do what he doing.
Kobe is averaging almost two points per game higher than the next in line. LeBron James sits behind Bryant at 25.9 followed by Anthony Davis (25.5), Stephen Curry (24.8) and Carmelo Anthony (23.8).
Heading into tonight’s matchup against the Mavs, Los Angeles has won two straight and will be looking to end the road trip on a high note in Dallas. Carlisle’s squad will be arguably the Lakers’ toughest challenge on the trip with the Mavs having won five in a row with only one loss at home this season.
[divide]Kobe, ‘Things Go Good, It’s Us. Things Go Bad, It’s Me’