Bryant says Lakers 'will bounce back'

[alamo50]

Team will miss playoffs for first time in 11 years

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050406/050406_kobe_hmed_6a.hmedium.jpg
Jeff Topping / Reuters
Kobe Bryant looks at the scoreboard in the closing minutes of the Lakers' 125-99 loss to the Suns in Phoenix.

Updated: 9:12 p.m. ET April 6, 2005


RALEIGH, N.C. - Los Angeles Lakers all-star guard Kobe Bryant says the once-proud team will rebound from failing to reach the NBA playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.

“This is the path that we’re on right now, and we will bounce back and we will be back,” an injured Bryant told The Orange County Register after the Lakers lost 125-99 at Phoenix on Tuesday.

The defeat eliminated the Lakers from playoff contention, ensuring they will not make the postseason for only the fourth time in the team’s 45 years in Los Angeles.

They have lost 12 of their last 13 games, a Lakers’ record. Only six other teams in NBA history have gone from the finals to missing the playoffs in one year. The Lakers lost last season’s championship to the Detroit Pistons.

“In their minds, they were eliminated before (Tuesday),” interim Lakers coach Frank Hamblen said.

The season promised to be one of transition with Bryant the lone star after the departure of Shaquille O’Neal to Miami and the departure of coach Phil Jackson, who quit three days after defeat to the Pistons.

Jackson’s replacement, Rudy Tomjanovich, resigned in February adding to the instability.

Even Bryant missed games with injuries, including a bruised right leg that kept him out of Tuesday’s loss.

“My leadership responsibility wasn’t just basketball,” Bryant said. “It was about making sure the stability of the team was intact. We had so much go down this year with Rudy going down and different types of injuries.

“I just had to make sure, on top of the basketball, that the community health was ok.”

Bryant said he was “very disappointed” with the outcome of the season.

“It tested me a lot, because my competitive instinct is to win every game.”

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

:lol

[Rummpd]

This team is losing at a near historic rate, 1 win separates them from the Magic of last year.

Pathetic and will see, without some new talent and a new coach no way.

[ducks]

dude they had 4 new starters a new coach and a new system
I thought they would do better
heat added one new starter

[alamo50]

By Michael Ventre
MSNBC.MSN.com


After the Lakers were officially eliminated from the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1994, Kobe Bryant had this to say:

“This is the path that we’re on right now, and we will bounce back and we will be back.”

If he means the Lakers will bounce back “eventually,” he’s probably right. The NBA figures to be in business for at least another 50 to 100 years, and the Lakers will probably retain membership in the association.

If he’s referring to next season, or the season after that, he’s deluded.

But Kobe has been making these kinds of statements all season. He tossed zingers at doubters who predicted the Lakers would not make the playoffs. He insisted the team was on the right track. As de facto head of the franchise, he tried to replace bravado with common sense in an effort to put a pretty face on an ugly situation that was largely of his own doing.

The Lakers have no cap room for two more seasons, so they would have to dismantle their entire roster in order to make the kinds of significant changes necessary to reestablish themselves as playoff contenders. That’s unlikely to happen.

And the Lakers are loath to use word “rebuilding.” Owner Jerry Buss feels that would send the wrong message to fans, although believe me, I think they got that message when they traded Shaquille O’Neal and got little in return.

So it would be refreshing if Kobe would turn off the hard sell and speak candidly about the long road ahead for the Lakers, because spinning a bad situation to make it seem like a promising one isn’t working.