The Los Angeles Lakers really don't have anything to play for over the last four games of the season.
They have managed to set a franchise-record for most losses in a season for the second straight year. While the team has some young talent in D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, those three young guns will be overshadowed by Kobe Bryant as the Mamba plays his final career games.
It seems Russell is well aware of this, as he stated that the Lakers' game plan for the remainder of the season, via ESPN's Baxter Holmes:
“Give Kobe the ball. Wherever he's at, give him the ball.”
This season has not only been a rough one for the Lakers, but Bryant himself. Over the past 12 games, he has shot just 33.7 percent from the field. On the season, he's converting at just a 35.3 percent clip.
The Lakers legend acknowledged that his ball-dominance can come at the expense of the younger players, revealing how he feels about them getting booed when they shoot instead of giving him the ball.
Los Angeles will take on the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night, as the franchise prepares to a close the chapter on an illustrious 20-year career.
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