For the second straight season Kobe Bryant will be coming back from a season-ending injury. Two years ago he tore his Achilles and this past season he required season ending shoulder surgery. In total Bryant has played just 41 games in the past two years but he has rehabbed his injury and is expected to be ready for the start of the 2015-16 season. Bryant is entering his 20th season in the NBA at age 37 and because of all of the minutes he has racked up in his career he may be on a minutes limit this upcoming season according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Before suffering the season ending shoulder injury last season Bryant was averaging 34.5 minutes per game for the Lakers. Part of the reason for that is that the Lakers were a very bad team lacking in talent so Bryant needed to be on the floor as much as possible. With a more talented team this season Bryant may be able to rest a little bit more. As far as whether he thinks a minutes restriction will be placed on him Kobe says he's fine either way.
"Maybe. I don't know. It will be a game-by-game basis. I'm comfortable with whatever, flexible with whatever. We will make that decision game-to-game. We'll listen to the training staff. I've been really good about listening to my body," said Bryant.
In the past Kobe has been the go-to-guy for the Lakers and while that still may be the case he should have a lot more help this season. The Lakers are loaded at the guard position this upcoming season, so much so that Kobe is expected to start at small forward rather than his customary shooting guard spot. Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell are expected to start at the guard spots while Lou Williams and Nick Young will be coming off the bench at the guard spots.
The idea of Kobe being on a minutes restriction is not set in stone but it seems likely and it also seems like the most logical plan. Bryant will likely be more effective this season in fewer minutes after shooting just 37 percent last season and will be at less risk of getting injured again. Add that to the fact that the Lakers are deep at the guard position and it seems like a no brainer to limit Bryant to far less minutes than he was averaging before the shoulder injury a year ago.
