Kobe Bryant’s teammates seem more willing to poke the Black Mamba despite the subsequent risk of enduring his venomous reaction.
Last season, Kobe Bryant was pushed during a Los Angeles Lakers practice to the point where he immortalized the Charmin brand. Nick Young, I believe, was at the center of his wrath, having went back and forth with the aging chucker, inciting the kind of fire Kobe has, in the past, mostly reserved for regular-season and playoff tilts.
Now Swaggy P is at it again, and he’s bringing new Lakers guard Lou Williams over to the Mamba-poking side with him.
Per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (h/t Complex Sports):
Metta on Kobe's practice: "He was scoring in people's faces, talking trash." Someone apparently talked trash to Kobe and it fired him up.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) October 25, 2015
Turns out there were *two* players who fired up Kobe by talking trash to him at practice today: Lou Williams and, no surprise, Nick Young.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) October 25, 2015
There are two things to takeaway from Kobe Bryant’s latest practice explosion.
First: Young clearly hasn’t learned.
Second: Kobe is practicing again!
The Mamba was dealing with a calf injury he suffered during a preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings, and though it was expected that he would be ready for the Lakers’ opening night matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, his participation never seemed like an ironclad certainty.
Until now.
Nothing is, once again, for certain. But, as Lakers coach Byron Scott intimated, per the Los Angeles Daily News’ Mark Medina, it would take a serious act of God to keep Kobe Bryant from taking the floor on Wednesday:
Byron Scott on Kobe playing in season opener: "I can’t guarantee it. Do I think he’ll play? Absolutely I think he’ll play."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 24, 2015
In addition to that, if you believe Metta World Peace—which, as always, is a big, fat “if”—Kobe’s response to Williams’ and Young’s trash talking suggests he’s ready to go:
Metta joked Kobe threw down a windmill dunk
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 25, 2015
Oh, and there’s also this:
Byron said he was impressed with Kobe's conditioning and ability to make hard cuts
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 25, 2015
So, to recap, Kobe Bryant is still on track to appear in the Lakers’ regular-season debut, and his sensitivity to on-court snark, even during practice sessions, is as prevalent as ever.
What a time to be alive.
