Without Bryant, Team Gets Break
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Kobe Bryant’s broken hand will keep him from getting back on the court with his teammates for at least six weeks, plenty of time for him to sit back and watch the Lakers figure out the triangle offense.
“I think it’s a blessing in disguise in some ways,” Coach Phil Jackson said Saturday.
“I told Kobe that I thought having him sit on the sidelines and watch is going to help his game be better; and us being on the floor being without him is going to make us more perhaps of a system-oriented team, because we won’t have his ability to deviate or to create off what we have.
“We’ll have to be more reliant on our people, like Glen [Rice] and Shaquille [O’Neal], who can do the scoring for us. So, I think in a way it’s going to give us a stronger year. But we don’t want to spend any more eight to 10 games without him on the floor.”
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The Lakers are sifting through other rosters for available guards, but Jackson put a damper on speculation that they’d get in line if the New York Knicks start shopping Latrell Sprewell.
“Latrell hasn’t really wanted to fit in anywhere,” Jackson said. “And one of the things we try to do is we try to have people who want to be part of what we’re doing.”
Jackson conceded that Sprewell’s electric playing style would presumably work well in the triangle, but immediately added: “But we want players that want to be here, that want to be compliant. And he has never shown that.”
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Jackson gave the players today off, the first practice-free day since training camp began Oct. 5.
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The Lakers cut guard Donald Williams to reduce their roster to 18. Jackson said he planned to cut at least two more players Monday and be down to 15 by the end of the week.
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