Kobe Bryant returns to Garden as royalty
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers waves to the crowd after defeating the Brooklyn Nets,104-98, at the Barclays Center on November 6, 2015 in Brooklyn. Credit: Getty Images / Mike Stobe
Kobe Bryant may have dubbed himself the 200th-best player in the league this season, but historically, when it comes to the Garden, he might as well be the only player in the league.
"I'm sure he does relish it," Knicks coach Derek Fisher said of his former Lakers teammate Saturday. "There were a lot of nights he came here, I didn't get a lot of shots myself because of how much he relishes doing well at the Garden."
Fisher, who was Bryant's teammate from 1996 to 2004 and 2007-12, had a front-row seat when Bryant lit up the Garden in 2009, scoring 61 points. What does Fisher remember? "That I didn't get a shot," he said.
And though Bryant, who's in the last year of his contract with the Lakers and possibly the last year of his career, physically is not the same player he once was, it's all the same mentally, Fisher said. It's something the Knicks, who are on a three-game losing streak, will need to contend with. Bryant's teammates, too.
"For [Jordan] Clarkson and [D'Angelo] Russell and [Julius] Randle and those guys tomorrow, they might not get as many chances," Fisher said. "I don't know if it's ever fun competing against him . . . I think people are questioning what he can and cannot do. It's still early."
Bryant is averaging 16.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and shooting 32 percent in five games. The signs are beginning to point to retirement, and this season figures to be a big factor in determining if these are the opening acts of the Kobe Bryant Goodbye Tour. This will be the only time the Lakers visit MSG this season and could be Bryant's final chance at a proper send-off.
It will come against a Knicks team that's been struggling to put together a complete game. Friday night's fourth-quarter swoon against the Bucks put them two games under .500, and they fizzled out in second halves against the Spurs and Cavaliers, both losses. The backcourt was a non-presence Friday night -- Sasha Vujacic had two points and Jose Calderon had none -- and Carmelo Anthony struggled to find his shot (he was 6-for-16).
Anthony expects to see some semblance of the Bryant who has averaged 27.2 points against the Knicks in his career.
"I just love to watch him play, regardless if he feels he's the 200th-best player in the NBA right now," he said. "That's the mind games he plays. Those are mind games . . . He's still a threat out there on the court."
Notes & quotes: Fisher said Arron Afflalo (strained hamstring) will not play Sunday, though he's making strides and is expected back soon. "He's definitely getting close," Fisher said. "He looks good right now . . . , but I think we want to be smart in terms of the minute-restriction thing with guys coming back." . . . Fisher did not rule out the possibility of lineup adjustments but said it will not be based on which players are not shooting well. "When you're only getting three shots or four shots, it's hard for people to say you're not really shooting well," he said. "It's not a lot of opportunity . . . If that's a decision that's made, it will always be based on what's going on.''
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
