Amidst growing speculation that Jeremy Lin could be benched by coach Byron Scott, the point guard says he has no problem with Kobe Bryant despite tough criticism from his back court mate, reports the Daily News.
Kobe has never been one to shy away from calling out his teammates when he sees something he doesn’t like. Lin says it’s all about the W’s.
“We leave everything on the floor,” Lin said about Bryant. “Sometimes we might not agree on everything. But it’s not because we’re trying to be selfish or because we have ulterior motives. It’s all about doing the right thing and trying to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Kobe has average 25.8 points per game, but on just 39 percent shooting. That’s six percent down from his career average.
Lin is hitting 45 percent of his shots and averaging 11.9 points per game. Both are right on his career averages. Kobe is on the record as saying he thinks Lin is a good player.
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“I’ll go out there and leave it on the floor, everything, and compete and be relentless and not be fearful of criticism or fearful of not playing well or missing shots,” Bryant said. “That’s the same way I want the guys I’m playing with to be, Jeremy in particular. He’s a really good player.”
Lin says he has thrown tons of questions at Bryant to pick the superstars brain. The expectations from both coach Scott and Bryant is that Lin can be a better player.
“Kobe has been great with Jeremy,” said Scott. “There are times he’s hard on him. But during those times when he’s hard on him, he’ll give him a pat on the back and tell him, ‘This is what I want you to try to do.’ That’s been great. Jeremy has been willing to accept that. We all feel he can be a much better basketball player than he is.”
Lin admits he’s not comfortable in Scott’s offense, yet remains optimistic the Lakers can rebound from their dismal 5-15 start. You can read about the in the Daily News.
