Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant talked about his relationship with Jeremy Lin after 14 games, saying his chemistry with the Asian-American star is fine.
Bryant, who is averaging a league-best 26.7 points per game in his 19th NBA season, downplayed reports that he and Lin is struggling to get along on the court. In fact, he's trying to execute lots of two-man game with the former Harvard standouts for the past few games.
"He & I are playing two-man action a lot & trying to take advantage of the defense that way," according to Serena Winter of the Lakers Nation on Tuesday.
Acquired by the Lakers in a trade with the Houston Rockets last summer, the 26-year old Lin entered this season with high expectations of becoming a major player for the Lakers.
He's averaging 12.1 points and 4.9 assists per game this season, but his presence couldn't help the Lakers avert the worst start in franchise history.
Many analysts believed Lin's effectiveness on the floor is being negated by the overwhelming presence of Bryant, who appears to be back in his old tendency of hurling 20-25 shots per game.
Los Angeles ESPN analyst Ramona Shelbourne provided her take on the current communication problem inside the Lakers locker room.
"When Lin said "communication" and "trust" were the Lakers' biggest issues, that was code for Bryant not keeping his teammates feeling involved in what the team is doing. He just didn't want to say that out loud and cause a larger rift," according to ESPN Los Angeles analyst.
"He's playing that way because he didn't have faith in his teammates to score. That's the real trust issue. And it can only be corrected by guys like Lin and Boozer proving Bryant wrong and scoring the way they're capable of."
After winning two games in a row, the Lakers suffered back-to-back losses at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets, putitng them 8 games below .500 (3-11). On Wednesday, Los Angeles will play host to the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center.
