Kobe Bryant’s status for Sunday’s meeting with the Phoenix Suns remains uncertain due to a sore right shoulder.
“From yesterday to today, he said it felt a lot better,” head coach Byron Scott said at Saturday’s practice. “What that means, I don’t know yet. We’ll just have to wait till tomorrow to see exactly how he feels.”
Bryant — who is listed as questionable — lost feeling in his shoulder against Boston on Wednesday, and it kept him out of Friday’s matchup versus Philadelphia.
Bryant had surgery on the shoulder in the offseason after tearing his rotator cuff, but Scott says that head athletic trainer Gary Vitti hasn’t alerted him to this being a yearlong issue.
“(Vitti) hasn’t given me any concerns to think this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the season,” Scott said. “I think this is just one of those things that the wear and tear of playing for 20 years and surgery have taken a little bit of a toll on him.”
Providing Power Scott highlighted power forwards Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle — both of whom are averaging double-doubles in the Lakers’ past four games.
“I’m really happy with that position,” Scott said. “Those two young men have started to play really well. If you look at the stat sheets and put their combined totals (together), they’re having some big-time nights.”
Scott noted that Randle and D’Angelo Russell — who were switched from the starting lineup to the bench in favor of Nance and Lou Williams on Dec. 7 — have adjusted well in a move that has seemingly benefitted all involved.
“When I changed that lineup, I took out Julius and D’Angelo,” Scott said. “I think both of those guys have played well off the bench, and eventually they’ll be back in the starting lineup as well. Like I’ve said earlier, they’ve handled that extremely well. They’ve handled it like mature professionals should handle it.”
