Kobe's future a guessing game

Bryant drops hints he might have played last game at MSG

LA Lakers coach Byron Scott recently asked Kobe Bryant how he wants to handle his minutes this season.

Bryant's response was about next season - there might not be one.

Scott said on Sunday that was when Bryant first told him this could be his last season in the NBA.

With the 37-year-old Bryant coming off Achilles, knee and shoulder injuries that cut short his past three seasons, Scott talked to him over the summer about how the superstar would be used, particularly when the Lakers played on back-to-back nights.

"We talked about it a few days ago. Talked about it again, and his feeling was, 'Coach, this might be my last year. So if possible I would like to try to play every game,'" Scott said.

Bryant hasn't said if his 20th season will be his last. He told reporters on Saturday that "if you asked me today, this would be my last year," but that he was leaving it open. His comments on Sunday echoed that.

"My message has been consistent all the time. If I change my mind, I'll come back and play. If I don't, I won't," Bryant said. "I've been pretty consistent with that, so I don't know what else can I say."

Bryant finished with 18 points in Sunday's 99-95 loss to the New York Knicks in what might turn out to be his final appearance at Madison Square Garden, where he scored his first NBA point in 1996 and set the opponent record with 61 points in 2009.

He is in the final year of his contract and is shooting just 32 percent while trying to regain his form after a calf injury during the preseason.

Bryant shared a long embrace after the final whistle with Carmelo Anthony, who said Bryant remains a tough opponent, even while contemplating retirement.

"I wouldn't count him out," Anthony said. "But especially for young guys to be able to be in his presence, and knowing the mark that he left on this game, or that he's leaving on this game, it's a special moment."

Bryant got the cheers but not the victory.

He already loved MSG even before scoring his first NBA point in the fabled arena nearly two decades ago, and the only thing that has changed now is how much the fans love him back.

"I can remember my first game coming in here, not knowing what the hell to expect and what to do, but just being in such a great arena," Bryant said.

"And then to be here 20 years later and to have that happen feels amazing."

Bryant missed two shots and twice fouled Anthony during New York's 11-0 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 98-90 lead.

Anthony scored 24 points, and said if Bryant leaves he will miss the player he called a big brother.

"I told him it's not going to feel the same with him being gone," Anthony said. "Him helping me kind of throughout my career, being that guy I can talk to, it's not going to be the same."

Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez and Langston Galloway all scored 14 points for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game losing streak with their first home victory of the season.

Bryant shot 6 for 19, but the poor finish can't take away from all the other memories Bryant has in New York.

He scored his first NBA point on a free throw on Nov 5, 1996, in his second game. He played in his first All-Star Game at MSG in 1998, and scored 61 points in New York on Feb 2, 2009, a record since surpassed by Anthony.

He can't deliver now the way he did in so many previous trips to the Big Apple as he battles his way back from a preseason calf injury, but plenty of fans wanted him to.

He was serenaded with chants of "MVP! MVP!" while shooting free throws and fans were noticeably bummed when he missed shots - which must have seemed strange to Anthony, who was often defending him.

Knicks coach Derek Fisher, Bryant's friend and longtime teammate in Los Angeles, was ejected in the third quarter for arguing after rookie Kristaps Porzingis was called for fouling Bryant on a 3-point attempt.

(China Daily 11/10/2015 page24)