Kobe Bryant will play as many minutes as he wants in final game

It seemed kind of weird when Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters he was eyeing a minutes limit for Kobe Bryant on the road on Friday night.

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Why now? Why not earlier this season, when it really could have made a difference?

But that's the wrong question; all those mistakes, sad as they are, add up to so much water under the bridge. The Lakers have to do right by Kobe for the rest of the season. That's what matters now, even if it's completely incongruous with their previous approach. That's especially true if Scott really plans to let Kobe do whatever he wants in that last game, where he'll be saying goodbye to the Lakers fans who've supported him for 20 years.

So the Lakers coach said before his team took on the Pelicans, and we don't think he's joking: