Kobe Bryant to sit out one game in all back-to-backs

Kobe Bryant is sitting out the Lakers-Trail Blazers game tonight, the second game of a back-to-back.

Get used to it.

Byron Scott, who rested Kobe three straight games, has a long-term plan for the Lakers star.

Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:

He missed three games at the end of December, and now will sit out one game of each of the Lakers’ nine remaining back-to-backs.

“That’s basically what we’re going to stick to,” Scott said.

“You guys might think he probably argued about it and all that,” Scott told reporters before Sunday’s game, “but he said, ‘Sounds good to me.’ He stuck with his plan of, ‘Whatever you want to do.’”

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That means Kobe will miss at least one of each of the following sets:

• Jan. 15: vs. Cavaliers, Jan. 16: at Jazz
• Feb. 10: vs. Nuggets, Feb. 11: at Trail Blazers
• March 3: at Hornets, March 4: at Heat
• March 15: vs. Hawks, March 16: at Warriors
• March 24: at Thunder, March 25: at Timberwolves
• March 29: at Nets, March 30: at 76ers
• April 7: at Clippers, April 8: at Nuggets
• April 12: vs. Mavericks, April 13: at Kings

Kobe couldn’t physically continue at the pace he was going, and it’s nice to see the Lakers get proactive about resting him. I bet these regular and well-timed nights off will help Kobe’s body recover.

It sure beats repeating the previous plan of running him into the ground and then sitting him for a long stretch until he recovers.