Minutes starting to take a toll on Kobe Bryant

SACRAMENTO — Is less possibly more when it comes to Kobe Bryant these days?

That's the question Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott plans on figuring out.

The Lakers' latest loss — a 108-101 defeat to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday — was enough to leave Scott questioning the weight of the burden that Bryant is carrying and the idea that he may need sit out entire games on occasion in order to allow his 36-year-old body to rest and recover.

This time around wasn't all that different than so many others in recent games, his court time reaching tiring and taxing levels (nearly 38 minutes) and his efficiency waning all the while (8-of-30 shooting from the field).

Scott, whose Lakers fell to 8-19 and who begin a three-games-in-four-nights stretch against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, said he'll meet with Bryant on Monday to discuss the matter.

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"When I get on the plane and get home, (he will) think about it a little more and then go from there," Scott said. "I'm going to think about it tonight. I'm going to sit down with Kobe tomorrow and we'll talk about it and we'll come up with a solution and try to figure out the next few days and what we want to do.

"The biggest thing is I've got to take the basketball part out of it, to be honest with you. Because I think at times he does look exhausted, and I know he's trying to do so much, so like I said I've got to talk to him and I'm going to take what he says with a grain of salt. ... I know him, and I know he wants to play, but I've got to think about him as well. Maybe it is a game or two (that he rests). I don't know yet."

The evidence that Bryant is alone when it comes to this combination of workload and age is indisputable. At 35.5 minutes per game this season, he's ranked 15th in the league overall and tops on the Lakers. Of the 14 players ahead of him, only one — former Lakers teammate and current Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol — is older than 30 years old (Gasol is 34). His 25-point scoring night against the Kings put him at third place behind James Harden, LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the league's scoring race, but there's certainly more to that part of the story.

Bryant's efficiency — that measure that has become increasingly valued in NBA circles in recent years — has never been worse. His field-goal percentage (37.2%) is by far the worst of his 19-year career, and his three-point percentage (27.4%) is among his worst. The load, as he's the first to admit, is simply too large for him to bear.

So after surviving the long road back from an Achilles tendon tear and a knee injury that threatened his career and limited him to just six games last season, is he concerned that this is a major problem here in late December?

"Of course, of course," he told USA TODAY Sports on his way out of Sleep Train Arena. "There's always the fear of having another tragic injury. I'm human, just like everybody else, and have those concerns. I try to dedicate as much time as possible to my body and making sure that I'm as loose and ready to go as possible, and try to put those thoughts on the back burner and come out every single night and give it my all the best I can."

This notion that Bryant isn't at his best right now was made all the more clear by the impossible-to-ignore comparison to Lakers teammate Nick Young, a fearless gunner himself whose shoddy shot selection has so long been part of his infamous profile. Young scored 26 points on 14 shots against the Kings (converting seven) and — as always — was certainly willing to take many more.

"Hats off to (Bryant), still going out there every night and trying to do his best," Young began before offering his solution. "Just give me the ball, and that's what could happen. I'm always down to take over the load. Let me, let Wayne (Ellington) take a couple shots. But majority, just give me the ball."

"(Bryant) still goes out there at night and tries to give his best. We need Kobe out there, and he knows it. But he don't need to kill himself. That's what I'm here for."

Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.

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