How a Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin Backcourt Can Work for LA Lakers

With nagging nerve issues plaguing both Steve Nash's productivity and activity, it's been a long time since the Los Angeles Lakers had a backcourt as skilled as the newly formed Kobe Bryant-Jeremy Lin tandem.

That's not to suggest this partnership is guaranteed the slightest bit of success. Not by a long shot. Both players have performed at their best with the ball in their hands, and there is obviously only one to go around.

However, this twosome has talent, and in the NBA that's a necessary ingredient for any recipe of success.

It will take some sweat equity from both parties to make this work. Adjustments need to be made. Play styles need to be adapted.

But the top two members of this salary cap-saving squad sound like they are up for the challenge. The players have exchanged text messages, and the overarching theme of those talks has been a simple one.

"The one thing he told me is we have a lot of work to do and I think that's 100 percent accurate," Lin told reporters at his introductory press conference. "As long as we come in with that mindset of really having to work and earn everything, I think we'll be okay."



This isn't going to be easy, but it's far from being impossible. If Lin and Bryant can blend their games together, the Lakers could have a potent combo of proven scorers and capable passers.

Bryant, the fourth-highest scorer in NBA history, might seem like a curious—at times, even unwilling—playmaker. Since the 2000-01 campaign, he's taken at least 1,500 field-goal attempts in 10 different seasons. No other player has done that more than six times over that stretch, and only three (Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady) have five or more seasons with that type of volume shooting.

At 35 years old, some might assume he's locked in his ways. After all, his style has helped net him five world titles, a pair of Finals MVP awa...

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