Los Angeles Lakers Beginning to Flash Some Signs of Passing Chemistry Test

Careening their way through yet another challenging season, the Los Angeles Lakers seem to be reclaiming a modicum of chemistry.

The fissures had started, as they often do in sports, with a lineup shuffle.

After starting the season with a 5-15 record, Lakers coach Byron Scott had seen enough. It was time to bring a change.

Out was starting point guard Jeremy Lin. Per Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, Lin did not take it well, saying: “This is one of the toughest situations I've been in ever since I started playing the game of basketball.”

And for the first time since the 2005-06 season, Carlos Boozer was demoted. Ouch. 

Per Baxter Holmes for ESPN LA, Boozer responded to questions about Scott’s reasoning by saying: “I have a different opinion. I’ll keep it to myself.”

Very little gets kept to oneself once a team’s harmony is breached, especially in L.A.’s mega media market, where the most innocent comments are chum in the water.  

Sour grapes about lineup changes combined with losses until something curious happened. Kobe Bryant—who was on a collision course with passing Michael Jordan for No. 3 on the all-time scoring list—put all that aside for a moment.

He was simply fed up with losing.

During a Dec. 11 practice at the Lakers’ El Segundo facility, Bryant—who often sits out scrimmages to preserve his old and battered body—decided to suit up and set a few things straight.

What resulted was some classic Mamba trash-talking and expletives, which the vast majority of sports fans on planet Earth probably did not miss.

Bryant’s “Charmin” refrain even brought the venerable tissue paper manufacturer roaring back into the public conscious via social media.

Scott later painted the tongue-lashing in motivational strokes, per Arash Markazi of ESPN LA:

"

I just think he did a great job of getting everyone else fired up. He's always fired up. That's the great thing about him. He's such a competitor. When he comes out here the intensity level in practice goes sky high and he challenges guys, which is what you should do.

"

The timing of all this can be argued six ways to Sunday, but in the middle of a run at history, Bryant seized the media’s attention and thrust it onto his teammates with a very public challenge.

What followed was a road trip, kicked off by the Purple and Gold beating the San Antonio Spurs in overtime.

Bryant didn’t break Jordan’s record that night on national television. Instead, he played an all-around game with a focus on facilitating, with 22 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals.

As for his beleaguered teammates, suddenly they were back in the picture—in a good way.

Lin had his best game in ages, with 14 points and eight assists off the bench.

Boozer had 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots, also in relief.

And Nick “Swaggy P” Young—the team’s resident sixth man and unrepentant shooter—outscored everyone with 29 points, including a game-winning three-pointer.

After the game, Young spread the love around, talking about doing what he does and other classic swag-isms and frivolity.

But as Mark Medina for the Los Angeles Daily News noted, Young also gave credit to Bryant for the tirades in practice and the part that he played in a much-needed win:

"

I think we had a good vibe. We all got into it with each other, and I think we need that more. It builds character, it builds chemistry, when you’re fighting amongst each other and able to brush it off and still talk and still have fun with each other.

"

That last quote about building chemistry after fighting truly stands out.

The team was being tested after all those losses.

On Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the road trip continued with another Lakers win, 100-94. Bryant also passed the Jordan milestone in the process, scoring a team-high 26 points.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The longtime Lakers leader now has 32,310 points, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) and Karl Malone (36,928 points).

After the game, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN asked about the challenges of this season. Bryant said that the team was playing better now, adding: "As a young player, I struggled as well to figure the game out. And I had great mentors with me, that were patient with me and taught me the game. And I think it’s only right that I try and do the same."

The trials and tribulations are far from over.

This is a team whose successes and failures are instant fodder for the 24-hour media beast.

And nothing spells “clickbait” more than a legend making history with an abysmal team suffering from locker room issues.

Now in his 19th season, Bryant is pulling out every stop in the book on a farewell tour he doesn’t want to end. 

The Lakers may finally be flashing signs of passing the chemistry test.

But as they desperately try to play catch-up in the Western Conference, the challenges will continue to mount.

And so the journey continues for a basketball legend and his team, and a quest to return to prominence.