Kobe Bryant Yelled at His Teammates Prior to Win Over Denver

You couldn’t tell given how happy and silly the Los Angeles Lakers were acting during their dominant win over the Denver Nuggets last night. But a day earlier, Kobe Bryant lit into his teammates for not being tough enough. Reports the LA Times: “Kobe Bryant is happier now. Slightly. Maybe. He was in an angry mood at Thursday’s practice, calling out his teammates for not being tough enough in games. It wasn’t a long rant, maybe half a minute, but he left practice in a hurry, stalking off the court toward the end of it, irritated that the first team had lost to the reserves several times. He knocked some items off a table at midcourt on his way to the locker room and did not talk to reporters who were let in after his outburst. ‘It was worth seeing,’ said a person at Lakers practice that day. Maybe it worked. The energized Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 122-103, Friday at Staples Center. […] Bryant was still tight-lipped after the game, if not dour. ‘If guys are too happy, I need to bring them back down to Earth tomorrow,’ he said with more than a slight edge.”