Kobe Bryant Refuses To Criticize Mike Brown

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant admitted that he was frustrated by being benched in yesterday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, but according to the Los Angeles Times, he refused to criticize his head coach.

"It's his decision to make,” Bryant told the Times.  “He's the coach. If you guys are looking for a story, I'm not going to contribute to it. I can't sit here and criticize his decisions. Leading this ball club, that's not something I can afford to do. I had his back the whole season. I can't start doing something crazy now. It would make no sense."

The 30-19 Lakers fell to the 26-21 Grizzlies last night 102-96.  Bryant, who scored 18 points on the game, played the second most minutes on the team in the contests behind center Andrew Bynum. He was, however, noticeably absent from the floor during crucial moments late in the game.