With Kobe's minutes it's not that he can't play 48 minutes, its can he play 48 minutes of effective ball. Hell I could go out there and play 48 minutes, I guarantee you I wouldn't be able to sustain anything half way decent past 15 minutes.
I'm not comparing myself to Kobe, but the point stands, I know he's a physical specimen and probably one of the best trained athletes in the NBA, but there is no way his effectiveness and efficiency can be the same all 48 minutes.
I'm not saying cut him to 28 or 30 minutes, but 36 minutes? 38 Minutes? I mean we could manage a quarter with out him spread over a game, at least i'd hope to think so.
Regardless, as much as I believe in this team, i'm looking forward to next year. And before players and contracts, I fully hope and beg that we get a new coach. I've stated before, MDA is not a horrible coach, he's just a ridiculously horrible coach for this team. Put him on the Timberwolves, Rockets, or Wizards and i'm sure he'd cause some trouble. On this team we need someone who understands how to use bigs and low post players.