Byron Scott unsure about Kobe Bryant’s plan to play in all 82 of Lakers’ games

Kobe Bryant has told Lakers Coach Byron Scott that he wants to play in all 82 games.

Scott might admire the concept but isn’t certain it will happen.

“That’s a grind, to try to play all 82,” Scott said Monday after the Lakers practiced without Bryant, who was given the day off. “We’re going to talk again.”

The way Scott described it, Bryant is eager to play them all, whether in Charlotte, Toronto or Boston.

“He said, ‘Coach, this might be my last year. I want to see if I could play every game that I can play,’” Scott said. “I was like, ‘OK, I’m good with that.’ And then getting here [Monday] morning, I was like, ‘You know what, maybe we better talk again.’

“I know how he feels and I understand that but my objective is to get him to play this whole season and that might mean missing some games just so he could get through the whole year.”

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Bryant, 37, sat out 123 of a possible 164 games the last two seasons because of injuries. He has played in all six this season, averaging 16.5 points but making only 32% of his shots and leaning heavily on three-point attempts that aren’t falling.

“I’m really relying on him to kind of tell me how he feels body-wise and energy-wise,” Scott said. “He’s always been pretty honest with me about that. Sometimes he’ll say he feels like you-know-what and other times he’ll say, ‘I feel good.’ ”

Bryant is playing 29.2 minutes a game, comfortably below the 34.5 he averaged before a torn rotator cuff ended his 19th NBA season in January.

His playing time is relevant this week because the Lakers (1-5) have their first back-to-back set Tuesday at Miami and Wednesday at Orlando. They’ll play 18 back-to-backs, which are typically considered the toughest regular-season tests of endurance.

Backup support needed

The Lakers have an aging Bryant, a rookie and two NBA sophomores in their starting lineup, so the reserves will play a critical role in shaping the team’s success.

Veterans Lou Williams and Nick Young are supposed to be scoring but haven’t been doing so consistently.

Williams has made only 33.3% of his shots and Young is averaging 10.3 points in an admittedly small chunk of time (18.2 minutes a game, on pace for the fewest since his rookie season).

“We’re not getting the big scoring from one of the [reserve] guys,” Scott said, “and when you kind of look at those guys, you say that it has to kind of come from Nick and Lou. We haven’t got that. But I think from the standpoint of those guys playing solid, good basketball and playing together, it’s been pretty good.”

Scott quickly goes from good to great when describing rookie Larry Nance Jr.’s recent play.

“He just provides a lot of energy and he plays extremely hard the times that he’s out there,” Scott said. “He rebounds the ball extremely well, he guards his guy. Sometimes, it’s a lot to be said about guys who go to school for four years. He’s one of those guys.”

Nance Jr., drafted 27th last June after playing at Wyoming, is averaging four points and 5.5 rebounds the last two games, his first in the NBA.

Metta’s world

Veteran Metta World Peace had an active game Sunday against the New York Knicks, getting eight points, four rebounds and a blocked shot and steal in 16 minutes of the Lakers’ 99-95 loss.

He made his first three shots but missed his fourth, a 14-footer in the fourth quarter. He blamed Knicks owner James Dolan.

“The rim was moving,” World Peace said. “Mr. Dolan, he has a remote control that moves it around and he moved it around on my last shot. It was going in and then he pressed the button right as it was going in. Mr. Dolan, he’s so funny.”

World Peace was joking, even though the Knicks waived him midway through the 2013-14 season.

MORE LAKERS NEWS

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Byron Scott to D’Angelo Russell: Play better or get less playing time

Five things we learned from the Lakers’ 104-98 victory over Brooklyn

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: Mike_Bresnahan