It was asking a lot of Kobe Bryant when the Los Angeles Lakers shifted to assigning the 34-year-old to guarding the opposing team’s most dynamic guard while still relying on him on the offensive end.

It was asking so much, in fact, that Bryant admitted after the Lakers’ 99-90 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday that he will need some help to be able to continue it.

“If (guarding the opposing team’s offensive threat) is going to be something that I’m going to have to do for a while, I’m going to need my teammates’ help to free up offensively,” Bryant said. “Like we did in the fourth quarter — create some picks for me, create some easy shots. That’s going to be tough for me to guard the top guy and come down the other end and have to go one-on-one every play. So, I’m going to need some help.”

 via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com