Los Angeles Lakers coach, Byron Scott, said last week that he preferred Kobe Bryant not to shoot 3-pointers and to instead shoot near the post and elbow area.
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Based on how off his shooting has been (31.3 percent on a whopping 51 field goal attempts in just 82 minutes played) during the Lakers 0-3 start, Bryant probably isn’t too far off with his ranking. The 17-time all-star was especially critical of himself after shooting 3-of-13 in Sunday’s game, going as far as to mockingly call himself the “200th-best player in the league”. He’s shooting 32 percent from the floor, airballing multiple threes in the same game, and, oh yeah, the Lakers are 0-4. This year Bryant is putting the blame on himself, saying “the guys are getting me the ball”. Before the season started, Sports Illustrated ranked Kobe Bryant as the 54th best player in the league while ESPN ranked him no. 93 in their #NBArank project. “For me, winning basketball games and then reaching milestones individually is a pretty cool thing, but obviously the team aspect comes first”, James said. “I think he really feels that it’s his fault, that he’s not playing the way he’s capable of playing”.
But Lou Williams? If the Lakers had landed big man free agent LaMarcus Aldridge over this past offseason and he was the one to take that last shot, that would have been perfectly acceptable.
“You’ve still got to respect him out there, period”.
Every season, Lakers fans worry about how long Bryant will be out injured, with all injuries tending to be long-term. “It’s their job to facilitate and it’s my job to finish”, he said.
The Los Angeles Lakers stink. But a few fans would have none of it – Laker exceptionalism is alive and well among parts of the fan base, and this team is going to stink for a second straight season. Randle followed up his career best game of 22 points and 15 rebounds against Dallas, with another strong outing, scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in the loss on Tuesday night.
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“He just finds always a great middle ground, and he’s a great in-game adjuster”. Then again, Bryant and Scott have a special relationship that is often reminiscent of a father coaching his son. “I’m fine with his shot selection right now”.
