It’s a known fact that Kobe Bryant is playing terribly. He’s hit just 16 of his first 51 shots as the Los Angeles Lakers have sunk to an 0-3 start. In an attempt to be self-deprecating, he told reporters that he “freaking sucks” and that he’s no better than the 200th-best player in the NBA right now. Even that’s being kind.
Kobe Bryant’s shot selection is utter garbage and the Lakers’ coach is ‘fine’ with it
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Given those numbers, it doesn’t make sense for Kobe to be jacking up 17 difficult shots a game. Yet Lakers coach Byron Scott doesn’t see a problem here.
“Fine,” Scott said about Bryant’s shot selection. “I thought yesterday he did a much better job of getting to the basket, and he took some of the shots that we had been talking about as well. So, I’m fine with his shot selection right now. I mean, all of us can do a little bit better.”
These are the shots Byron Scott is “fine” with Kobe taking.
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To be fair to Scott, nobody is changing Kobe Bryant’s shot selection at this point. Kobe became an NBA legend by hitting shots like this. It’s what made him great and it’s still a part of his mythology. It’s too bad Kobe never learned to adjust his game like Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan and countless other aging stars, but that’s crying over spilled milk.
On the other hand, part of the reason Kobe won’t changing is that people like Byron Scott keep saying they are “fine” with this on-court behavior. There’s no reason for Kobe to change if the people tasked with guiding Kobe into playing more efficiently won’t actually do that job. What used to work for Kobe doesn’t anymore, yet no coach has worked hard enough to get him to realize that. Maybe it’s a losing effort, but at least try.
But Scott didn’t. He doesn’t think he can do anything about it, and sadly, he’s right.
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