If your name is Mychal Thompson, if you’re involved with the Los Angeles Lakers organization or if you’re a fan of the team, you might have thought LA was going to win their game against the Golden State Warriors.
Well, if you thought that, the Lakers let you down and the Warriors continued on their way to their 16th win to start the season, setting an NBA record in the process.
While the Lakers were getting trounced by 34 points, there was one big troubling sign in the game. The Warriors were clicking on all cylinders and Kobe Bryant was on the other end struggling to do anything.
Kobe tied the worst shooting performance of his career in any game in which he attempted at least five shots. Bryant shot 1-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range and he scored four points in nearly 25 minutes. Bryant also shot 1-of-14 from the field last November in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, a game which was also nationally televised.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bryant is the first player this season with four or fewer points on 14 or more field goal attempts. This was Bryant’s fourth game over the past five seasons in which he shot 15 percent or worse from the field, with a minimum of 10 attempts. In the first 15 seasons of his career, he had two games like this.
So what’s Kobe’s prognosis on the potential rockbottom level game? Nothing. There was nothing he could’ve done to prevent it. There’s a problem bigger than him.
Following from Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com.
“I’m not really worried about it, honestly,” Bryant said. “My shooting will be better. I could’ve scored 80 tonight. It wouldn’t have made a damn difference. We just have bigger problems. I could be out there averaging 35 points a game. We’d be what, 3-11? We’ve got to figure out how to play systematically in a position that’s going to keep us in ballgames.”
“In all honesty, it was tough, the shots that I take, pullup shots and jumpers and contested jumpers — those are tough shots to hit at 27,” Bryant said. “It’s very tough to hit at 37. I’ve got to do a better job of demanding some help off the ball, get some easier chances — pin-downs, picks, catch-and-shoots, things of that nature. Tonight was just very frustrating. It kind of got the better of me.”
“Frustration kind of got to me,” Bryant said. “The fact that — the way I played, the way I shot, blowing coverages defensively, coming down offensively and not having concept of what we’re trying to do. It just kind of got to me a little bit and frustrated me, and it affected my shot.”
Then again, Kobe still wants his teammates to pass him the ball. Following courtesy of Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Kobe said he needs help so he can get easier looks
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 25, 2015
Bryant is averaging 15.2 points on a team-high 16.4 field goal attempts per game this season. His 31.1 field goal percentage is the lowest figure of his career. Bryant has now played 12 consecutive games scoring fewer than 25 points while shooting worse than 50 percent, the longest such streak of his career.
On the flipside, Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young doesn’t believe Kobe scoring 80 would’ve been the solution either. He thinks an entire team game would’ve worked best.
Following courtesy of Serena Winters from Lakers Nation.
.@LAIreland asked Nick Young what LAL can do better, his response: “We can’t let one guy determine everything. We have to play as a team"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 25, 2015
Nick Young continued: "It can’t be like a video game & you’re playing w/ your favorite player, you know? We’ve all got to share the ball.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 25, 2015
Whatever the issue is, something needs to be figured out fast because this drop in Kobe’s career is a sad sight to see. Not only for the fans but also his fellow NBA players.
Following from Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
Several Warriors players were shocked at how far Kobe has fallen. Lots of respect for him in Dubs locker room. They grew up on Black Mamba
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) November 25, 2015
