Kobe really, really needs to stop shooting 3s. Take a page out of the Lebron/Wade book, and just stop.
“Kobe isn’t Lebron, 5 rings.” No, I’m not saying Kobe is Lebron.
“It will get better, it’s not that bad, you’re overreacting.” No I’m not overreacting to a young season.
Right now Kobe is 9 for 48 from three.. 18.8% (obviously worst of his career). Think about how horrible that is. Keep thinking.. yea it’s pretty damn horrible.
He won’t keep shooting that bad, but think about the whole picture. Kobe has a fucked up wrist. He’s shooting 4.4 threes a game. Why? He just jacks em up. Kobe, just stop. As fucked as his wrist is, as bad as his turnovers (3.9TOpg, 2nd worst of his career) and three shooting is.. he’s marvelous from midrange. I’m sure you’ve noticed while watching. It just seems like he doesn’t miss from midrange. Kobe this year is 59-113 from midrange (outside the paint, inside 3).. that’s 52.2%. That’s amazing. That’s his game right now. It’s effective. Keep going to it. Stop with the longball.
Also Kobe’s usage right now is higher than his usage in 05-06 (81pt season)… which is the all time highest usage of any player since 1980 (when it started being tracked). With the messed up wrist, with the compacted season, with Gasol/Bynum on this team… why? But that’s for another time.
What I’m trying to say is… Kobe, after last night’s game, you’re shooting 46% on the year, which is one of your better years. Kobe you are shooting over 8 free throws a game, which is 5th highest in the league (behind Bron, Dwight, Melo, and Love).. and which is AMAZING for a guy shooting jumpers all day. Man, just cut down on the 3 ball. I didn’t mean it earlier when I said stop… but take maybe 2 less per game. A couple open ones a game. Maybe a bailout or heat check. But let’s just stop jacking up 3s and get your efficiency to where it’s never been and where it can be.
Thank you
Sources:
http://www.nba.com/statscube/player.html#Kobe-Bryant|977;year=201112;season=r
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanko01.html
I think the simple explanation is that the defense gives him a lot more room on the 3 than they do when he gets inside the 3. Still, he needs to attack more.
BTW since you watch all the Lakers games, can you tell me if Bynum has slowed down considerably since his scintillating start or he just plain isnt getting the ball enough?
That explanation isn’t really a good reason for anything though. It’s like.. Lebron isn’t shooting 3s. He’s not as good from midrange as Kobe. His game is all inside. He gets lots of space on his 3s. Is it a good idea to shoot it? No. Kobe doesn’t need to shoot it. His midrange game is amazing. And he actually does try to shoot a lot of his 3s over his man..for just no reason.
And there’s a mix of things for Bynum not beasting the last few games. The Lakers have been really sloppy.. and we just aren’t passing it into his spots as much. Conditioning probably comes into play, when he gets pushed out of position, he hasn’t found it again. Also, we’ve been giving it to Pau more these days for the midrange or so he can make a move.
LeBron is stronger, faster, quicker and younger than Kobe though. Not saying its an excuse but Kobe just can’t run by defenders like he used to. Also, the guy is thickheaded as hell and all the missed shots are probably driving him to shoot more so he can prove that he can shoot 3s. As retarded as that sounds, it makes perfect sense Kobe-wise.
As for Bynum, everytime I watch highlights, I see him throwing up his arms if he doesnt get the ball, or complaining to the bench, or slumping his shoulders etc. His body language just pisses me off because he has this sense of entitlement that he has yet to earn. I know he was beasting but I really don’t think he has the consistency to overtake Pau as the 2nd option (lets not even start the “He’s better than Kobe” talk). Thoughts?
You forgot to quote my opinion on the matter: “Is that the one black guy on the team of all white guys?”
It’s not about Lebron being quicker.. I didn’t say Kobe should charge inside. He’s shooting loads of midrange jumpers right now right? I say stick to that, which is high efficiency for him, and cut out the 3.
And yea, Bynum was been weird the last few games. He’s like that, it seems like he’s giving up on the play once they don’t pass to him. Also… he never sees the open man once he gets the ball and they collapse on him. He will never make a quick pass out of there, he will have to take his time with the ball, then backing down, pivoting, then finally passing if he’s forced to.
Spyderbutt, Lakers have like 4 blacks get it right
You realize that NBA defenses are completely aware of these facts and would want to keep Kobe from getting easy midrange shots? Also, that it is much easier to collapse on a player once he enter the D (within the 3 point line) and/or help on him? Getting off a shot before the D catches up needs a quick first step. Otherwise you’re shooting contested Js all game long, which even for someone with Kobe’s talent basically boils down to being “on” or not on the night. Again, this is not an excuse for the guy jacking up almost 5 3s a game, but trust that Kobe and the Lakers and the whole NBA know where he likes to get his shots from. Of course he could be patient and wait for the right opportunities but its clear that so far he has no intentions of doing that, and Mike Brown does not have the balls to stop him.