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. "He can be more effective down there," he added.
Bryant, who has made a team-high of 21 3-pointers through two games, was asked about his coach's comments after Friday's 18-point loss to the Sacramento Kings. "I'm not worried about it," said Bryant, who is 4-of-21 from the 3-point range. "I can always get to those spots."
With that information, the numbers indicate Bryant's preference to stay closer to the perimeter. ESPN reported that the area where there's been a lot of buzz is how Bryant interacts with his younger teammates. After losing to the Kings, Bryant said that he must defer to the younger players. Through two games, he made as many passes as field-goal attempts of 36. Among the 213 players that have at least 70 touches so far, Bryant is the only player who has made a lot of ball passes than making shots on field goal attempts.
After Kobe Bryant's third straight poor performance in the opening of the regular season, he criticized himself harshly. "I'm the 200th-best player in the league right now," Bryant said after they lost to the Dallas Mavericks at the Staples Center on Sunday. He scored only 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the floor.
Kobe Bryant completed 3-of-15 from the field for 15 points with five rebounds, one assist and two 3-pointers in 31 minutes on Sunday.
His frustrated and disappointed statement was, "I freakin' suck." And just the 200th? Kidding aside, Bryant has made just 31.4 percent from the field for averages of 17.3 points, 4.3 boards, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 2.0 treys. He is not aggressive at all and just has four shots in the limited area in his three games, according to Roto World and as tweeted by Bill Oram.
"I just can't make a shot," Bryant said. Coach Scott had no answers for Bryan's struggles.