For the third consecutive game to start this season, the Los Angeles Lakers lost and Kobe Bryant struggled to shoot the ball.
Kobe’s latest line included making only three of his 15 shots in the Lakers 103-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Head coach Byron Scott brought up Kobe’s preseason calf injury as possibly throwing off his rhythm, but Kobe himself offered no excuses, calling himself the 200th best player in the league according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
Kobe: “I’m the 200th best player in the league right now. I freakin’ suck.“
— Bill Oram (@billoram) November 2, 2015
Kobe continued to be extremely hard on himself and did not mince words when describing his play via Baxter Holmes of ESPN:
Kobe: "I just can’t make a shot. Just playing like s–t right now."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) November 2, 2015
So far this season, Kobe has made only 14 of his 51 shot attempts and is even worse form three-point range, making only 6 of his 29 attempts from deep. Kobe has settled for mostly jumpers so far this season and has yet to find a way to make them fall.
Many questioned whether Kobe could still contribute at a high level coming into this 20th season and so far things haven’t gone great, but it is still extremely early in the season. Kobe has spoken about taking a step back and letting the young core take the reins, and that could be exactly what helps Kobe get back into a groove.
