Kobe did finish the game with 11 points, all of them coming in the final period. Still, the poor shooting was at a level not many fans were not accustomed to and seeing him struggle from the field was very unusual.
When asked what could have been the reason for his shooting, Kobe Bryant pointed the finger to fatigue, Los Angeles Times’ Mark Medina writes.
“Fatigue might have something to do with it,” Bryant said. “But I had good shots in the rhythm of the offense and so forth.”
Many players have had bad shooting performances this season and a lot of it has to do with the condensed schedule. To make matter worse for the Lakers, this graphs shows that Kobe’s shooting percentage is free-falling but he is continuing to record in a plethora of minutes.
With the post-season rapidly approaching, the coaching staff must make sure it is giving Kobe Bryant enough time to rest and make sure his fatigue is not negatively affecting his game and the team.