Hoops Habit
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: A Guide To Enjoying The End Of Kobe Bryant’s Career

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts during 120-109 loss against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts during 120-109 loss against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Los Angeles Lakers
Nov 1, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) is fouled by Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons (25) as he goes for a 3 point basket in the first quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Stop. Shooting. Threes.

For those of you who haven’t watched the Lakers play much this season, all this probably sounds like hyperbole. Okay, so maybe Kobe’s not a spring chicken anymore, but he can’t be THAT bad, right? Wrong. Even if you threw out his egregiously oversized contract, Kobe’s sudden reliance on the three-point shot has handcuffed the Lakers’ offense so far this year.

Through four games, Kobe has taken a grand total of 34 three-pointers — an average of 8.5 per game. Just for reference, Stephen Curry — the reigning MVP and, by all rights, the greatest shooter to ever play this game — has taken 54 threes through five games, averaging out to 10.8 per game.

For a guy whose career three-point percentage is 33.3 percent on 4.0 attempts per game, Kobe is WAY out of his element taking that many threes. And the results. HAVE.

BEEN.

BAD.

Kobe taking 8.5 three-pointers per game, despite making only 20.4 percent of them, is not just stubborn; it’s irrational and detrimental to the team’s success.

Those three airballs don’t even cover it. When NBA beat writers are compiling three-minute long videos of all your terrible three-point attempts FOUR GAMES INTO THE SEASON, you’re doing something wrong.

The NBA is diving into the pace and space era that Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni began, a league-wide movement that culminated with the Golden State Warriors winning a championship last year. Teams need three-point shooting to be successful now, and anyone still clinging to the outdated “live by the three, die by the three” adage will be left behind.

Live Feed

Golden State Warriors' pacific rival makes huge free agent signing
Golden State Warriors' pacific rival makes huge free agent signing /

Blue Man Hoop

  • Lakers sign Christian Wood after long stare down for 14th roster spot Lake Show Life
  • When does NBA Training Camp start? Dates Lakers fans need to know Lake Show Life
  • Grade the trade: Lakers bring back Alex Caruso is new proposal Lake Show Life
  • Lakers' Austin Reaves completes Alex Caruso arc with eerily similar highlight dunk Lake Show Life
  • NBA rumors: Trae Young trade buzz, Andre Drummond is a comedian, Wemby and KAT team up FanSided

    • Now that his athleticism and explosiveness have left him, it makes sense that he’d try to rely on a more perimeter-oriented attack plan. But even with the league’s latest trends in mind, Kobe’s shot selection can’t be defended. Some of the shots he’s taking are just plain irresponsible.

    Right now, Kobe Bryant looks like a guy who spent all summer reading about the pace and space era and decided that mastering the three-point shot near the tail-end of his career was his path to the Fountain of Youth. Instead, he’s taken shots away from teammates and made the Lakers’ early season that much more unbearable to watch.

    The midrange has become no man’s land for modern teams that use analytics to determine where the most efficient shots on the floor are, but guess what? One-on-one moves in the midrange are what made Kobe great once upon a time.

    If Kobe doesn’t have the speed to attack the basket anymore, and he doesn’t have the three-point shot to spread the floor, he’s got to try to post up more and operate from spots that have historically served him well. This whole nonsense of Kobe catching the ball, dribbling for 10 seconds and then launching an ill-advised three just isn’t working.

    Next: No. 1

    Home/Los Angeles Lakers