After notching his 21st career triple-double Tuesday night, in a 111-103 road win against the Denver Nuggets, Kobe Bryant spoke about his willingness to dish the rock and resist to temptation to hoist up so many shots.
Bryant says he’ll make passes, but expects his Los Angeles Lakers teammates to knock down shots.
Kobe teased the media about their obsession with his voluminous shot attempts.
Per the LA Times:
“To score the ball takes a lot out of my legs. I’m making some adjustments,” Bryant said, crediting his recent basketball break. “Oh my gosh, yes. Absolutely. […] But also it gave me a chance to reflect. Breaking down my game. You see now I’m very, very efficient. I know exactly where I want to go. I get to my spots, I don’t try to beat guys with quickness. I back them down, I get to my areas, I elevate over them. It’s just old-school Oscar Robertson style.”
“I’m more of a natural scorer, but it doesn’t mean I can’t evolve,” Bryant said. “I played more of a point guard role on our first three championships [from 2000-02] so I’ve been taught very well how to do that. It’s not something that’s unfamiliar to me.”
He wasn’t angry at all — the Lakers had just won, 111-103 — but he firmly batted away a question about his passing vs. scoring personas. […] “I don’t know why it’s so hard for you guys to understand that. No, I really don’t,” he said. “Like, it’s fascinating to me. When [teammates] are open, they make shots, it’s easy. I sit back. When they don’t and we’re down 15 or something points, I try to get it going. Sometimes I make them. Sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, you think it’s because I’m not passing the ball. It’s really that simple. You guys have a very hard time understanding that for some reason.”
