Is Kobe Not Playing Hard Enough?

His coach seems to think so: “The question was about Kobe Bryant’s recent lack of shooting touch, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson skipped right past the specifics to deliver a sweeping condemnation of the entire team’s lackluster play of late. ‘You know, my issue with the players is that they’re not working hard enough,’ Jackson said. ‘They’re saving steps. When you do that, you try to get by without having to exert yourself enough to win games the right way. And Kobe is one of those people who is doing that. He’s measuring out what it takes to win a ballgame. This is a veteran who’s been through a lot of seasons. We just have to shorten his minutes a little bit to keep his legs live.'”