Kobe Bryant: ‘I’ll Be Scoring a Lot More When [Steve] Nash Gets Back’

Kobe’s scoring numbers aren’t way down this season—he’s averaging 26.9 points per game, just one point per game less than last year. But he does expect that number to go up when point guard Steve Nash returns, allowing Kobe the chance to do less distributing and more, well, shooting. Via the OC Register: “Bryant understands how it looks. When he sets up teammates for buckets, the Lakers have been winning. When he doesn’t, they haven’t. Bryant’s pick-and-roll plays are “by far” the best attack the team has, D’Antoni said, while Steve Nash remains out because of a leg fracture. No. 2 point guard Steve Blake might be back from his abdominal strain Tuesday against Indiana, but Bryant had four assists and no turnovers in the Lakers’ hot first quarter against the Mavericks. To Bryant, though, when he sets up teammates and they don’t make shots, then he has no choice but to shoot more to try to rally. ‘I’ve been doing this my whole career, and some nights my teammates hit more shots and that adds up to more assists for me,’ Bryant said. ‘The games we win are when the whole team is making shots. Now, if our shots aren’t going in, then I have to take more of the offensive load.’ Bryant is looking forward to Nash’s return, for sure. Nash will be re-evaluated next week. ‘I’ll be scoring a lot more when Nash gets back,’ Bryant said. ‘I won’t have to facilitate as much, and it will allow me to do what I do best — and that’s put the ball in the hole.'”