Struggling Kobe: I'm '200th-best player' right now
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant harshly criticized himself after his third straight poor performance to open the regular season, his 20th with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m the 200th-best player in the league right now,” Bryant said after the Lakers’ 103-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on Sunday, during which Bryant scored 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the floor. “I freaking suck.”
Bryant is shooting 31 percent (16-of-51) from the floor in three games, including 20 percent (6-of-29) from 3-point range. He shot 2-of-8 from 3-point range against Dallas.
“I just can’t make a shot,” said Bryant, who was ranked No. 93 in ESPN’s #NBArank project, which counts down the NBA’s top players for this upcoming season.
Lakers coach Byron Scott had no answers for Bryant’s struggles.
“I don’t know,” Scott said. “I know he’s not happy with it. He’s disappointed with the way he’s shooting the ball. He’s playing hard. He’s competing just like he always does. I think it’s a matter of time.”
Scott suggested that the two weeks Bryant recently spent sidelined because of a lower leg bruise “set him back.”
“He’s just trying to get that feel back again,” Scott said.
Bryant didn’t necessarily agree.
“Maybe. Just playing like s— right now, that’s all,” Bryant said. “I’m getting the shots I want. Just got to make them.”
Bryant, 37, didn’t blame fatigue or his health or shot selection.
“At some point you’ve just got to say to hell with all of that and just figure out how to put the ball in the hole,” Bryant said.
When asked how the Lakers could turn around their poor start, Bryant said, “Well, if I could make a damn shot, that would help. I suck right now.”
Scott said he still believes Bryant is valuable on the court even if he isn’t making shots.
“You’ve still got to respect him out there, period,” he said. “No matter what.”
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