"If you think I want to shoot as many times or be as aggressive at 36 years old, then you’re freaking crazy," a frustrated Kobe Bryant stood at his locker after scoring 44 points in a lopsided loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Bryant used a curious analogy to explain his aggressive shot taking in the game, "Obviously, I'd rather get guys involved earlier, but a purse gets stolen in front of you, how many blocks are you going to let the guy run?"
According to the 19-year veteran, he had to take the ball and score it in order to provide the Los Angeles Lakers some hope. Only, that is not what happened. Bryant shot a decent percentage, his teammates never got in any sort of rhythm and the Warriors won big.
"I just try to keep us in the game," Bryant attempted to justify shooting 34 times in a game that the Lakers trailed by as many as 38 points. "I'd rather not have to do that, but you can't just sit back and watch a crime happen right in front of you."
Crimes were occurring, and a purse being snatched was the correct imagery. Jack Nicholson, Shaquille O’Neal and Floyd Mayweather were all sitting on the court, and numerous other celebrities and wealthy personalities spent big bucks to watch the Lakers fail to compete. The value of Bryant scoring 44 points in three quarters may not have convinced these fans that the Lakers were worth watching, but Bryant made a convincing argument for still being an elite scorer. Even with Bryant scoring 27.3 points per game, the Lakers are criminally bad at 1-9 on the season.
"Just make plays. I'm more than willing to sit back," Bryant responded when asked how his teammates could get more involved. "I'd always rather guys get involved and play. That's always the intent at the start of the ballgame, but you go down 10-12 points in the hole, I got to try to keep us in the ballgame at some point."
Bryant pointed to transition defense as the failing factor. The 19-year veteran welcomed his coach's threats to change the lineups in order to draw greater effort defensively. However, the Lakers' on-court leader said he did not have much to say to his brethren after the game ended.
"This responsibility, it's on me," Bryant again attempted to explain why he continued to shoot when his points did not appear to have any impact on winning the game. "When things go good, it’s 'us.' When things go bad, it’s 'me.' And that's the responsibility of being in this seat."
Asked about the mood after the game, the veteran said the locker room was quiet and full of disappointment.
"It gets to a point where you can't make excuses," Bryant attempted to claim his share of the blame pie. "You can't look at everybody else and point the finger. You got to look at yourself first. I got to look at myself first. Maybe I'm being too aggressive. Maybe I need to let the person run a couple more blocks and let the authorities come.
"It's easy to look at everybody else. I'll look at myself and see if there are other things I can do to keep guys involved and get them better opportunities and things of that nature. And hopefully, everybody's doing the same thing."
