You didn’t have to hog the ball.
You’re triple-teamed so kick it out to either Blake or Sessions.
I know that they don’t shoot so well,
but you’re really not the Kobe that we used to know.
Brilliant. That’s some good Gotye parody.
It’s a viscious circle with Kobe Bryant. It’s not that he doesn’t trust his teammates, it’s just he doesn’t trust them as much as himself. Kobe’s defining characteristic — which cuts both ways — is an unshakable belief in himself, in part because of the work he puts in. So when teammates miss a shot or two, when they don’t fight to get open, Kobe willingly takes on more of the offense himself. Which causes his teammates to say “why bother, he won’t pass,” so he takes on more and more. It spirals. He sees the points, he doesn’t question the efficency. He doesn’t see his contested jumper as a bad shot (even if it would drive him crazy if others took it).
And where you end up is Kobe being frustrated Metta World Peace didn’t try a dangerous cross-court lob entry pass over Serge Ibaka and rather chose to pass it to the wide open Steve Blake. In the end, both of those plays would have had the same success rate.
Hat tip to Ball Don’t Lie.