For what it's worth if Kobe kept shooting at his pace the last three games he'd finish at just under 40 percent from the field. Honestly I would love to see that to see him at least putting up respectable numbers compared to what he was shooting the first 17 games or so. More importantly because that will have meant the young guys are able to flourish and him not taking away from that.
Well in fairness Kobe shot us out of the game and he's been playing a lot smarter lately. If he keeps playing that way and limits his shot attempts to 12/13 and obviously D'Angelo's improvement and we should get Clarkson back the first game back from the road trip and with the way Randle has been playing the last month or so I just think the talent of these young guys will eventually be able to string together some wins. As incompetent as Byron is we still nearly won that game against Minnesota. Against San Antonio despite being overmatched we hung in there for much longer than anybody anticipated. I could see about 25 wins or so. 30 is probably a stretch. Would need to go 22-37. That's doable.
I think 25 wins is somewhat reasonable I'd they ride this wave. Sure they got blown out late but for a while they were right in there against the 2nd best team in the league. This is the kind of game that makes people think a little bit. This is the kind of game we used to have against the Warriors and the Thunder and say," Hm they're going to be good one day." As for Kobe he's playing just so much freaking smarter. Knowing he's only playing 25 minutes a night let's him use more energy in short bursts. Its leading to better form like @tada said. Early in the game his shots were vintage Kobe. They looked great and I think it's because he has no pressure to carry the team anymore (yes he put that on himself but still).
I think Kobe's just been use to shooting himself out of slumps for 20 years, and it must be hard to accept that this isn't a slump, it's just where his old body is at in this phase of his career. The fearless, keep shooting mentality has served him well throughout his career, so this inability to fix his shooting and ability to score must be killing him. Once he resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't will us to a win, like he could in the past, he's been playing like he's a complementary player which is what we need and what his body demands at this stage. Still... 20 years of playing a certain way is a hard habit to kick, so don't be surprised if he reverts back every once in a while
He sure did, probably his best game of the year IMO. You were better off just checking the box score instead of watching Ras. It's never a joyful experience when you're watching Robert Sacre get extended minutes.
Getting his legs back. Playing smart. Much more in the flow. Not forcing it like he was before. Liking what I'm seeing.
I think it was the shoes. Those were cool. On another note, the change in Kobe's game seemed to coincide with his first time scoring 30 points since he's he's been back. Almost as if it was a mental barrier, and he had to gun to get there at all costs. To prove it to himself. And now that he proved to himself that he could get there, he's a different player. Weird. I started to wonder if maybe Our coach sat him down and had a talk, but then I remembered that's total BS. Not possible, would require a leader.
I would love for Kobe to finish the year like this. People apologizing for writing him off, begging for him to come back, players young and old praising him, fans loving him, as he rides off into the sunset after giving us this last taste of an all time great