As he sipped hot tea in a cold locker room, Kobe Bryant looked like he wanted to call in sick. For a week.
It wasn’t the best 12 hours for the 24-year-old wunderkind. For one, he’s battling what might be the flu. For another, his team lost last night for the fourth time in five games.
For a third, he was a big part of the reason why.
Bryant endured one of his most miserable outings in recent memory in the Lakers’ 98-71 blowout loss to the Nets, clanging 21 of 29 shots and turning the ball over four times.
So, how was your day?
“When you’re in bed most of the day, it’s tough to get your legs,” Bryant said. “I was tripping over myself to start the game a little bit. I had to get my base underneath.”
He never found it. The All-Star guard finished with a respectable 21 points but was hardly the dazzling player that he is typically.
Part of the reason was the Nets’ defensive tandem of 6-5 Lucious Harris and 6-3 Anthony Johnson, neither of whom had ever conjured up memories of Bill Russell. But they gave the 6-6 Bryant fits, harassing him with their long arms.
“I just tried to contest his shots,” Harris said. “He is much better at going to the basket than shooting the 3. As a result, I played off him a little.”
Said Bryant, “They did a good job on me defensively, making me take tough shots. Credit has to go to their defense.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson had said before the game that he wanted Bryant to look for his shot more, especially early. And Bryant complied, putting up 10 shots in the first quarter and 18 by halftime.
Problem was, what Bryant took he couldn’t make. He missed seven of his first eight and misfired on 13 of the 18 by intermission.
Still, after a brilliant steal and dunk, where Bryant tipped the ball from behind his back to his front, you had the feeling he was about to erupt. Many of his misses were similarly spectacular, only failing because of some unkind iron.
A double-clutch hanger rolled out. A driving reverse rimmed off. He went to the glass and it banged off too strong. He lofted a feathery runner and it toilet-bowled out, too soft.
“I tried to stay composed,” Bryant said. “A lot of shots were just going in and coming out.”
“You can’t stop Kobe,” Jason Kidd said. “You just have to hope he misses more than he makes.”