Bryant is averaging a league-high 29.5 points per game, continuing on the trend of right around five assists and five rebounds per, and doing it all while having one of the most efficient seasons to date.
He's shooting 47.7 percent from the floor, 38 percent from the three-point line and 87 percent from the free-throw line, and all while he's continuing to play the role as the Lakers main ball-handler, getting shots from isolation more often than not.
That's a pretty amazing start when you consider he could end up being even better as the season rolls along.
If Steve Nash's history is any indicator, he's going to be able to get Kobe more open three-pointers and more chances on cuts to the rim.
At the very least he's just another body on the floor for the opposition to think about.
There is, of course, one main criticism of Kobe: He shoots too much. Even when the shots are falling at a consistent rate, he shoots too much.
The stats are hard to ignore. When Kobe shoots 20 shots or more this season, the Lakers are 4-11. When he refrains and shoots fewer than 20, the Lakers are 8-2.
Chris Broussard took a look at the past few seasons and found that the Lakers have a .535 winning percentage when Kobe takes more than 20 shots, compared to a .785 winning percentage when he's taking fewer than 20 shots.
Even team scouts seem to have the same opinion of Bryant:
One thing our coach always says is, 'Kobe's probably going to get his 28 points, but let's make sure it's on 28 shots and not 16 shots.'
If Dwight's not going to try his butt off and if other guys aren't going to try their butts off, then I'm going to give the ball to the guy that's going to go for it, and that's Kobe. I don't think it's that Kobe...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
