LOS ANGELES — Always betting on himself, Kobe Bryant was doing it again Sunday night.
Pushing his chips in despite a streak of bad beats. Hoping the next hand turns the tide. Believing his skill shall triumph over mere luck.
According to the Kobe calculator, the more misses already in a box score, the more makes he is due—particularly as the game is being decided.
This, however, was not the same Kobe.
It wasn't just the lack of foot speed.
There was no confidence in the way he was playing. It was desperation.
And therein lies the difference between a great gamer and a bad gambler.
These shots were beyond his usual forced ones. He was taking contested and out-of-rhythm three-pointers. When he did work his way a little closer to the basket, he was moving himself to his preferred spots on the court instead of reading the defense the way he has done better than almost anyone to play this game.
So after Bryant had missed 12-of-15 shots on the night and the Dallas Mavericks had their wire-to-wire 103-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in a battle of ...
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Article written by Kevin Ding
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