Kobe Bryant: Pressure Isn't Enemy of Black Mamba's Early Season Struggles

Kobe Bryant cost the Los Angeles Lakers a win against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night after shooting 6-of-28. While LaLa Land may be up in flames in some people’s eyes, the letdown will end up being nothing but a hiccup on the Lakers’ road back to prominence.

Bryant didn’t just have a poor game, though; he skipped the postgame press conference in a move that will cause many to point to pressure and an injury that’s getting to him, but there’s simply no puzzle to be solved.

It isn’t that difficult to comprehend; the Nuggets loss was just another Black Mamba chuckfest and reporters weren’t going to ask him anything new in the postgame.

First off, let’s just get the press-conference dodge out of the way.

Kobe has been in the league for 15 years. Over those 15 years, Bryant has posted too many nights with similar shooting stats. In the Lakers’ last championship season, Kobe recorded five games in which he shot under 30 percent from the field.

Do you really think a sports reporter is going to come up with a groundbreaking question that Bryant hasn’t ever heard before?

Nope.

After 15 seasons of poor shot selection and playing through injuries, there’s only so many times a player can have the patience to keep hearing…

Is your poor shooting night a result of your wrist injury?  What must you change going into next game?  Are you feeling the pressure of leading the Lakers after such an up-and-down offseason?

Kobe was just one assist away from a triple-double against the same team the night before—with the same wrist injury. The game before that, he shot 58.8 percent from the field—with the same wrist injury.  

And if you’re seriously questioning Bryant’s ability to withstand pressure, you really haven’t learned much over the years.

Bryant can be erratic at times; his shooters mentality can be his greatest weakness, but this isn’t exactly a new development. Kobe will occasionally have those types of games where he keeps firing away even though there’s a lid on the basket.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Derek Fisher admitted he and his teammates weren't helping Bryant boost his field goal percentage too much, saying: "Tonight we put Kobe in some tough spots where he had to take some long shots just to kind of get a shot up to the rim."

Bryant and the Lakers will rebound, fans and analysts will forget about early-season struggles and the next time LA loses, the never-ending drama cycle will begin again.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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