Los Angeles Lakers: Was Kobe Bryant Not Aware of How Much Time Left in Overtime?

We all see Kobe wearing a mask these days after the broken nose and concussion he suffered during the All-Star Game. But was that mask covering his eyes, too?

It seemed like when Kobe Bryant took a potential game-tying three-pointer with six seconds left in the ballgame, he might've thought there was 0.6 seconds left. He literally got the ball on the inbounds play and, without having his feet set, took a desperation three-pointer and missed.

Whether it was lack of clock awareness or trying to get a foul call, the play was just plain dumb and mind-boggling. He should have at least gotten his feet set. There was enough time to get an open look.

The Los Angeles Lakers had another shot to tie the game, but Metta World Peace missed his attempt as well. The Lakers shockingly lost to the Detroit Pistons, and all fingers can be pointed at Kobe Bean Bryant.

The Black Mamba, or Masked Mamba, or whatever he's called these days, shot a dismal 8-for-26 from the floor. Despite tying up the game on a fourth-quarter buzzer-beater, he might've also cost his team the game with his shooting over the course of the contest.

His All-Star teammate, Andrew Bynum, was the team's leading scorer with 30 points on 13-for-18 shooting. 

Logic would tell you that on an off shooting night, Bryant would distribute the ball more to Bynum and Pau Gasol, who was also having a solid game.

This isn't to say that Bynum should've taken the last shot. However, throughout the fourth quarter and overtime, it might've made sense to incorporate the bigs to a greater extent.

Perhaps this could be blamed on Mike Brown for not calling more set plays involving Bynum and Gasol.

One can't blame Kobe's inability to distribute completely, either. The Lakers bench did not step up at all, as they shot a combined 2-for-12 and were a combined minus-42 on the floor.

That being said, at the end of the day, Kobe is a veteran and should know that if the ball's not going in on certain nights, he has All-Star teammates at his disposal. 

It seems like for every clutch play Kobe has, it's followed up by a series of head-scratching plays in similar crunch-time scenarios. We saw it on opening night against Chicago when he took a potential game-winning shot with four guys in his face, and we saw it again tonight.

Sometimes, Kobe can't help it and tries to do too much. If it was the 2006 Lakers, with guys like Luke Walton and Kwame Brown leading the team, that might've made sense, but these Lakers are loaded and can make a run for the title.

We saw the true potential of this team on Sunday afternoon. They need a jolt of confidence on the road, and this trip against subpar teams might've been what they needed. Now is not the time for the team to get complacent or Kobe to make unwise decisions in big-time situations.

The Lakers got a wake-up call in Motown. Hopefully, they'll use this loss as motivation for tomorrow and beyond.

Follow Andre Khatchaturian on Twitter.