From ESPN Stats & Info, the Lakers are 0-3 when teammates on the floor, he isn’t to blame for the Lakers’ struggles. Kobe’s scoring has been a reaction to his team’s deficits, not the cause. For instance, in his first 40-point game on November 2nd, the Lakers trailed the Clippers by 15 entering the fourth quarter. So in the final quarter, Kobe put up eight shots from the field, hitting seven of them en route to 17 points, but the Lakers still lost by 10. In his other two 40+ point games, the Lakers averaged an 11-point halftime deficit, and Kobe averaged 25.0 second half points in an effort to lead a late-game L.A. surge, both of which ultimately fell short.
So Kobe needs much more help from his Laker teammates, particularly from the free throw line and in transition defense, if L.A. has hopes of leaving Madison Square Garden with a win.
Free Throws
The Lakers are second in the league in free throw factor (free throws made per field goal attempt), a measure of both how often a team gets to the line and how often they make them. Unfortunately, the Lakers’ abundance of free throw attempts has not benefited them, as LA is 29th in the league with a horrendous 67.5% free throw percentage.
Much of the blame for this poor percentage falls on ostentatious scowling after the game.