Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams has admitted to occasionally losing his confidence when he struggles on the court, something Kobe Bryant likely can’t even fathom.
Bryant, after watching Williams go scoreless in a Playoff game against the Miami Heat last season, told SI that Deron should’ve kept gunning until he found the bottom of the net. Williams disagrees with this approach. Per The Record:
In the article, Bryant said Williams “psyched himself out” in that game, and that Bryant would “go 0-for-30 before I go 0-for-9. 0-for-9 means you beat yourself … because Deron Williams can get more shots in a game. The only reason is you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.”
“I’m a point guard,” Williams said. “If I’m 0-for-[bleeping]-9, I’m not shooting 20 more shots. Not going to happen. I’m a point guard. I’m going to find somebody else. Kobe Bryant, that’s what he’s supposed to do. He’s got that mentality, that works for him. I got my mentality, it works for me.”
New coach Lionel Hollins feels the same way as Williams. Hollins said he would have “a problem” with a player hoisting up shot after shot just because they believe in themselves. […] “I already told him,” Hollins said. “We’re never going to go 3-for-23. … We’re going to try to do something else. I understand Kobe and all those guys, ‘I’m going to do this, the next shot is going in.’ That’s great confidence but it doesn’t matter if you don’t make the next shot.”
