LA Lakers NBA 2014 News, Rumors: Kobe Bryant's Shooting Spree - Is He Dead Set On Overtaking Michael Jordan?

Even with Kobe Bryant back in the lineup, the Los Angeles Lakers are languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference in the NBA with a franchise-worst 1-9 win-loss slate. As of Tuesday, the Lakers are the second worst team in the league, next only to the Philadelphia 76ers (0-10).

But despite his team down in the dumps, Bryant is the league's second highest scorer so far, averaging 27.3 points per game. He banged in 44 points against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, shooting 15-of-34 from the field. Despite this, the Lakers lost to the Warriors, 136-115.

At the rate he's going, Bryant is expected to pass Michael Jordan at third place on the all-time NBA scoring list. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tops the list with 38,387 points, followed by Karl Malone with 36,928. Jordan had 32,292 points. Bryant is closing in with 31,973 points.

This has led to speculations on why Bryant is taking so many shots every game. Some fans believe that Bryant is focused on passing Jordan's scoring total.

It is widely known that Kobe looks up to MJ as his model. He has been taking MJ-style jump shots and driving to the basket with the same tongue-wag as Jordan.

After the Lakers lost to Golden State, Bryant was asked why he was taking so many shots a game.

Bryant's reply was classic Kobe. "Obviously I'd rather get guys involved early, but, you know... how many blocks, a purse gets stolen in front of you how many blocks are you going to let the guy run?" 

"You can chase him down, keep him in sight yourself and wait for the authorities to get there, or you can decide to let him run and wait for the authorities to get there. It's a tough thing.... I'm just trying to keep us in the game. I'd rather not have to do that, but we can't just sit back and watch crime happen."

This was not the first time that Bryant was asked this question, and each time he delivers astounding answers.

In the twilight of his career, the 36-year-old Bryant is leading the NBA in field-goal attempts with 210 despite shooting a career-worst 36.7 percent, putting him at 122nd place among 126 active players in the league.

Despite this, Bryant appears intent to shoot the ball as often as he pleases. Told about his increasing number of missed shots, Bryant replied: "Well, I'm a shooting guard that's played 19 years."

Again, his reply appears to mimic that of Jordan when asked the same question during his last years in the NBA. "I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot," Jordan said then. "When you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result."