“If I don’t try I don’t lose” attitude of BI and Zion is the same with HS athletes

I see it all the time in middle and high school. Kids today see a good team and immediately shut down in their mind. As soon as something goes wrong they just give up. Basically they convince themselves that if they didn’t fully try they didn’t actually lose.

This is unfortunately the same mentality that the Pelicans best players Zion and BI have. As soon as things look tough they are looking for a way out. BI does it on purpose, he actively avoids pressure. Zion doesn’t actively avoid it, he plays incredibly hard when he’s in the game. This is almost more frustrating because his mind looks for excuses, he might not even realize it’s happening. As soon as he has some sort of reason to be out, he’s out and has his excuses ready.

Now he can convince himself that the Pelicans would’ve won if he stayed on the floor. Where as if he had stayed and we lost, he wouldn’t have an excuse.

It’s a shitty mentality, there’s nothing wrong with playing your best and losing, but guys today just look for excuses to take blame off of themselves because they can’t handle the idea of defeat.