The Kobe Bryant farewell tour is near its halfway point. The opportunities for Kobe to play out his NBA career are slowly dwindling, so it only makes sense he wants to squeeze every minute out of those opportunities. Lakers trainer Gary Vitti, however, has other ideas.
Speaking to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers coach Byron Scott said Vitti “wants to shut down Bryant for a week or two” because of an Achilles tendon injury Bryant sustained Tuesday against the Pelicans. Naturally, Bryant, who did not practice Wednesday, but traveled with the team to Oakland to face the Warriors, doesn’t agree with the prognosis.
“I know him and I know he wants to play,” Scott said. “If that’s the case, I’ll wait until tomorrow to see how he feels. Then if he says, ‘Coach, I want to play,’ then we have to have another discussion on how long he can play, how many minutes. I’m just going to wait until tomorrow and see how he feels and go from there.”
Per Scott, Bryant will be a game-time decision.
Bryant’s had injury problems in recent years because, well, that’s what happens when you get older. However, he’s played in almost every game this season. Ultimately, Kobe’s going to do what he’s going to do, and Scott’s going to cater to that unless it truly affects the team (though the Lakers are dead last in the Western Conference). It’s not like Bryant has to heal up for a playoff run or for next season, either.
The irony of the “can vs. should play” debate is that it’s often reserved for those types of situations, but this is obviously different. For Bryant, almost every game is a “last game” in some capacity. If he’s able to move around well enough, you can bet he’ll get some minutes. They might be limited, but he’ll get them.
With all due respect to Vitti, who’s simply doing his job, Bryant’s probably going to win out on this one. Given the circumstances, an exception to the rule is in order.
(Via Los Angeles Times)
