Yesterday’s news Kobe Bryant would be laid up for another six weeks with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee, prompted many to declare him, and the Lakers, done for the season — with others pointing to his recent $48.5 million extension as a mistake. But Kobe has a message for anybody doubting his determination to come back again, telling Yahoo, “Only an idiot would.”
Bryant’s trainer, Tim Grover, looked at Bryant’s injury as almost a blessing in disguise, informing Yahoo, “This could be his best chance to come back stronger.”
The fracture occurred just above the Achilles’ tendon he tore in April last season, which kept him out of the first 19 games this season. But the injury won’t require surgery and it won’t take another half-year to get back out on the court like it did with the Achilles; it’ll only take six weeks — a timeline that has Bryant returning near the February’s All-Star Weekend.
Bryant also told Yahoo, he was “Lucky it wasn’t a meniscus,” the injury that’s knocked Derrick Rose out of his second consecutive regular season.
But the extra time off might be just the thing to strengthen his Achilles tendon even more. There were those who said he came back too soon this season, and his spotty play was considered a byproduct of that hurried return and all the NBA minutes he’s logged in this, his 18th season in the NBA.
But now, after again suffering an injury — in the same leg, no less — Bryant has more time to further rest the tendon while letting the fracture in the knee heal on its own. The Lakers, at 12-13 on the season, were long shots to really contend in the tough Western Conference even if Bryant had stayed healthy.
Now, with Bryant down, and Steve Nash set to miss another month with a strained back and hamstrings, the Lakers have been forced to sign Kendall Marshall of the D-League Delaware 87ers just so they have someone to play in a backcourt that’s been decimated by injuries. Steve Blake is out with a torn a ligament in his elbow, and Jordan Farmer tore his left hamstring.
While the Lakers might now have time to regroup for next season — when Pau’s contract comes off the books, and when Kobe’s new contract kicks in — Bryant’s harsh words for those who are dubious he can get back to last season’s All-Star caliber, means he’ll be fighting just like he always does once he does make his return to the court this year. Whether Kobe’s fighting spirit is beneficial for the Lakers’ long-term outlook is as debatable as whether he’ll get any explosiveness back following the Achilles’ tendon tear and now the knee fracture. But doubting him seems silly. He’ll be back this year.
No idea whether the Lakers will have a new video for the occasion, though.
[Yahoo]
Is Kobe too old to be the same player again?
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