Time for another non-update update on the status of Kobe Bryant.
He is trying to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon and told Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports he’s at a point where he pushes it, see how it recovers the next day, then either rests or pushes it a little more. However, he hasn’t practiced with the team and once that happens he’ll do that for a couple weeks before he returns to the court.
So, when might that be?
“I don’t. I don’t. How can I? I don’t even know if I will be able to push it hard tomorrow. I have no idea.”
Q: Would it be safe to say you’ll be back by December?
Bryant: “Dude, I don’t know. I don’t give a [expletive] what people believe. When I’m ready, I will play.”
Of course, he has every right to be weary of the question.
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Kobe’s right in the sense that this is not an injury you can just work your way back from with more effort and pain tolerance — Achilles injuries are prone to setbacks. You have to take it in measured steps, Bryant seems to be doing that and putting his work ethic to work. He wouldn’t talk about the future in any way — minutes played, free agency, any of it.
All the questions about what he can do on the court and how many minutes he can play will have to wait. And there are legit big questions. In their opening night win over the Clippers, the Lakers had fantastic ball movement — the ball found energy, starting with Pau Gasol on down it moved fast. When Kobe gets it, will the ball stick? (Remember Mike D’Antoni’s frustrations with Carmelo Anthony in New York?).
We’ll see how it plays out. Whenever Kobe does get back.
