Despite being ruled “out indefinitely” by the Lakers after suffering the ankle injury at the end of the team’s loss in Atlanta on Wednesday, Kobe Bryant warmed up this afternoon and is expected to be in the starting lineup when L.A. faces the Pacers on Friday.
Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters in Indiana that Bryant would try to play, but as the questions persisted, it seemed as though he expected that Bryant would be as much of a factor as ever.
From Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:Initially, D’Antoni said “we’ll see” & “game-time decision.” When pressed, said he expects Kobe will play, & that he won’t just be a decoy.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 15, 2013
Kobe Bryant is officially in the starting line up.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 15, 2013
It’s at least a little bit surprising that Bryant will play, given the pictures of his extremely swollen ankle that were floating around yesterday. But it’s by no means a total shock, considering the high volume of severe injuries he’s played through over the years.
Bryant’s toughness is beyond reproach, but we’ll have to wait and see just how much he’ll be able to contribute while being limited by the injury. If he tries to do too much and struggles through a high-volume, low-percentage shooting night, for example, instead of being lauded for playing through the pain, he’ll be criticized for hurting his team while doing so.
