Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown said Wednesday night that there is “question” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will recover from a foot injury in time to play in next Tuesday night’s season opener against the Dallas Mavericks.
“I don’t know if he’ll be ready,” Brown said after the Lakers 97-91 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Kobe has already said that if these last preseason games were regular season contests he’d likely still sit them out. Considering his threshold for pain and how often he’s played through ailments, that in itself is news. Kobe just doesn’t want to miss games. He wants to be out there competing.
But the truth is that Kobe doesn’t really need to rush back. With Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol the Lakers have enough talent to hold the fort down while he heals. Yes, building chemistry is important for a team that has not shared a lot of court time this preseason but the NBA season is a marathon and there will be time for them to find their stride.
That said, the fact of the matter is, Kobe still has several more days to heal up and get around the clock treatment (as he’s known to do). I wouldn’t count him out yet. In fact, I’d bet he plays.
