"I have very little cartilage under my right knee cap"

GreatOne1978 · Jan 7, 2011

Guess who the player is? And then proceed to read the article..

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/kobe_pain_3X1vmSkbZlQquPUGNwrPfK/0

Kobe appeared to know exactly what was ailing his two-time defending team. Minutes after being manhandled by the Heat, he pronounced he was going to “kick [butt] at practice . . . and beat it into their heads. It was time to get the team focused.”

Which brings us to the crux of my inquiry. How did Kobe propose to pull that off, a Lakers’ legionnaire wondered, “when he hasn’t practiced the whole season (something no member of LA’s press has called him out on)?”

Is that true, I asked Kobe?
“Yeah.”

Why?

“Because I have very little cartilage under my right knee cap, it’s almost bone on bone.”

Bryant has undergone three operations on that same knee, one this past offseason, after having it drained several times during last year’s playoffs.

“Until I got it drained the first time during the opening round against the Thunder I could not bend that knee at all,” he revealed. “It was swollen as hell and it hurt like hell. Luckily things got a lot better once I had the procedure.”

Kobe is 32. This is his 15th season. Including the regular season, the after-party and All-Star Games, he has played a total of 46,660 minutes.

“I have four seasons left on my contract,” said Bryant, the league’s highest paid entertainer at $24,806,250. Averaging 25.1 points this year (No. 4, overall), he became No. 12 (26,695) in scoring all-time (combined NBA-ABA) by passing Dominique Wilkins. Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes and Dan Issel are well within this season’s sights.

“You know how competitive and combative I am on the court,” he said. “There’s nothing I like better than to practice. In fact, I like practice more than the games, because I get to go at my teammates hard. That’s when you find out what they’re made of, how much you can push some to get the most out of ’em, and how you have to back off others so you don’t lose ’em.

"So, in order to protect my knee and avoid a situation like last year, we decided before the season to sacrifice the team’s intensity by minimizing wear and tear as much as possible.”

Bryant said Phil Jackson was on board with no practice, though the Zen Hen supposedly would have preferred not to have him sit on the sidelines as much as he did — no scrimmaging or performing team drills. Instead, Kobe would shoot around or lift weights.

At the same time, Kobe’s playing time got cut (presumably by Jackson) six minutes (32.9) from the previous two seasons of 39 or so. His career average is 36.5."

The Christmas Day indignity countermanded the above strategy. The Lakers’ mental and physical lethargy convinced Kobe the team craved his practice presence if it was to regain its passion in time for the playoff pit. In his opinion, some teammates had gotten far too comfortable, and it had trickled down as a group that was dangerously looking ahead to June.

Pau Gasol and others need him, he submitted, in their face, chest and game the same way Scottie Pippen and other Bulls needed Michael Jordan in theirs.

Kobe hasn’t missed a practice since, and has a puffy right knee to show for it.

“What can I do that I’m not already doing?” he said. “I’ve increased treatment before and after I play, but there’s no way of knowing what’s going on under there unless I take an MRI once month.

“I feel it’s up to me to take the team to where we want to go and still believe we will go. No question about that! I’m not about to make claims I’ll have to back off on later on. I’m a clear thinker. I truly believe we have the pieces and personalities to three-peat.

“When do I push them? When do I pat them on the back? Every individual is different. Some players you finesse. Some you contest. It’s a constant dance. It’s a constant search of the perfect rhythm.”

A team player, Bryant provided me with a perfect segue for my second question. I’d heard he berated Gasol twice for being too easy on Andrew Bynum.

The first time it happened, according to someone in the gym, Gasol, who matched up against Bynum in scrimmages, alerted Andrew there were three seconds left on the shot clock and then let him drive in and lay it up.

At a subsequent practice, Bynum finished a difficult move with positive results and Gasol patted him on the butt and told him, “Great shot.”

Kobe went off on Gasol, I’m told. “[Bleep] you! That’s how you act when someone scores on you! ‘[Bleep] you!’ ”

“What happens in our practice, stays in our practice,” Kobe underlined, refusing to confirm or deny.
Fair enough. He gave me more than enough as it was, and I was already halfway out the door
. . . en route to Central Park to find Osama Bin Laden
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ToyCen428 · Jan 7, 2011

its amazing what some athletes can go through and still be able to perform.

GreatOne1978 · Jan 7, 2011

^ nice sig man. I'm a Christian too :grin:

withmustard · Jan 7, 2011

GreatOne1978 said:

^ nice sig man. I'm a Christian too :grin:
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Crazy huh? What are the odds? 2 Christians out of 1000's of people.

Rockets_4_life · Jan 7, 2011

The first time it happened, according to someone in the gym, Gasol, who matched up against Bynum in scrimmages, alerted Andrew there were three seconds left on the shot clock and then let him drive in and lay it up.

At a subsequent practice, Bynum finished a difficult move with positive results and Gasol patted him on the butt and told him, “Great shot.”

Kobe went off on Gasol, I’m told. “[Bleep] you! That’s how you act when someone scores on you! ‘[Bleep] you!’ ”
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Hahahah I found this part funny... :grin:

Juggernaut · Jan 7, 2011

withmustard said:

Crazy huh? What are the odds? 2 Christians out of 1000's of people.
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crazy huh? somebody making a smart ass comment about something that has nothing to do with them.

Steve_Francis_rules · Jan 7, 2011

That really impressive. I don't think anyone has ever claimed that the guy isn't tough.

rn_xw · Jan 7, 2011

What would be the difference between very little cartilage and very little meniscus?
Can BRoy do what Kobe did?

GreatOne1978 · Jan 7, 2011

rn_xw said:

What would be the difference between very little cartilage and very little meniscus?
Can BRoy do what Kobe did?
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but doesn't Broy have problems in BOTH knees?

clippy · Jan 7, 2011

Steve_Francis_rules said:

That really impressive. I don't think anyone has ever claimed that the guy isn't tough.
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He sure likes to remind us about it every game.

bravo six · Jan 7, 2011

Dude's got the fire man, doesn't let anybody off easy. Good stuff.

SunsRocketsfan · Jan 7, 2011

how many more posts till someone mentions and bashes tmac for not being able to do that
oh wait I just did. .darn..

GreatOne1978 · Jan 7, 2011

clippy said:

He sure likes to remind us about it every game.
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as long as he can back it up, no one has a problem with that

clippy · Jan 7, 2011

GreatOne1978 said:

as long as he can back it up, no one has a problem with that
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If by backing it up you mean shooting 40% at high volume, I don't have a problem with that.

MorningZippo · Jan 7, 2011

I'll be the first to admit I dislike Kobe Bryant, but damn it feels good to see someone that truly competes night in and night out.

DonkeyMagic · Jan 7, 2011

bravo six said:

Dude's got the fire man, doesn't let anybody off easy. Good stuff.
Click to expand...

Faber agrees

Gimmmethemike · Jan 7, 2011

GreatOne1978 said:

^ nice sig man. I'm a Christian too :grin:
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We must depend on the Lord each day to do what we cannot do and to live a life which we cannot live.

lalala902102001 · Jan 7, 2011

clippy said:

If by backing it up you mean shooting 40% at high volume, I don't have a problem with that.
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He's shooting at .446, pretty decent for a guard. It's a little lower than his career average, but by no means bad.

clippy · Jan 7, 2011

lalala902102001 said:

He's shooting at .446, pretty decent for a guard. It's a little lower than his career average, but by no means bad.
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His teammates are shooting 46.8%. Maybe he ought to try to get them the ball more instead of leading them in chucks every game.

GreatOne1978 · Jan 7, 2011

clippy said:

His teammates are shooting 46.8%. Maybe he ought to try to get them the ball more instead of leading them in chucks every game.
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He shot 40.5% and won the Finals MVP. Get over it lol there's more to basketball than "Field Goal percentage" and guess what he's going to shoot "low FG%" again and he's probably gonna win it all again, so get used to it

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