Some laker fans are so funny. They think the lakers are a better team without Kobe. Some suggest that let Kobe come off the bench as the sixth man or trade him for KG. It's amazing how much a win can change the fans' opinion.
``I'm guessing it might be weeks, it just doesn't feel like a day-to-day thing,'' Bryant said afterward when asked how long he thinks he'll be sidelined. ``It hurts, it hurts a lot,'' Bryant said. ``It's the worst one I've had -- I am in a lot of pain right now. I am just trying to stay off of it right now.'' On crutches with his ankle wrapped, Bryant said he felt ``crunching and instant throbbing'' when he went down.
A lot of the LA sports radio guys are saying the same thing. I disagree though. Do you think Rudy would be able to sit Kobe down if Kobe wanted to play?
I agree that Rudy's not the kind of guy to override his superstars, it's his strength and weakness at the same time. The problem is, Kobe's not a 10th year Dream or Drexler - he's acting like a kid a couple months into college doing everything he always wanted to but wasn't allowed. Maybe not that bad, but the analogy fits. Playing 40 mins/game or more is begging for a routine injury like this, and I doubt a younger guy like Kobe even realizes this. We don't have to look far for our own example - T-Mac is #2 in the league, right behind Kobe. Any wonder he's being dogged by nagging injuries like his toe? Evan
Kobe drives a lot more inside to draw contact compare to T-Mac. Kobe will wear down much faster T-Mac. T-Mac shoots a lot of jump shots, which could be a bad thing, but will certainly prolong his career.
He's a dud who's posting on a BBS (by his handle we can confidently assume he works for NASA!) I don't really understand the "oh no! 42 mpg" argument.... How is that so much worse than playing 40 minutes per game?? (and yes, I fully understand the propensity towards injury for a more fatigued body)
He is the Bhutan's most respected orthopedist, and the holder of 13 honorary degrees, and a serious wine enthusiast.
It's all degrees. The difference between averaging 42 and 40 isn't incredible, but most stars average around 38. Average being key. It's why you look to rest your main guys whenever possible, and have to balance that with the fact that they're the ones that win gmes for you. IIRC, Kob racked up regular season minutes in a couple of preseason games - raising a few eyebrows. It's just a matter of playing with fire. Kobe's established that he's vulnerable to knick-knack injuries (shoulder, finger, etc) over his career. Same with Iverson. Yet they're right at the top of minutes played in the league. Their coaches (and JVG with McGrady) are most keeping them in since the teams are all mediocore overall, and desperatedly need the star power on the court to keep them in games. The risk of them going down for week or 2 week stretches increases when they don't get that extra rest. I'd be interested in seeing a list of players that averaged over 40 minutes and game and played in all 82 (or even 80) contests. It would be interesting to see the ratio that make it versus players averaging 36-38 mpg. Evan
dude come on id rather have kobe be a total failure for the rest of his career than have him getting a career-ending injury which would make everyone talk about what-could-have-been and make him some sort of legend
while i agree that playing a ton of minutes can lead to injuries and fatigue you at the end of the season, how is that applicable here? on fairly mundane rebound, kobe landed on ira newble's foot in such as way that basically the full force of his body was on his twisting ankle. how would less minutes have kept him from landing on newble's foot? and i don't see any way you can land on a foot at that angle and not severely twist it. if he had hurt a hamstring or something then i would understand the minutes argument, but not this. and for the record, i think he plays too many minutes, though i think he specifically requested to play every minute up to the start of the 4th quarter, it's just that it had nothing to do with this. if the lakers can maintain any sort of respectable record at all while he's gone this could at least let him get a little rest midseason and help him come back recharged. they did beat golden state on the road tonight with a layup by odom right at the end.
