Kobe Bryant brushes aside wrist injury; Will play in season opener against Chicago Bulls: NBA Update
Los Angeles Lakers supers star Kobe Bryant has said he will play on the 25th of December, when the NBA season begins. The legendary shooting guard had suffered a wrist injury during Los Angeles’ second pre-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bryant returned to play in that game and later said he would be OK for when the season began. He backed his words with a strong display in a training session on Friday, showing that he still has a desire and fighting spirit to overcome the biggest of obstacles.
"You just go out there and play your game," Bryant said according to ESPN. "Not think about it as much. ... I try to block it out."
The player was still in some pain, but he has learned to deal with it over a career stretching 16 years. Bryant said he made some small adjustments in his game to cater for the pain, and was ready to go whenever the action began.
So good was Kobe’s performance in the training session that head coach Mike Brown just couldn’t spot any difference in the player before and after injury. He said Kobe played up to an optimum level and had no worries about fielding the player against the Chicago Bulls on Christmas.
"It didn't affect his game," said Brown. "I didn't see anything different, so he's good to go. He's tough. That's a tough, tough man.”
"To me, he looked as good as ever."
Power forward Pau Gasol was equally impressed with Kobe and said that his commitment and will to fight through pain was just testament to his great competitive spirit.
"I think he's a player that has remarkable will to fight through anything. And he proved it today by being out there. By not even questioning the fact that he might not play. He's a fighter.”
Some people have suggested that Bryant could be apprehensive of shooting too much in the earlier games to avoid putting pressure on his wrist. Therefore, he might be more aggressive and try to take the ball to the rim on occasion.
Veteran point guard and long time friend of Kobe, Derek Fisher, didn’t agree with the theory. Fisher reasoned that with the defiant personality that Kobe possesses, it is more likely that the guard will do go against conventional wisdom.
"I think he'll do the opposite, actually," said Fisher. "I think he'll prove right away, probably from the first possession, that he's fine and he's capable of making a shot.”
The Lakers will be depending more than ever this season on Bryant after losing small forward Lamar Odom during the offseason. Bryant has always been the leader of the team on the court; he might now have to take on some extra responsibilities now in the dressing room as well.
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