Kobe Bryant misses second consecutive practice with Los Angeles Lakers due to sore ankle – NBA News
Los Angeles Lakers All Star shooting guard Kobe Bryant was held out of practice on Tuesday for a second consecutive day as he continues to recover from a sore right ankle and a strained right foot. Bryant was given the time off
to recover from his injury and get some rest. However, seeing that the Lakers are only 1-3 in the first four games of the season and the criticism has already started flowing in, Bryant expects to be in the starting line-up on Wednesday night against the Utah
Jazz, no matter what condition he is in.
"Hopefully, I'll be about 90 percent (Wednesday). (I'm ready to) put this ankle behind me,” said Bryant.
Bryant has averaged 37 minutes a game over the first four games, but his playing minutes are one of the many topics under discussion regarding the Lakers. With a starting line-up that includes Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard,
Bryant can afford to cut down on his minutes to keep him well rested over the course of the season and be ready for playoffs.
"I'm physically able to play a big bulk of minutes. I'm in really tip-top shape so my body can handle that, but if I don't need to play that many minutes, then all the better,” added Bryant.
Bryant is 34 already and wants to manage his minutes and fitness well over the course of the season so that he can increase the length of his career and play at top level for at least another few seasons. He has always been very
conscious about his health and fitness, and has been very careful with his body over the past few seasons.
"The one thing I really want to do is be conscious of Kobe's minutes. What I can do as we go on is continue to try to be more conscious about not throwing him out there for that long. But he's one guy that I know that I don't want
to play that many minutes,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown.
Bryant acknowledge during the offseason that he was looking to play 32-34 minutes per game this season, and also said that he was looking at atleast two more seasons in the NBA.
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