Kobe Bryant says knee is fully-healed
Kobe Bryant wants to end the talks about his ailing knee after the Los Angeles Lakers guard said in an interview after their 107-83 win over the Golden State Warriors that he’s fully-recovered
from the surgery he had to go through during the off-season.
And when asked to confirm his post-game statement, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player said that its true and he doesn’t want to be asked about it again.
"Yes, so leave me the h**l alone about my knee," Bryant said.
On the other hand, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson shrugged off Bryant’s statement saying that his superstar is still bothered by his knee, but said that he’s impressed with Kobe’s performance
despite playing with an ailing knee.
"He's not 100 percent, but that's nice of him to say it. I'm pleased with the progress of Kobe, it looks like his offense is coming along," Jackson said after Bryant chipped in 20 points
on 8-for-16 clip from the field in their game against the Warriors. "Defensively he is still working on some things that he has to get done with his strength and base."
However, the 32-year old guard downplayed Jackson’s assessment and reiterated the he is not bothered by his knee anymore.
"I'm 100 percent, I don't care about what he says," Bryant said with a grin. "Leave me alone about my knee. I'm fine."
Prior to the 2010-11 season, Bryant admitted that he’s still feeling some pain in his knees, which prompted Jackson to limit his superstar’s playing time to less than 20 minutes throughout
their pre-season schedules.
Jackson also planned to limit Bryant’s early in the season and said that Kobe would not play “heavy minutes” in their season-opener against the Houston Rockets.
However, the superstar guard averaged 35.5 minutes in their first two-games before logging in 27 minutes in their win on Sunday 31 October, resting for the entire fourth quarter with the
Lakers comfortably ahead.
Bryant led the defending champions to a perfect 3-0 start with his 24 points, 6.3 rebounds, and four assists per game.
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