ESPN: Kobe Bryant's ankle set back to 'square one'

[CubanMustGo]

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=4885754

ust when Kobe Bryant was starting to quiet his critics, who were calling for him to sit out and rest his fractured right index finger, his tender left ankle could be the injury that finally gets to him.

"It was just hurting today," Bryant said Wednesday night after scoring a season-low five points on 2-for-12 shooting. "Tried to battle through it tonight. It was just stiff. Stiff and tight."

Bryant, who was walking with a limp after the Lakers' 99-97 victory against the Bobcats and visibly wincing in pain during his postgame comments, said the ankle was bothering him before the game even started and its condition declined further when Lamar Odom landed on his left foot just before halftime.

"It just made it worse," Bryant said. "It just set it back to square one."

Bryant left the court to head to the locker room with 12.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter after Odom aggravated the left ankle that Bryant rolled Friday in Philadelphia in a third-quarter collision with Elton Brand.

The ankle limited Bryant in Boston on Sunday, especially affecting his lift. After the game Bryant joked that his elevator usually goes up to the 12th floor but was stuck on the seventh floor against the Celtics.

He seemed to be on the mend Monday in Memphis, scoring 44 points on 16-for-28 shooting.

"He couldn't get off the ground, couldn't get any push off of that ankle tonight," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He got out there in the third quarter and kind of kept the team in balance, kept us operating out there a little bit."

Jackson played Bryant for the first 3:10 of the fourth quarter before taking him out because of how Bryant's ankle was limiting his play. The Lakers were able to build an eight-point lead with Bryant on the bench, but Jackson subbed him back in when their cushion dwindled to four with 2:55 remaining.

"I really didn't want to have to bring him back but when they closed the gap there in the last two minutes, I think I had to," Jackson said.

"I'll be fine," Bryant said, adding he would be headed home to receive further treatment on the ankle.

[Ghazi]

Mavs your WC champions sons!

[21_Blessings]

Mavs your WC champions sons!

Bynum finals MVP sons :lol

[IronMexican]

Bynum is gonna get Finals MVP regardless. Best player on the Lakers, sons.

[tlongII]

Drama Queen

[21_Blessings]

Drama Queen

How's the 8 seed treating ya tlong?

[Double-Up]

Drama Queen

+1...even though you're in the same category...

[Cane]

It'll be interesting who LA gets before the trade deadline. A combo-guard seems like their best bet.

Kobe should rest or he'll just make his remaining championship window even smaller.

[Muser]

Here's Kobe's "warrior" mentality biting the Lakers in the ass.

[baseline bum]

Bynum finals MVP sons :lol

Ship his ass out.

[Thunder Dan]

he is just putting it on because they have a ESPN game tomorrow against the #2 seed in the West. If they lose, they can blame his ankle. If they win, he looks like a warrior and Lakers fans will act like he is a MVP candidate. Classic posturing by a drama queen

[MiamiHeat]

seems like every week, kobe is in the news because something hurts on his frail body

and it's usually always after a bad game :)

[Dex]

Lies! All lies!

[Thunder Dan]

Kobe's 2009-10 season is reminding me alot of Jordan's 1994 baseball season

[TheMACHINE]

Kobe plays, he's being selfish for not healing.

Kobe sits, he's being selfish for not playing.

Kobe's a selfish bastard.

[MiamiHeat]

Kobe sits, he's being selfish for not playing.


Classic "woe is me" post

but to burst your bubble, you would have a hard time finding many people who would agree with that.

[Thunder Dan]

Kobe plays, he's being selfish for not healing.

Kobe sits, he's being selfish for not playing.

Kobe's a selfish bastard.
the correct term is egomaniac. He thinks he is too good to sit out a few games and let himself heal

[Baseline]

Is there a chance this is actually a real inury?

After the hundreds that have been announced in order to a) make himself look heroic, b) perpetuate the warrior myth, c) explain away a bad game, d) explain away a bad stretch of shooting games... I don't know what to believe or not believe.

[j.dizzle]

LOL at ppl thinking hes faking it..Guess ya'll dont even watch the games cuz he's clearly favoring his ankle & finger..I guess the 20 layers of tape covering his whole shooting finger is no big deal hahahaa.

[Thunder Dan]

LOL at ppl thinking hes faking it..Guess ya'll dont even watch the games cuz he's clearly favoring his ankle & finger..I guess the 20 layers of tape covering his whole shooting finger is no big deal hahahaa.

do you think Adam Banks really broke his wrist in Mighty Ducks? or do you think it was just an actor portraying someone who broke their wrist. Same thing. Kobe should talk to the league's MVP about the benefits of Yoga.

[j.dizzle]

do you think Adam Banks really broke his wrist in Mighty Ducks? or do you think it was just an actor portraying someone who broke their wrist. Same thing. Kobe should talk to the league's MVP about the benefits of Yoga.
:lol at knowing the kids name in that movie. I hope you looked it up right now & didnt know that by heart hahaha

[HarlemHeat37]

Has anybody ever had more built-in excuses than Kobe Bryant?..

I'm sure he's legitimately hurt, but almost every player in the NBA goes through physical pain on a daily basis and ESPN doesn't have an article about it every day..excuses, excuses..

[cobbler]

Is there a chance this is actually a real inury?

After the hundreds that have been announced in order to a) make himself look heroic, b) perpetuate the warrior myth, c) explain away a bad game, d) explain away a bad stretch of shooting games... I don't know what to believe or not believe.

Maybe you should watch the games and if you have any basketball sense or nose for talent then you can believe your own eyes and cognitive skills. Or, if you have no basketball sense and want to yeat another sheep in the flock, you can just listen to all the Kobessors post after post after post about their jealousy of his success.

[Xylus]

I'm getting tired of hearing about Kobe's aches and pains. It's only important if it actually keeps him off the court or seriously hinders his play.

[cobbler]

I'm getting tired of hearing about Kobe's aches and pains. It's only important if it actually keeps him off the court or seriously hinders his play.

You are only hearing about it because you are either watching their games or reading articles concerning them. Come on. When the star player on any team is hurting it going to be discussed. How many times did we hear the ole Nash's back problems and see the shots of him laying on the floor next to the bench during a nationally televised games and highlights?

It happens for every team and hurt stars. Look at last year with Manu, Jameer, and Amare. We heard about them all the time.

Kobe definetly needs to sit for a bit because his play is seriously being hindered.

[21_Blessings]

Kobe definetly needs to sit for a bit because his play is seriously being hindered.

Even seriously hindered he's still better than Sasha.

So if Kobe feels he can play and Phil continues to trust him despite being unhealthy then he should continue to play imo.

[Xylus]

You are only hearing about it because you are either watching their games or reading articles concerning them. Come on. When the star player on any team is hurting it going to be discussed. How many times did we hear the ole Nash's back problems and see the shots of him laying on the floor next to the bench during a nationally televised games and highlights?

It happens for every team and hurt stars. Look at last year with Manu, Jameer, and Amare. We heard about them all the time.

Kobe definetly needs to sit for a bit because his play is seriously being hindered.

It does not happen with those players at nearly the same frequency as it does with Kobe. Commentators talk about Nash's back problems from time to time during games, and Ginobili's various injuries come up often in ST threads, but Kobe's knick-knack injuries typically dominate the news.

[21_Blessings]

It does not happen with those players at nearly the same frequency as it does with Kobe. Commentators talk about Nash's back problems from time to time during games, and Ginobili's various injuries come up often in ST threads, but Kobe's knick-knack injuries typically dominate the news.

Yeah broken fingers are sure knick-knack. Amare would have been out 6 weeks if it were him.

[Xylus]

Yeah broken fingers are sure knick-knack. Amare would have been out 6 weeks if it were him.

Finger injuries are knick-knack injuries. Rarely do they keep a player out of a game.

[Thunder Dan]

:lol at knowing the kids name in that movie. I hope you looked it up right now & didnt know that by heart hahaha

haha I actually was just trying to think of someone who was hurt in a movie. I remembered his name. It was either him of Jake Taylor from Major League

[cobbler]

It does not happen with those players at nearly the same frequency as it does with Kobe. Commentators talk about Nash's back problems from time to time during games, and Ginobili's various injuries come up often in ST threads, but Kobe's knick-knack injuries typically dominate the news.

Do you think any of that has to do with the fact the Lakers are the most popular franchise, current champions, and team to beat? They are simply on the national news pages more frequently than the smaller market and/or lesser teams. And when they are being discussed your going to hear the current injury report. Especially when its an elite player. Just as we heard all about Gasols hammys for the first quarter of the season. Now it's Kobe. Next month it will be someone else.

[Xylus]

Do you think any of that has to do with the fact the Lakers are the most popular franchise, current champions, and team to beat? They are simply on the national news pages more frequently than the smaller market and/or lesser teams. And when they are being discussed your going to hear the current injury report. Especially when its an elite player. Just as we heard all about Gasols hammys for the first quarter of the season. Now it's Kobe. Next month it will be someone else.

It has everything to do with the Lakers being the nation's most popular and most profitable franchise. I understand ESPN's reasons for making Kobe's injuries the big story, but that doesn't mean I agree with those reasons.

[21_Blessings]

Finger injuries are knick-knack injuries. Rarely do they keep a player out of a game.

Broken fingers keep player out for weeks.

Lebron sat 6 games with nothing but a jam.

[cobbler]

It has everything to do with the Lakers being the nation's most popular and most profitable franchise. I understand ESPN's reasons for making Kobe's injuries the big story, but that doesn't mean I agree with those reasons.

So you are saying it's not that your hearing about Kobe's injury but just any Laker injury? Were you as tired of hearing about Gasols aches and pains earlier in the season? Just curious...

[Xylus]

So you are saying it's not that your hearing about Kobe's injury but just any Laker injury? Were you as tired of hearing about Gasols aches and pains earlier in the season? Just curious...

No, I don't think Gasol's injuries are hyped as much, mostly because they're serious enough to actually keep him off the court, thus warranting some attention. I think there are many reasons for Kobe's injuries being hyped: he's a Laker, he's a controversial person with a controversial history... all reasons why ESPN can make more money off of it.

[duncan228]

Kobe Bryant sits out practice with sore ankle (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txlakersbryantinjured&prov=st&type=lgns)

Kobe Bryant has skipped practice with the Los Angeles Lakers to rest his sore left ankle.

The Lakers will wait until game time Friday night to decide whether Bryant will play against the Denver Nuggets.

Bryant received treatment on his ankle Thursday after aggravating his injury during Wednesday night’s victory over Charlotte when teammate Lamar Odom stepped on his foot. Bryant originally sprained his ankle in Philadelphia last week.

Bryant scored a season-low five points on 2-for-12 shooting against the Bobcats.

He has been bothered by injuries throughout the season, most notably breaking a finger on his shooting hand, yet the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer still hasn’t missed a game.

[cobbler]

No, I don't think Gasol's injuries are hyped as much, mostly because they're serious enough to actually keep him off the court, thus warranting some attention. I think there are many reasons for Kobe's injuries being hyped: he's a Laker, he's a controversial person with a controversial history... all reasons why ESPN can make more money off of it.

All valid points. I happen to think he plays through injuries that the majority of players sit for. What never got airtime on ESPN was the turmoil between Gasol and PJ/FO/Kobe because they all felt Gasol was playing up the severity of his injuries and actually should have been playing.

All the interviews I have seen have always shown Kobe downplaying any injury. The media brings it up... he comments... and the hater threads that he's acting and using injuries as excuses all pop up. I have yet to see Kobe blame an injury for his poor play.

[Xylus]

All valid points. I happen to think he plays through injuries that the majority of players sit for. What never got airtime on ESPN was the turmoil between Gasol and PJ/FO/Kobe because they all felt Gasol was playing up the severity of his injuries and actually should have been playing.

All the interviews I have seen have always shown Kobe downplaying any injury. The media brings it up... he comments... and the hater threads that he's acting and using injuries as excuses all pop up. I have yet to see Kobe blame an injury for his poor play.

I don't think Kobe uses his injuries as excuses at all, but I think the media definitely does.

[TheGreatest23]

Kobe needs to sit his ass out and heal. He'll get more respect that way. Noone respects a guy who plays through injuries.

Look at me...i sat out cuz of a jammed finger and everyone thinks that was a geat decision.

Bow down to the King, bitches.

[ambchang]

The Lakers will be fine without Kobe. They still have the best frontline in all of NBA.

[Frenzy]

Kobe must be a marketing genius. Shit I like how he thinks. :toast


If Kobe was actually smart he would take a coupe of games off and let his body heal.. he is isn't considered young anymore.

getting on in years does that to a person... they don't think to clear.