Kobe Expected to Miss 6 Weeks

[heyvik]

ON a related note...does this now change P. Gasol being on the trade block and does a trade for LAL and TEAM X now makes sense for Houston?

[D.o.s.]

Buried in a fairly unnecessary Gladwell/Simmons exchange was this really excellent bit on Bryant:

Back to Kobe — last April, we never ruled out a history-defying comeback from that ruptured Achilles because we knew he'd work harder than anyone to make it back, even if it meant drinking placenta juice, or dipping his injured leg in extraterrestrial semen. What happens? He returns in a record 240 days, followed by everyone bringing their expectations to Sunday night's Toronto game. We were judging him by his track record, not the reality — that he's a tentative 35-year-old in a young man's sport, someone shaking off a dangerous level of rust, someone who doesn't trust the lower half of his body anymore (and shouldn't). The game starts and Kobe looks a step and a half slower. He can't beat anyone off the dribble. He can't defend anyone. He's missing that same gunslinging bluster that made him special. It's clear within 45 minutes that there's a hellacious amount of rust, and that we need a borderline miracle for Kobe to truly matter on a basketball court again.

At the end of the first half, you might remember Kobe holding the ball for a final shot as the Lakers crowd stood and cheered. You would have thought it was 2006 again. But I was sitting there thinking, I watched this happen with Bird during those final two Celtics years, I watched it with MJ during those two Wizards years, and I'm watching it now — these fans are cheering for a basketball ghost.

[Bird anecdote excluded]

Giving anyone great a handicap — whether it's old legs, a bad back, a waning voice, diminished reflexes or whatever — can lead to fond memories, too. That's why Ali beating Foreman was so unforgettable. Same for Nicklaus winning the '86 Masters, or a supposedly washed-up Sinatra owning Madison Square Garden in "The Main Event." Same for Bird. And, maybe, same for Kobe right now. Which is why I find this particular comeback so compelling.

[LarBrd33]

lakers tanking

[Fafnir]

ON a related note...does this now change P. Gasol being on the trade block and does a trade for LAL and TEAM X now makes sense for Houston?

I don't think LAL wants Asik. Their ownership is all about star players and they're going to try for that at least instead of tying up their cap with Asik.

[BigAlTheFuture]

lakers tanking

They're definitely gonna get Parker or Wiggins...

[SparzWizard]

lakers tanking

They getting Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love.

[LarBrd33]

lakers tanking

They getting Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love.

They can throw this season... easy to miss the playoffs in the West.  They can get themselves a top 8 pick, sign LeBron in the offseason and trade for Kevin Love at the deadline.  Another dynasty.

[PhoSita]

lakers tanking

Eh?

The Lakers have been hovering around .500 for pretty much the whole season, and Kobe's presence on the floor or off doesn't seem to make a difference.

If the Lakers wanted to tank they shouldn't have kept D'Antoni as the coach and given him the right pieces to run his system.

[Mr October]

As Charles barkley would say... Injuries aren't preventing Kobe from playing. Old age is.

Kobe is finally old. And Nash is out another month with nerve damage of some kind. Yikes. Old players need to let it go sometimes.

[Vox_Populi]

As Charles barkley would say... Injuries aren't preventing Kobe from playing. Old age is.

Kobe is finally old. And Nash is out another month with nerve damage of some kind. Yikes. Old players need to let it go sometimes.

Yeah...Nash and Kobe now seem like official, in the words of Jalen Rose, KGDC guys.