Kobe Bryant’s wrist injury seems to impact him on the court in spurts. There bad shooting nights and some lost control on the dribble, then he’ll turn around and look like his old self for a stretch. In the Lakers loss to Denver Kobe shot 6-of-28 and there were questions, he bounced back with 14-of-29 for 37 points against Houston and the wrist is forgotten.
Well, by the fans.
Not by Kobe, who is taking massive steps to keep playing — including pain killing injections before every game and ice wraps after, reports Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register.
He does not want to publicize all the details of his wrist, which is usable only because the bones were not moved permanently out of alignment without the ligament to hold them in place. But it’s now clear just how problematic the wrist is, and it’s fair to wonder where all this will take Bryant.
Bryant walked out of Staples Center on Tuesday night with something that looked like an oven mitten over his right hand and wrist. He wears an immobilizing brace over the wrist when off the court, meaning take-for-granted parts of life such as texting on his phone or zipping his fly become rather challenging.
What Lakers fans will get from Kobe is what they have gotten the last few years as he has played through injuries — moments of his old brilliance and nights where he is off but fights through it. He’ll be hot and cold, from game to game and even quarter to quarter.
Which is part of the reason Mike Brown is trying to evolve the Lakers offense to go to the post more first — allow Kobe to pick his spots to make plays rather than him having to initiate most of the offense for the team. Let Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol carry more of the load. That’s a process, Kobe still wants his shots and the ball is in his hands (it’s not like they have a traditional point guard).
Kobe’s not going to complain. But don’t for a second think this isn’t bothering him on every shot.
