If you haven’t watched the Lakers play recently -- and unless you’re a die-hard fan of the team, you would have no real reason to -- you may not know just how dire things have become for one of the league’s traditionally great franchises.
There is no star power in Los Angeles playing for the purple and gold at the moment, and in fact, with Nick Young suspended for Friday’s game against the Celtics, the Lakers had guys like Kendall Marshall, Ryan Kelly and Manny Harris all playing huge chunks of meaningful minutes.
The fact that they got the win over a rebuilding Boston team means little to a franchise that’s 10 games under .500 on the season, seven and a half games out of the last playoff spot in the West, and measures itself in championships.
This is a lost season for the Lakers, and one that some may suggest might be better off spent continuing to pile up losses in order to secure a more favorable draft position, rather than see Kobe Bryant try to return from injury to play alongside the mostly borderline talent on the roster.
But Bryant is facing basketball mortality, with just a couple of seasons remaining on a career that has been one of the greatest of all-time. So you can understand, then, why his team’s record this season means little to him when considering whether or not to return to play this season.
From Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders:Regardless of how many losses overshadow those in the win column, Bryant is determined to return this season from a fractured left knee injury. Sitting out the remainder of the year is not a consideration for him.
“The only thing I can consider, the only thing I can afford to consider, is getting better and getting strong,” he said prior to the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “I can’t allow myself to think any other way. I can only think about the next day. To do anything else becomes distracting. You give yourself wiggle room to not push yourself as hard as you possibly can. If I think that I’m going to sit out or this that and the other, then the motivation is gone. I refuse to have that happen.”
In addition to wanting to milk every last moment out of the game before he hangs ‘em up for good, there could be some long-term benefits for Bryant in returning this season.
While Bryant maintains that his torn Achilles that was suffered last season had nothing to do with this latest injury (a fractured bone in his knee), no one knows for sure. Playing the remainder of the year and getting his body back into durable basketball shape may help prevent similar injuries from popping up in the future.
Whether there are benefits to a return or there aren’t, there’s no denying this season has been a wasted one for both Bryant and the Lakers. It appears, however, that once healthy enough, he’ll try to make the most of it.