Kobe down and out...for how long?
- Thread starter rainmaker
- Start date
Looks like the Lakers may have run out of shamrocks...
Lakers win but lose Bryant - Bryant scored 34 points while playing much of the second half in obvious pain with an injured left leg. The Lakers announced that Bryant probably has a torn tendon and will have an MRI Saturday. Bryant is not optimistic, saying he tried to put pressure on his heel "but there was nothing there."
(Info paraphrased from various releases)
It's no secret that I often think Bryant is posing or exaggerating an injury for drama effect, so he can be the brave little soldier. This time, however, I believe he may have done serious, significant damage. I will never wish for a serious injury, even to Kobe Bryant, so I hope this isn't as bad as it appears it might be.
Lakers win but lose Bryant - Bryant scored 34 points while playing much of the second half in obvious pain with an injured left leg. The Lakers announced that Bryant probably has a torn tendon and will have an MRI Saturday. Bryant is not optimistic, saying he tried to put pressure on his heel "but there was nothing there."
(Info paraphrased from various releases)
It's no secret that I often think Bryant is posing or exaggerating an injury for drama effect, so he can be the brave little soldier. This time, however, I believe he may have done serious, significant damage. I will never wish for a serious injury, even to Kobe Bryant, so I hope this isn't as bad as it appears it might be.
kobe bryant is a once-in-a-generation competitor. he is a talent of tremendous ability and determination. lebron james may be a superior physical specimen, and the league's best player, but no one of this era has exhibited the relentlessness that made michael jordan the greatest of all time quite like kobe has. he's turning in one of the most impressive seasons of his career at the hobbled, heavily-miled age of 34, despite a mismatched roster without depth, coached by the wrong guy for the job. kobe's lifted the team on his back just to scrape into the playoffs. it's a mighty effort that should not go unrecognized, no matter one's opinion of kobe bryant, the man. it's certainly difficult to muster up sympathy for someone like kobe, but the lakers were always gonna lose in the first round if they managed to slide into the 8th spot, and it sorta seems wrong that they won't flame out in a blaze of last ditch attempts by kobe. it should also be noted that the lakers chances of retaining dwight howard just took a hit. the team will not be competitive without kobe for most of next season. it serves as an acceptable excuse for dwight to scamper out of LA, tail between his legs...
I think Kobe will be back, but I have some serious doubts as to whether he will be dominant. Chauncey Billups might be a good comparison and they are similar ages. Billups had his achilles rupture in February and came back 10 months later in December, but then suffered a variety of other injuries and has had pretty spotty playing time. A similar timeline would have Kobe coming back in February, so he would have missed a good chunk of next season already. He should be fully back by 2014-2015 but at that point you gotta wonder how many years he has left in the tank.
http://basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2059&mode=print&nocache=1329138715 has some research on other NBA players with achilles tears.
Then again, Beckham had a full rupture and came back in 6 months, so I guess you never know. Either way a sad way for Kobe to end the season, even though I am not particularly fond of Bryant's off court behavior.
http://basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2059&mode=print&nocache=1329138715 has some research on other NBA players with achilles tears.
Then again, Beckham had a full rupture and came back in 6 months, so I guess you never know. Either way a sad way for Kobe to end the season, even though I am not particularly fond of Bryant's off court behavior.
Like you said, there is no doubt that Kobe is one of the best to ever play the game, and we as fans are fortunate to have watched him play this long and at such a high level. It would be a very, very sad thing for the world of basketball if we don't get to see him play at a high level again as he recovers from the injury while age catches up to him. This is not the way that the career of an all-time great should have to end.
What Kobe has been doing this season is MVP-worthy though, and this at age 34. Billups faced/faces no where near the pressure that Bryant does, and is his performance is a tiny fraction of what Kobe has been putting up. As a basketball fan I will be very sad if I don't ever get to see Kobe dominate a game again.
He also had played every minute of the game to that point despite taking a tough blow to the knee and nearly spraining his ankle on two different occasions. There wasn't even any contact on the play that took him out of the game, his body just finally gave out on him. Credit him for wanting to play hurt I suppose, but this is what happens when you get so big that the coach and the GM are afraid to say no to you. He was logging way too many minutes this season trying to do it all himself and the wear and tear added up. Just two more regular season games left too. That's a rough way to go.
I suppose the other side of the question is - would the Lakers have had a shot of making the playoffs had he not been logging that many minutes? I generally feel that the answer to that is in the negative. It is a rough and very sad way to go. At the very least he should have gotten to play a few playoff games.
Oh what was that, we lost to the Spurs? Btw for those of you who haven't been watching the Spurs much this season - that's how you get ball movement and assists. Every screen set is a good and intentional one, every move and cut made is made with a clear purpose. Night and day compared to our offense. If Pop had control of our current roster our offense would be unguardable and our defense mediocre.
Oh what was that, we lost to the Spurs? Btw for those of you who haven't been watching the Spurs much this season - that's how you get ball movement and assists. Every screen set is a good and intentional one, every move and cut made is made with a clear purpose. Night and day compared to our offense. If Pop had control of our current roster our offense would be unguardable and our defense mediocre.
Forget Billups, I think Krunker got it right with the Beckham comparison who tore his Achilles at age 34 on loan with Millan. I compare Kobe to Beckham instead of Billups given both are legends for their physical fitness. Beckham did come back about 6 months later, looked rusty in his return but after the following off season at age 35 looked very good. Won back to back MLS Cups and now at 37 is playing in Champions League and started for PSG against Barcelona. Looks like will play next year too and even talk of playing for England again.
This is not the last we see of Kobe. And as much as I hate the Lakers I have such respect for Kobe. Not just his accomplishments but more his mentality. When looking at guys like Reke and Cuz, you just hope his mentality rubs off a little on those two. I was just thinking yesterday is there anyone we can point to who'd be the next Kobe in the game. I think not, and while a big part is his raw talent and work ethic, a bigger reason is how extremely rare his mental toughness and mindset is. Not a player in the game who comes close. Not Lebron, not Durant. They don't come close.
I'll say one positive for Kobe is it's not a knee. Tear your ACL at 34 and it's tougher to get it back. With the Achilles though it's just time. He shouldn't be limited when he does comeback though, and since he's had his best year in 5+ years while playing below the rim for awhile now I think he'd adjust. Actually a forced year off could be good for the rest of Kobe's body. After Webber went down I hate seeing the greats go out like this.
This is not the last we see of Kobe. And as much as I hate the Lakers I have such respect for Kobe. Not just his accomplishments but more his mentality. When looking at guys like Reke and Cuz, you just hope his mentality rubs off a little on those two. I was just thinking yesterday is there anyone we can point to who'd be the next Kobe in the game. I think not, and while a big part is his raw talent and work ethic, a bigger reason is how extremely rare his mental toughness and mindset is. Not a player in the game who comes close. Not Lebron, not Durant. They don't come close.
I'll say one positive for Kobe is it's not a knee. Tear your ACL at 34 and it's tougher to get it back. With the Achilles though it's just time. He shouldn't be limited when he does comeback though, and since he's had his best year in 5+ years while playing below the rim for awhile now I think he'd adjust. Actually a forced year off could be good for the rest of Kobe's body. After Webber went down I hate seeing the greats go out like this.
Here's what Kobe had to say last night on Facebook:
This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I've done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??
I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me...Then again maybe not! It's 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I'm wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what's the purpose of social media if I won't bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.
One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.
"If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear". Ive always loved that quote. Thats "mamba mentality" we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer.
I know it's a long post but I'm Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.
Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.
Mamba Out
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Like him or hate him, he's one of the best to ever play the game. You don't take that away from him just because of the jersey he wears. Remember, it was USA on his chest when he represented every single one of us in the Olympics.
Get well soon, Kobe! Watching a Kings-Lakers game without you in it just wouldn't be the same.
This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I've done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??
I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me...Then again maybe not! It's 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I'm wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what's the purpose of social media if I won't bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.
One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.
"If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear". Ive always loved that quote. Thats "mamba mentality" we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer.
I know it's a long post but I'm Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.
Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.
Mamba Out
---------------------------------------------------------------
Like him or hate him, he's one of the best to ever play the game. You don't take that away from him just because of the jersey he wears. Remember, it was USA on his chest when he represented every single one of us in the Olympics.
Get well soon, Kobe! Watching a Kings-Lakers game without you in it just wouldn't be the same.
if your a kings fan you gotta love kobe as a player. dude is the second best ever after mj. the second best scorer of all time. better than lebron will ever be. lebron will never be on kobes level, dude was fun to watch. if you love basketball then you should love kobe. hes a once in a generation player.
Complete rebuild mode for the Lakers is, as Slim said, more of a "reload" mode.
As far as amnesty is concerned, if you think the Buss family is going to cut Kobe lose, you're beyond delusional. LA would go up in flames within minutes if that happened. And that doesn't even touch on the fact that Kobe Bryant has made them about a bazillion dollars during his time there. Even if he's just Coach Vino sitting on the sifelines, he'll keep bringing in the fans. You may not like him, but you cannot deny the impact he has had on the Lakers and the NBA. There is zero chance he's tossed out.
As far as amnesty is concerned, if you think the Buss family is going to cut Kobe lose, you're beyond delusional. LA would go up in flames within minutes if that happened. And that doesn't even touch on the fact that Kobe Bryant has made them about a bazillion dollars during his time there. Even if he's just Coach Vino sitting on the sifelines, he'll keep bringing in the fans. You may not like him, but you cannot deny the impact he has had on the Lakers and the NBA. There is zero chance he's tossed out.
I can agree with that. If it's a full tear and he is out a year or more, he will most likely retire. If its a partial tear and he is back in 6 months, they pribably keep him. An achilles is just about the most devestating injury an athlete can have, and if you are 35, it is a whole lot worse. When your team is at a crossroads, it's just hard to justify spending that kind of coin on a 35 year old who may never be the same, even if it is Kobe
