Kobe Bryant, who has missed the Lakers’ last seven games because of a shin injury, plans to play in at least two of L.A.'s final three regular-season games, Yahoo! Sports reports.
Bryant told ESPN’s Ric Bucher on Wednesday that he’ll “probably be on the floor” for Friday night’s Lakers-Spurs game in San Antonio (via the Orange County Register).
While Bryant told Yahoo! he wants to “establish my rhythm” before the playoffs begin next weekend, the Lakers also are fighting for playoff position. It’s unlikely they’ll drop to fifth in the West, however, so home-court advantage in the first round looks pretty secure. The Pacific Division title still is up for grabs between the Lakers and the Clipper, their Staples Center co-tenants.
After the Spurs on Friday, the Lakers have a nationally televised game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and finish the season next Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.
With the playoffs starting just two days later, the Lakers may elect to rest Bryant for the Kings game, and the team generally is being careful about bringing their star back too soon, according to Yahoo!.
Trainer Gary Vitti "said specifically when we decided to shut (Bryant) down that it's better to be overcautious,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said, per Yahoo!. “If you sit him for five days, and it looks like it's feeling good and then you put him out there and then he re-aggravates it, those five days that you sat him were wasted and you got to start him all over again."
One positive from Bryant’s injury is that his teammates are “gaining some confidence” playing without him, and Bryant's “gaining confidence in them,” Brown said.
L.A. is 5-2 in the seven-game stretch Bryant has been out.
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