kobe may miss start of season

[hermes]

The USA team is (Please Use More Appropriate Word). Its already stacked without kobe its a waste of time for him. He should be home resting right now and go to the camp and practice team defense with everyone. Why waste ur time practicing with allstars when the scrubs here needs to learn defense as a whole.

doesn't kobe want the be there, supporting his country and all?

[miggs]

I don't think it's such a bad thing that Kobe may miss the start of the season, if anything i see it as a great challenge to the rest of the team, will they show that hunger to win as they said they would in the exit interviews? Will Ariza really be boasting an improved shot, better ball handling skills and be 10 lbs stronger? Will Gasol really come storming out tough as he said he would? Will the Odom from the Utah series show up? Or the one from the NBA Finals? Will Farmar finally prove he play consistent ball and run the offense better? Will Bynum emerge as that piece we've all been saying he is and be the tough guy this team desperately lacked in the playoffs? Or will his skills decline due to his injury?

In my opinion, all these questions will be answered thoroughly without Kobe at the start of the season. I think the rest of the team needs that wake up call, that "Kobe won't always bail us out" mentality because they didn't show up for him in the Finals, they couldn't cut it, can they finally take that tough defeat against Boston and take their game to another level with Kobe recovering? I don't know the answers to any of these questions but i'm very confident with our team and their desire to push to the next level, let's remember we have one of the youngest teams in the NBA and yet we made it to the Finals against a proven veteran Boston Celtic team.

GO KOBE! LOCK DOWN THOSE INT'L STARS!!!

[what would jack bauer do?]

The olympics aren't in mid-september. They're August 8 to August 24. If he gets that surgery around the 25th or 26th, he should be ready in late October. Meaning he'd miss training camp and the preseason, but that just gives him some time extra time to rest his tired legs from the olympics and finals. I would still have him sit out the first couple weeks of the regular season, but come on guys this is Kobe... he's a fricken WARRIOR, he'll play through it. He plays through injuries that any other player would sit through.

[bynumite120]

how long do u think kobe will be out if he gets surgery on aug 27. How long does pinkie surgery take to heal?

[milesfides]

As much as I love the Lakers, the Olympics are way bigger. The Olympics is once every four years. The reputation of Team USA - hell, NBA basketball - hell, the US of A - is at stake.

The last time around, Team USA was only able to get Bronze. 3rd place. That's humiliating. That's black hawk down times 10. You know, that team had some pretty good guys on that team, like Lebron, Duncan, Wade, Melo, etc. They lost the first game to Carlos Arroyo and Puerto Rico. And it wasn't close, it was a beatdown.

That's humiliating. I've never felt more humiliated in my life. And it was personal, because as an American, these guys are representing the best of your country. And the best is third place?

You know what I'm saying? You win the NBA championship, cool, you got 12 months of bragging rights. You win the Olympics, it's 4 years.

Kobe better play, because he and Jason Kidd were the heart and soul of the team last year. Everybody got right because of those two. Offensively, defensively, they set the tone.

What's more important, being a Laker fan, or being an American?

Kobe, being a Laker, and an American, makes it an easy choice. Be both.

[NOODLESTYLE]

Kobe never played in the Olympics, so I think it's great that he wants to give it a try this time around and he deserves it because a Gold medal is one of the few things he hasn't accomplished. After that, I hope Kobe gets all the rest that he needs. However, I don't expect Kobe to miss much time because he's such a fierce competitor...I don't think Kobe can handle sitting on the bench if he knows he can play. Perhaps Kobe will just get less minutes, instead of sitting out the games.

[Dexmor]

Bynum Gasol and Odom is plenty to stay afloat for a month.