Kobe should have learned from LeBron

[B Mac]

Looks like Kobe "being the tough guy" and "showing what a real MVP is made of" will end up hurting his team worse in the long run:

Kobe Bryant has sustained a torn ligament in his right pinkie and has decided not to undergo surgery that would sideline him for six weeks, the Lakers said today.

Bryant initially hurt his finger Feb. 5 when the Lakers played New Jersey. The injury was originally listed as a dislocated pinkie, although the team revealed today there was also a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament and an avulsion fracture, in which a small fragment of bone had been pulled off by a tendon.

Bryant, who saw hand specialist Steven Shin in Los Angeles today, will try to play through the injury instead of having surgery. If he opted for surgery, he would face a six-week recovery process."My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest," Bryant said in a statement. "I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But, this is an injury that myself and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis."

Looks like he should have taken some time off when he originally hurt it and let it recover instead of trying to play through the pain. Instead he reaggravated it, and now will either be less than 100% for the rest of the season or miss a lot more time than had he rested it to begin with.

Again, one more reason I'd rather have LeBron. He took a lot of heat for resting his hand but flat out, you dont mess with injuries. Looks like there is a lot of crow to be eaten now.

This sucks for Kobe, and I honestly wish him the best. Nothing I hate more than seeing a great player not being 100% like him.

[Rox_Nix_Nox]

Kobe is tough. For him to sit out during the Lakers longest road trip in years is something he would not consider, add to the fact that the Lakers play in the Western Conf. were a 3-game losing steak could put you out of the playoffs. Thats the difference, Lebron can afford to rest in the East were being 7-games below 500 grants you the 8th spot.

[B Mac]

The point is, he made it worse by not sitting and resting it. He even said himself that every time he played he would bump it, jar it, etc.. and it would swell up afterword. Eventually his finger couldnt take anymore and snap goes the ligament.

I understand him wanting to be tough and play through it, but when you are going to end up costing your team far worse, what good is it? If he doesnt get surgery he isnt going to be close to 100% the rest of the year, and if he does he'll be out 6 weeks.

Now tell me whats worse: Missing a week or two in mid January to recover, or being less than 100% the rest of the season, or missing 6 weeks due to surgery?

LeBron hurt his finger and instead of trying to play through it, which he said he could have, he decided it would be smarter to rest it until it was fully healthy. LeBron got absolutely grilled for that decision and called all sorts of names, but it was the right decision, and I think everyone can clearly see that now. It just sucks that it took Kobe getting hurt for everyone to see how foolish their comments were.

IMO Kobe not sitting is going to end up costing his team way more than LeBron choosing to sit.

[Gordon Bombay]

heres what i said on the gen board about this

personally i think he's an idiot for trying to play through it. if he would of just rested after the new jersey game, he would have been fine. the lakers played miami, charlotte, minnesota, atlanta and orlando in that timeframe. he didnt have to go be a hero against weak competition. now he has a torn ligament that will require surgery sometime

[RocketPower23]

You guys don't read well, he already had ligament damage against the Nets, the Lakers got the initial diagonisis wrong. It's pretty well summed up in this post.

Ok, some of you people don't understand medicine.

Kobe tore the ligament during the New Jersey game. He got it taped up and came back. The initial diagonis was wrong. They said it was a dislocated pinkie. They had x-rays which came back negative, but never did any tests to see if there was any tendon or muscle tear. The team put out a statement saying that their initial diagnosis was wrong and that Kobe's injury was more severe than expected.

In the game againt Minnessota, he simply got his pinkie hit again. Because of the ligament damage, this hurts like a mofo. That is the aggravation. If any of you are in med school or are doctors, you know that a dislocated finger does not put you at higher risk for ligament damage in the same finger as a person without a dislocation if the dislocation is taped.

Additionally, there are not going to be any long term implications from Kobe's decision to play through. A tear in your pinkie does not have the same consequences as a knee where mobility is issue. Even if Kobe elects not to have the surgery, there is virtually no chance of the injury becoming worse than it already is. The ligament is already torn. Again, it isn't a knee or a foot or shoulder which can cause long term mobility problems if not handled immediately.

Kobe's problem is going to be playing through excrutiating pain for the next 3-4 months depending on how far they get in the playoffs. Is the pain simply going to be too uncomfortable? There's no doubt that Kobe can play at a high level if it is properly taped, but every time he dunks or someone slaps at his hand, there is going to be an excrutiating sharp sensation going throughout his body that is going to last.

I don't anticipate that the injury is going to affect Kobe much. He has a high pain tolerence and he'll be getting treatment around the clock. I think if they can keep the pain bearable and avoid swelling, then he'll play at his normal level.

Finally, Kobe can do strengthening exercises on his hand and pinkie to compensate for the torn ligament depending on where exactly the tear is.

Again, the biggest problem is the pain. Most people can't play through that kind of pain and so would opt for the surgery. Kobe might opt for the surgery too and I think he probably will because of the pain, but if he doesn't and can play through...he'll be fine.

Plus playing in the West, unlike the Cavs and LeBron, they can't afford losing games. See, unlike LeBron, Kobe can't sit out because he plays in the West. Whatever, I suppose you rather have your best player who won't play through injury or pain, it will be interesting to see how that works when James gets hurt, at a time when it really matter, and he doesn't play and lets his team lose game after game, we'll see if you guys are going, wow LeBron is so smart by sitting out and letting our season go to heck.

You were fine until you went off at the end. Consider this a warning.

[L&H_05]

Oh dear Lord.. Kobe talk ..

[B Mac]

Except Jules has no idea when the ligament damage actually occured, he's just assuming, and Ive seen enough of Jules posts to know to not take what he says seriously. I may be incorrect on this, but there hasnt been one link Ive seen that confirms that it was the original injury that tore his ligament. I have however seen several links where Kobe himself said it only got worse and worse with every hit, bump, etc...

Even on the Laker's board I read people saying he should have sat because he only made it worse. The fact is LeBron did the smart thing by not messing around with injuries, thats my point. Not that Kobe was stupid for toughing it out, but that all of the media out there and posters on here who were ripping on LeBron for sitting were flat out wrong and now deserve to eat some crow because of Kobe's situation.

Can you honestly tell me that having Kobe sit out for 2 weeks to let his finger recover is worse than him now being faced with the decision of playing hurt the rest of the season or having surgery?

For the record I honestly hope he has the surgery. As Cavs fans we all saw what it did to Hughes when he chose to tough it out and play through his hurt finger. The guy still cant even close his fist. Hopefully Kobe's injuries dont get worse on him.

[Gordon Bombay]

You guys don't read well, he already had ligament damage against the Nets, the Lakers got the initial diagonisis wrong. It's pretty well summed up in this post.


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Plus playing in the West, unlike the Cavs and LeBron, they can't afford losing games. See, unlike LeBron, Kobe can't sit out because he plays in the West. Whatever, I suppose you rather have your best player who won't play through injury or pain, it will be interesting to see how that works when James gets hurt, at a time when it really matter, and he doesn't play and lets his team lose game after game, we'll see if you guys are going, wow LeBron is so smart by sitting out and letting our season go to heck.

You were fine until you went off at the end. Consider this a warning.

if you cant beat miami, charlotte, atlanta and minnesota with just pau and lo, you dont deserve to be in the league(hell, the cavs beat atlanta with lebron and 4 bums). now i dont know what happened with kobes torn ligament and when it happened, but i think at least a little bit of rest (like until the all star break) would have done some good

dont get me wrong, i was making fun of lebron for how long he sat out, but as it turns out, he was spot on in sitting out and now is ready to go for the stretch run

[TheOUTLAW]

C'mon now, this thread is just begging to be locked. Let's stop with the Kobe bashing since you know all it will do is bring Kobe fans out of the woodwork.

That being said, I can't imagine how anyone can argue that Kobe is tougher than LeBron since LeBron frankly gets fouled harder and more often and he still plays in more games each season. LeBron is way more likely to be held out of a game than Kobe has been and sure that might be because the Cavs are in the weaker conference but it's tough to argue it's because he won't play through pain.

[Rox_Nix_Nox]

Except Jules has no idea when the ligament damage actually occured, he's just assuming, and Ive seen enough of Jules posts to know to not take what he says seriously. I may be incorrect on this, but there hasnt been one link Ive seen that confirms that it was the original injury that tore his ligament. I have however seen several links where Kobe himself said it only got worse and worse with every hit, bump, etc...

Even on the Laker's board I read people saying he should have sat because he only made it worse. The fact is LeBron did the smart thing by not messing around with injuries, thats my point. Not that Kobe was stupid for toughing it out, but that all of the media out there and posters on here who were ripping on LeBron for sitting were flat out wrong and now deserve to eat some crow because of Kobe's situation.

Can you honestly tell me that having Kobe sit out for 2 weeks to let his finger recover is worse than him now being faced with the decision of playing hurt the rest of the season or having surgery?

For the record I honestly hope he has the surgery. As Cavs fans we all saw what it did to Hughes when he chose to tough it out and play through his hurt finger. The guy still cant even close his fist. Hopefully Kobe's injuries dont get worse on him.

LOL.... First of all Kobe may have torn the ligament in the begining, perhaps it was misdiagnosed and kobe had been playing with the ligament torn and it didn't affect him. It can't get much worse it's already torn up. He's not having surgery he said it himself.

[B Mac]

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LOL.... First of all Kobe may have torn the ligament in the begining, perhaps it was misdiagnosed and kobe had been playing with the ligament torn and it didn't affect him. It can't get much worse it's already torn up. He's not having surgery he said it himself.

Just because its already torn up doesnt mean it cant get worse. Things can get much much worse. Im not trying to bash Kobe here, Im honestly not. I really just think he needs to have the surgery and get himself right before its too late. Injuries, even if they seem small, are nothing to mess with. Which again is why I totally agreed with LeBron earlier this season in choosing to make sure he was 100% until he came back. Thats the main point of this thread to me, not to bash Kobe, but to show everyone who bashed LeBron just how wrong they were. I see nothing wrong with that.

[Rox_Nix_Nox]

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Just because its already torn up doesnt mean it cant get worse. Things can get much much worse. Im not trying to bash Kobe here, Im honestly not. I really just think he needs to have the surgery and get himself right before its too late. Injuries, even if they seem small, are nothing to mess with. Which again is why I totally agreed with LeBron earlier this season in choosing to make sure he was 100% until he came back. Thats the main point of this thread to me, not to bash Kobe, but to show everyone who bashed LeBron just how wrong they were. I see nothing wrong with that.

Ok So you want Kobe to have surgery so it can validate you and your opinion? Look Lebron's injury wasen't as bad, add too the fact it was earlier in the season he could afford to sit out. Two different injuries.

[B Mac]

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Ok So you want Kobe to have surgery so it can validate you and your opinion? Look Lebron's injury wasen't as bad, add too the fact it was earlier in the season he could afford to sit out. Two different injuries.

Why are you getting so defensive? I want Kobe to have surgery so he doesnt hurt himself worse. Nothing more than that. Is that wrong for some reason?

LeBron's injury might not have been as bad, but if he had continued to play on it you never know what may or may not have happened. Thats why he sat, the unknown.

[ljp24]

Are you insane? If ANY current western conference team goes on a 3 game losing streak, they're out of the playoffs. Thats how tight the playoff race. There could be a 50-win club not making the playoffs this year.

[ChocolateThundr]

I agree. Nothing wrong with LeBron sitting out 6 games and nothing wrong with Kobe playing with injury. These two players have nothing to learn from each other in this regard. If you take things out of context, then Kobe looks stupid, but viewed in context, he did what was necessary. B Mac, LeBron would've played if he was in a similar situation that Kobe is in. And Kobe would've most likely rest games if he was in LeBron situation.

[B Mac]

Fair enough Chocolate. Again, I am not trying to sound like I am coming down on Kobe. He is not my target. My target is everyone who ripped LeBron for sitting, when it is now vindicated but what we just saw happen.

[Gordon Bombay]

i guess if they were playing like the spurs or the suns in that 5 game stretch, it would be understandable for him to play. but they werent, they were making their way through the nba's version of a rec league. pau and lo could have handled the duties themselves and let kobe rest the hand. they went 4-1 in that stretch (losing to atlanta of all teams) and i dont think it was out of the realm of possibilities for the lake show to match that record or go a respectable 3-2 with the kobester out

[dingclancy]

A 5-4 record in that 9 game road trip will put them in... 9th.

We do not know.. maybe the 0-6 Cleveland got when Lebron was out might bite the cavs in the end in terms of seeding. With all your injuries today you maybe looking at those 6 games that the Cavs should have won.

Kobe has nothing to learn from Lebron - He played with far worse injuries on a three-peat quality team.

[RJM]

I agree. Both players handled their injuries differently and both teams are playing rather well right now. I think Kobe is just trying to help his team out. It's real fragile out there in the West, so any leap a team gets could result in the Lakers dropping out of Playoff contention. Lebron has the luxury of playing in the East where he can sit out 8 games, come back, and still be in Playoff contention. It's not the same out in the West.

[Chubby Chaser]

Let's be real here. Two similar injuries, yet Kobe plays and Lebron takes SIX games off. And you fault Kobe? Lebron should take some "man juice" and realize it's just a finger. Ronnie lot cut a tip of his finger off when they told him he needed surgery. With all these diva super stars missing games like it's a new fad, it's refreshing to have a tough star playing through pain because his team needs him.