RealGM

Speedlot wrote:Why is spurs mentality here in Laker Land? Resting stars is PFFT. Get that outta here.

kobesmyhomie wrote:I'm surprised it took 385 posts for someone to make a joke about my name

Which brings us to the more important, if less dramatic, injury news in L.A. The latest toll on Kobe Bryant's body as he attempts to carry the Lakers without Pau Gasol was a back that locked up in Tuesday's game at San Antonio. Add that to the bone fracture in his right index finger, and the signs are adding up that it's time for Bryant to sit down.

Anything short of being strapped to a wheelchair isn't going to keep Bryant off the court. And that's the problem. He's being too competitive for his and the team's own good right now, burning energy and wearing down body parts that will be needed during the playoffs more than they are now.

This is where coach Phil Jackson needs to follow his own advice and stand up to Bryant. Jackson recently put some of the blame for Bryant's inflated field goal attempts on the other players, saying his teammates at times needed to be "strong-willed enough to turn him down." Can't we say the same thing for Jackson? Is there a reason he needs to play Bryant so many minutes, especially when even with Bryant, the Lakers are more likely to lose than win on the road lately?

Kobe Bryant knows what people are saying.

He knows what kinds of questions he's going to get every night from the media pests.

He hears it all and, as always, refuses to listen.

"If I can walk, I'm playin'," Bryant said late Wednesday night, hobbling down the hallway at American Airlines Center at a strained post-game speed more commonly associated with his brittle coach.

"You know that."

Even walking is a chore for No. 24 these days, but Bryant had zero trouble convincing Phil Jackson to let him play against the Mavs less than 24 hours after back spasms knocked Kobe out of the previous night's loss at San Antonio.

He's been struggling for weeks with a mangled index finger on his shooting hand and has suddenly been forced to start stealing from Steve Nash's playbook, as seen in Dallas when Bryant spent the entire second quarter laid out on towels near the Lakers' bench. Yet he reacts with Raja Bell-level "I don't know this kid" indignation when someone has the temerity to ask: Why not just take a week or two off to let your body heal for the long run?

"Why would I want to do that?" Bryant says.

Take time off for the long run? Even after he woke up at 5 a.m. to spend several hours getting his back worked on leading up to tipoff in Dallas, Bryant wouldn't take the electric-cart ride offered to take him back to the team bus. He logged 35 labored minutes in L.A.'s best win of the season, which he naturally capped with a clutch elbow jumper and two huge defensive plays in crunch time in spite of his weakened state, then insisted that his history of playing through injuries justifies his right to ignore conventional wisdom after his back seized up in San Antonio.

Shot Clock wrote:Suddenly Kobe is an ironman. I remember his earlier career where he regularly miss 16 games a season. Suddenly he's bragging about being a"tough American kid" or "Bruce Willis". Why does he insist on so much self promotion? I guess his formative years were with Shaq so maybe that explains it.

After 3 bad games in a row I was joking with a friend of mine who is an LA fan. I said I wondered how long before "sources" started suggesting injuries. Of course by game 4 it was everywhere. Kobe's m.o. is after a few bad games mention an injury but then follow it up with "but that isn't bothering me". His followers pounce all over it and it just rolls from there.

Now it's I can play through anything, it doesn't bother me at all I like it. The performances show otherwise.

Fact is players are always playing hurt. You just don't hear about it like this.

Shot Clock wrote:Suddenly Kobe is an ironman. I remember his earlier career where he regularly miss 16 games a season. Suddenly he's bragging about being a"tough American kid" or "Bruce Willis". Why does he insist on so much self promotion? I guess his formative years were with Shaq so maybe that explains it.

After 3 bad games in a row I was joking with a friend of mine who is an LA fan. I said I wondered how long before "sources" started suggesting injuries. Of course by game 4 it was everywhere. Kobe's m.o. is after a few bad games mention an injury but then follow it up with "but that isn't bothering me". His followers pounce all over it and it just rolls from there.

Now it's I can play through anything, it doesn't bother me at all I like it. The performances show otherwise.

Fact is players are always playing hurt. You just don't hear about it like this.

Phil X wrote:

Shot Clock wrote:Suddenly Kobe is an ironman. I remember his earlier career where he regularly miss 16 games a season. Suddenly he's bragging about being a"tough American kid" or "Bruce Willis". Why does he insist on so much self promotion? I guess his formative years were with Shaq so maybe that explains it.

After 3 bad games in a row I was joking with a friend of mine who is an LA fan. I said I wondered how long before "sources" started suggesting injuries. Of course by game 4 it was everywhere. Kobe's m.o. is after a few bad games mention an injury but then follow it up with "but that isn't bothering me". His followers pounce all over it and it just rolls from there.

Now it's I can play through anything, it doesn't bother me at all I like it. The performances show otherwise.

Fact is players are always playing hurt. You just don't hear about it like this.

B.S

kobesmyhomie wrote:I've been having these thoughts for several weeks now but didn't say anything. Why is Kobe playing so many minutes this early in the season? Why is he pushing himself so much? He needs to realize that he has to save this kind of effort for the post season.

I love kobe and I know he's a warrior, but he's not doing anyone a favor playing this many minutes especially when he's banged up like this. He's gonna screwed himself and the team over down the line. Seriously Kobe take it easy man.