There’s a report on the New York Post by Peter Vecsey that Kobe Bryant is basically playing nearly bone-on-bone on his knee, and that’s the reason why he hasn’t practiced as much this season.
Here’s an excerpt:
Which brings us to the crux of my inquiry. How did Kobe propose to pull that off, a Lakers’ legionnaire wondered, “when he hasn’t practiced the whole season (something no member of LA’s press has called him out on)?”
Is that true, I asked Kobe?
“Yeah.”
Why?
“Because I have very little cartilage under my right knee cap, it’s almost bone on bone.”
Bryant has undergone three operations on that same knee, one this past offseason, after having it drained several times during last year’s playoffs.
Kobe has returned to practicing with the team (intensely, I might add) since after Christmas.
Kobe will continue adjusting to his game as he continues to age. The good news is that the team is so deep that he doesn’t have to do as much anymore as he used to offensively. Of course, there will be times where he’ll ‘screw it up’ and go away from the offense and continue to fire away as he pleases.
Still, we’ve come to the realization that Kobe Bryant is at the twilight of his career. Sure, he may be 32 years old but he’s been playing in the NBA since he’s 18. He’s in his 15th year in the league and has played ’til June in seven of those seasons. The guy is pretty worn down.
Even so, we’ve seen what ‘bone-on-bone’ did to a young star like Brandon Roy. Hopefully, it doesn’t get that bad for Kobe Bryant and that we’ll still get to see him play at a high level for a few more seasons. Enjoy him while he’s still doin’ work, ladies and gentlemen.
PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Andersen/Getty Images.
Rey-Rey is the Editor of Stacheketball and founder of the L.A.-based NBA Blog, The No-Look Pass. Find him talking about the NBA and maybe the Spice Girls on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
I would like to see Kobe play a couple of more seasons. It's a scary thought though, especially if it continues to get worse during the 2nd half of the season.
I think he'll be okay. He's an older man unlike Brandon Roy so he'll adjust to pacing himself even better. But, yeah, he doesn't have much longer. Two or three seasons sound about right.
I despise Kobe, and have always pulled against him. Yet, he still wins. It seems like my hate fuels him somehow. I think my hate will heal his knees. You Laker fans have nothing to worry about.