Is anyone else sick of the PR bull? If a star player wants to sit the last couple games of the year to rest up and give his team the best possible chance for a strong playoff run and a potential championship, why not just call a spade a spade. I would prefer for Kobe and the Lakers to just say “Kobe would like to rest up and avoid any potential for a fluke injury in one of our final two games of the regular season, mainly because our playoff seed is going to be unaffected by wins or losses.”
Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air, instead of the statement we got today….“Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will not play in L.A.’s final two games of the regular season due to the avulsion fracture on his right index finger.”
Really Kobe? You’re still singing the ‘Avulsion Fracture on the Index Finger’ tune? Hasn’t it been like at least 4 months since you sustained this latest finger injury?
After Monday afternoon’s practice, Lamar Odom was asked if he thought Kobe’s absence would affect his rhythm in the playoffs.
“We know how good Kobe is,” Odom answered. “He won’t have a problem. I don’t care if he missed 50 games.”
Phil Jackson, however, acknowledged that he’s “concerned but not worried” about Bryant’s injuries, but thinks increased practice time can get him back in rhythm.
“I think he’ll find a way,” said Jackson. “We’ll have harder practices. We’ll have practice time. There should be two to three days between our (final) game and the start of the playoffs, so I think he’ll find a rhythm.”
Jackson suggested that some of Bryant’s struggles of late are due to his choice of shots, which the head coach suggested have been tougher than usual and contributed to his poor shooting.
Jackson added that Bryant text messaged him at about 8 p.m. on Sunday night suggesting that he’d be better off resting on Tuesday and Wednesday. {Via}
Just out of curiosity I looked up what an ‘Avulsion Fracture’ is and what are the normal treatment options. Here is what I found:
What is the treatment of an avulsion fracture? Most often, an avulsion fracture is treated as a soft-tissue injury. Only in avulsion fractures where the bone is pulled more than several centimeters from its normal position does surgery need to be considered. Usually these injuries can be treated without surgery. Most commonly these injuries heal within 4-6 weeks.
I’m not saying Kobe is faking, but I am saying that there are probably a lot of players on even his own team playing through worse, so just be honest about why you want to sit out the final two games. You want to rest up, make sure you have a leg up on your competition, and also avoidance of injury.
