<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (huevonkiller @ Feb 14 2008, 10:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 14 2008, 10:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Feb 14 2008, 10:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Another thing to consider is that you know certain guys will be attacking his pinky. Matt Barnes, Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen, any old scrub who wants to fugg with Kobe will hack at that hand like crazy and say they were just trying to steal the ball or make sure he didn't get the shot in. Thats definitely not going to help it heal.</div> Of course he's going to be better off taking the surgery, but the amount of time it will take for him to heal up could possibly break the team. Bynum is coming back, but it still won't be for another couple of weeks. As much as I love Gasol, he cannot carry this team on his back. And Lamar will revert back to his piss poor play if he's going to be used as the 2nd option. Kobe could take the surgery now, but in 6 weeks, we could very well fall out of the playoff picture. He should tape his fingers before games, which should help ease up the pain. Like I said before, the pinky finger won't make or break your game. Obviously you want to be 100%, but this is the best case scenerio if Kobe's going to have to suffer such an injury. Gerald Green won the dunk contest with 9 fingers btw, if anyone's intersted. Also, Kobe can try playing with this injury a week from now, and if he decides it's not the best route to go, he can always opt for surgery </div> We've already seen the havoc a pinky can cause, just refer back to the Atlanta game. Kobe should leave this decision up to the doctors, he could cause himself some real damage. He needs a lot of professional opinions, nothing else. </div> That was his first game with the injury though. I'm sure if you give him a couple of games to get used to playing with that type of pain, his production shouldn't fall off that noticibly. Also keep in mind that when healthy, a team with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom will mean less shots for Kobe anyways. He won't have to worry about scoring as much as he has in the past.
Kobe said again today he's going to continue to play and receive treatment on the pinky and not have surgery until after the Olympics this summer. Ric Bucher said 99% of the other players in the league would have opted for surgery, but Kobe knows his team is close to competing for a championship and with him missing 6 to 8 weeks the Lakers might not even qualify for the playoffs. What needs to happen now is for his teammates to step up even more in the 2nd half so Kobe can reduce his minutes on the court thus reducing his chance of aggravating the pinky anymore. I'm also concerned about other players going after his pinky and I think the Lakers should consider signing Ruben Patterson to play the enforcer role out on the perimeter.
I think if Kobe's going to opt out of surgery, he should also cut his minutes to about 30 per game or so. The less time he's on the court, as Shape said, the less likely he'll aggravate it. Plus, our bench has been playing phenomenal, so I'd have faith if Sasha or someone would have an increased role because of this.
Does anyone even think Kobe would miss the 6 weeks? He's the toughest player in the league, I bet you he's back on the court by week 3 or 4. I still think Mbenga could be our enforcer. You guys think I'm on crack or something, but he's not someone you want to mess with.
That's something I mentioned in another thread Mamba. If Kobe were to opt for surgery, I'd bet money on it that he'd be back in about 4 weeks as opposed to 6. That means he'd miss what, 10 games? And by the time he gets back, Bynum would be back as well. But yea, if Kobe does get surgery, he will work his ass off to get back as quick as possible, and I'd bet that'll be less than the 6 weeks recommended.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 15 2008, 11:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (huevonkiller @ Feb 14 2008, 10:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 14 2008, 10:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Feb 14 2008, 10:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Another thing to consider is that you know certain guys will be attacking his pinky. Matt Barnes, Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen, any old scrub who wants to fugg with Kobe will hack at that hand like crazy and say they were just trying to steal the ball or make sure he didn't get the shot in. Thats definitely not going to help it heal.</div> Of course he's going to be better off taking the surgery, but the amount of time it will take for him to heal up could possibly break the team. Bynum is coming back, but it still won't be for another couple of weeks. As much as I love Gasol, he cannot carry this team on his back. And Lamar will revert back to his piss poor play if he's going to be used as the 2nd option. Kobe could take the surgery now, but in 6 weeks, we could very well fall out of the playoff picture. He should tape his fingers before games, which should help ease up the pain. Like I said before, the pinky finger won't make or break your game. Obviously you want to be 100%, but this is the best case scenerio if Kobe's going to have to suffer such an injury. Gerald Green won the dunk contest with 9 fingers btw, if anyone's intersted. Also, Kobe can try playing with this injury a week from now, and if he decides it's not the best route to go, he can always opt for surgery </div> We've already seen the havoc a pinky can cause, just refer back to the Atlanta game. Kobe should leave this decision up to the doctors, he could cause himself some real damage. He needs a lot of professional opinions, nothing else. </div> That was his first game with the injury though. I'm sure if you give him a couple of games to get used to playing with that type of pain, his production shouldn't fall off that noticibly. Also keep in mind that when healthy, a team with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom will mean less shots for Kobe anyways. He won't have to worry about scoring as much as he has in the past. </div> And if Kobe aggravates this injury, he could up the way he did against Atlanta. There are so many things that can happen, I'm not going to let my blind love for the Lakers ignore the fact that he might need the surgery. How are we going to win a TITLE, with an 80% Kobe? Let the Doctors decide, often times a simple injury can turn out to be more serious and vice versa, so we really are in no position to tell Kobe what to do. If Kobe plays like garbage the next few games after the All-Star break, it's probably time for him to have the surgery. He relies on the best mid-range jumper in the game to elevate himself above the other players in this league. I'm also sure his slashing ability will be hampered. I don't expect Houston to remain on this Hot streak, and Denver is not the most consistent team either, we can make the playoffs if Kobe has surgery. At least Bynum is coming back so that should keep us at an Eighth-place level. I don't care about homecourt advantage if Kobe sucks.
I think kobe should just have the surgery . Even though our team is very good right now, I dont think we can win the whole thing if Kobe isn't 100%. I'd rather have a healthy squad and an 8th seed than a dinged up squad in the 3rd seed.
Lakers would prefer Bryant have surgery now <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>NEW ORLEANS – Kobe Bryant held the NBA's most famous pinkie aloft for a moment Friday afternoon then suggested that if league officials needed a doctor's note for him to skip the All-Star game they might as well just remove the splint from his ailing digit. "All you have to do is take this off," Bryant said with a slight wag of his finger, "to see how swollen it is." Bryant smiled. He knows, for now at least, he doesn't have much choice whether to put on his All-Star uniform Sunday. If the league thinks he'll be healthy enough to play for his Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday against Atlanta, then it also considers him capable of waving to the crowd during introductions and running up and down the court a couple of times. "I'm not complaining about it," Bryant said. "If I need to play, I'll play." That's also all anyone needs to know about Bryant's decision to go against the Lakers' wishes and put off surgery on his pinkie until the offseason. To Bryant there really was no choice. He needs to play. ADVERTISEMENT The NBA's most ruthless competitor smells blood in the water. The Western Conference is as wide open as it's been in recent years and Bryant has his best supporting cast since Shaquille O'Neal was shipped out to Miami. Bryant had already picked up a little pep in his step after watching center Andrew Bynum develop into a dependable partner and he's become further encouraged about the Lakers' prospects after they heisted Pau Gasol from Memphis two weeks ago. That's why when Lakers owner Jerry Buss sent word to Bryant through GM Mitch Kupchak that the franchise's preference was for him to have the procedure immediately, Bryant politely declined. The Lakers hope to get back Bynum from his knee injury in the next three or four weeks. If Bryant is out when he returns, it will take the team that much longer to regain its traction. Bryant also is aware how difficult it would be for the Lakers to stay afloat in the stacked West without him in the lineup for six weeks. "Just the timing and the rhythm that we have and the opportunity that we have, it's just a smarter decision to continue to play," Bryant said. "I know Dr. Buss would prefer me to have the surgery … but we want to get things done now." The Lakers are worried enough about Bryant's finger to risk dropping a few seeds or even out of the playoffs altogether. Regardless of how they finish this season the Lakers' long-term future is bright: Bynum is 20, Gasol 27. Bryant has a lot of mileage on him, but his skills aren't going to diminish that much from this season to next, provided he stays healthy. Bryant doesn't share that patience. He's desperate to win now. He doesn't want to end his career with three championships or even four. Michael Jordan's six titles is the only standard by which Bryant measures himself. It's that same desperation, that same overwhelming pressure he places on himself, that fueled his maddening trade me-don't trade me-trade me summer. This is the same guy who jetted in from his rape trial and hung 42 points on the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. You think he doesn't believe he can tape up his finger and keep playing? He's even still planning on suiting up for the Olympics in August. "I'm not missing this summer," he said. "Unless something drastic happens, God forbid. I've been waiting to play on this team for too long." In truth, Bryant knows he'll be at risk. The Lakers think the brace will protect his pinkie to a degree, but they also thought it would protect it before he aggravated the injury during Wednesday's victory in Minnesota. The damaged pinkie is on Bryant's (right) shooting hand. How many times does he get hacked there in a single game? A dozen? The Lakers wanted him to have the break's full five days to rest his hand. Not just two or three. Bryant also wants to sit out Sunday's All-Star game, but league officials, for now, seem intent on having him make an obligatory appearance. They don't want to set the precedent of allowing a player to skip the event if he's still able to play for his team. That said, the NBA also is aware of how valuable Bryant is to its bottom line. Putting the game's biggest star at risk in a meaningless game isn't good business, even if that risk is slight. "We obviously don't want to jeopardize his long-term health," one official said. "If (the injury) flares up Saturday or Sunday, we'll address the situation then." West coach Byron Scott, a friend and former teammate, already has pledged to adhere to Bryant's wishes, saying he'll sub Bryant out after "one minute" if that's what he wishes. So Bryant will do his duty if asked Sunday. He'll wave to the crowd, maybe even take a couple of shots. Then he'll take his seat on the bench and save his fight. The Hawks come calling Tuesday, Shaq and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. If the injury worsens? Bryant knows he'll need surgery. He won't have a choice. But in his mind he already doesn't have one. He has to play.</div> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=jy-k...o&type=lgns Regarding Mbenga as an enforcer, it just wouldn't work because hes too nice. Hes like Adonal Foyle, if you saw him at random and knew nothing about him he looks like a nasty brute but once you actually talk to him and get to know him you realize hes the nicest guy ever and the last one who would start a confrontation. Hes intimidating physically but you need much more than that to be an enforcer. Look at Matt Barnes. He's 6'7, not particularly intimidating, kind of awkwardly lanky and doesn't really seem like a great athlete. But when he plays he goes out of his way to talk shit and foul guys way harder than is necessary. Dude leads the league in flagrant fouls even though hes missed some games and doesn't play that much. Hes somewhat unassuming but once he lays the lumber then the other teams knows that hes there and hes not backing down from anyone. One time he clotheslined Devin Harris out of bounds a good 2 seconds after Harris called a timeout (and yes, he deserved it lol). Same type of deal with Harpring. He looks like a fuggin choir boy and if you didn't know hes an enforcer before, you'll figure it out within 3 minutes of him entering a game. Mbenga doesn't have that. Hes too nice of a guy. He doesn't want to do anything unsportsmanlike like and hes too humble. I don't think anyone on the Lakers currently has that. You don't necessarily need an enforcer but its a decent bonus to have to get into the other team's head. Notice how most good teams in the league have at least one guy who is an asshole for no reason, will commit some cheap fouls, hard fouls, etc. Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell, Matt Harpring, Linas Kleiza, James Posey, anyone on the Pistons. Kobe is a tough SOB but since hes the star you can't designate him as the enforcer. Walton is too nice and unintimidating, Ariza is too concerned with making highlight plays and trying to be a star, Turiaf is just a goofy fool. Someone mentioned Ruben Patterson, he'd be perfect, but who would he replace in the rotation?
Thanks for the rundown, Run. I didn't know Mbenga was so nice. What if we kept Karl in the D-league and signed Patterson?
Lamar is somewhat becoming our enforcer. He tackled Ray Allen and knocked Tony Parker down pretty hard in the last game.
I read this on CL. Michael Jordan played with a broken index finger on his shooting for most of the second half of his career. If Jordan can do it, Kobe can too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 17 2008, 11:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I read this on CL. Michael Jordan played with a broken index finger on his shooting for most of the second half of his career. If Jordan can do it, Kobe can too.</div> Well maybe Kobe can do this, however: Is a torn ligament the same as a broken finger though? I wouldn't just juxtapose both injuries like that.
