Too lazy to post a link... Anyways, Kobe said on his website that he's going to pass up on the surgery so he won't miss any time. I don't know how I feel about this. Obviously I want him completely healthy, but getting the surgery would put him out for quite some time, and I'm not sure if we can really afford it, if we're going to be looking for home court advantage throughout the postseason. The pinky could be bothersome, but it's not going to get any worse. Kobe also did a pretty good job adjusting his shot for the most part after the injury, and he'll have even more time now in the offseason. The GOAT himself won championships with a dislocated index finger that he never got surgery on, so I'm not too worried.
It would really be nice to see a source on this..... In the end it probably won't affect his game much, unless defenders choose to go Scottie Pippen on him and purposely attack his pinky. Did he make this choice on his own or was he advised this way? My guess would be that after this season he would go through with it. There won't be any Olympic play affecting his choice next year.
All right, here's a link: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/story/2008/09/09/bryant-surgery.html And I'm pretty sure Kobe made his own decision. He probably decided the surgery wasn't too important in the first place, the pinky probably wasn't really bothering him I guess. Also, there will be a lot of changes next year with Bynum coming back, so missing training camp and preseason would probably disrupt the team chemistry when he returns. *edit - huevon beat me to it
Is Kobe's reference to "puching the clock" possibly meant towards attack Shaq's imfamous toe surgery? I remember Shaq saying "I got injured on company time, so I'll get surgery on company time.
It wasn't a shot at Shaq. It comes off that way, but Kobe is way too mature now to take a shot @ him. It's about his teammates and winning together and trying to establish a rhythm early in the year. I'm not concerned at all. In fact, I think the injury was blown up a little by the media. He played just under half the season with it, the playoffs, and the Olympics. His finger is fine enough to get through another season.
I dunno the weird thing is, I read the surgery & recovery would only take like 6 weeks. I hope the Doctors thought his decision was a sound one.
There's no Olympics, but the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey are coming up. I'm not sure if Kobe intends to play again, but Team USA used the previous tournament to make their final selection for this year's Olympic squad. I guess it makes sense for him to get the surgery summer 2009. Besides the pinky didn't have an effect on Kobe statistically. Stats courtesy of ForumBlueandGold.com
My initial thoughts as well; whether Kobe used those words consciously or sub-consciously. I'm not even sure Kobe writes half the content on his website.
