<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO -- There is only one topic that matters in San Antonio Spurs country right now and it is the condition of All-Star forward Tim Duncan's sprained right ankle, something in which Kobe Bryant all too easily can relate. More than 2 months after severely spraining his right ankle, Bryant was back to feeling stiffness before Saturday's game and said he will not be fully recovered from the injury until sometime this summer. "That was the worst injury I've ever had," Bryant said. "It was real, real serious. I still feel it right now. At the end of the season, when I just get off it for a little bit, it'll get better." The Spurs played their seventh game without Duncan on Saturday and hope he can return April 12 against Portland. That would put Duncan out for 23 days; Bryant spent a month on the injured list with his injury. "I knew I was going to come back," Bryant said when asked if he ever thought he would have to miss the season, "but I knew it was going to be a long time." Bryant saw replays of the play in which Duncan rolled his ankle and said, "It was nasty." If Bryant still is feeling his sprained ankle in April, Duncan could be in for the same through the NBA Finals, should the Spurs advance. The stiffness in the ankle, Bryant said, happens most when he spends an extended stretch on the bench. He missed his first five shots in the first half before dunking on the break after Caron Butler stripped Brent Barry. Trading places: Brian Cook is eligible to come off the injured list for tonight's game in Memphis, Lamar Odom is due to see the doctor in Los Angeles once again and the two soon could swap roster spots.</div> Source
If it is still bothering Kobe, he should not be playing. The season is all but lost, it was a very severe sprain, there is no reason for him to be risking more damage to it. We don't want a Grant Hill situation.
