Kobe Bryant sat out the latter part of the Los Angeles Lakers preseason assignments, a precautionary measure ever since the Black Mamba suffered a bruised left leg back in Oct. 13 against the Sacramento Kings.
Head coach Byron Scott doesn't consider Bryant's injury that serious and believes that he will be good to go when the Lakers face the mourning Minnesota Timberwolves on the Oct. 29 at the Staples Center.
Bryant was able to complete a full practice last Sunday and from the looks of it, Scott just sees a bit of rust on the 37-year-old player. Other than that, however, he thinks Bryant is good to go.
Apparently, Bryant will indeed have to step up after the untimely injury that Jordan Clarkson got. Clarkson suffered a shoulder injury in the Lakers final preseason game, although the latest medical reports say that the sophomore's shoulder is just sore.
While that should be good news, he remains questionable for the opener. Clarkson is seen as likely to start off at the point. However, his condition could force the hand of Byron Scott to field in D'Angelo Russell instead until Clarkson is good to go.
Bryant will thus be expected to play the off guard position, something that he has been used to in case Scott opts to rest Clarkson. The original plan of the Lakers was to play all three together, with Bryant playing a bit of stretch-forward. Apparently those plans will have to wait.
Bryant has not been known to shy away when the odds are stacked against his team and, apparently, this is one of those cases. But he may have to be careful in exerting himself, seeing that this is the final year of his Laker contract plus the fact that he has been unable to finish the last two seasons due to injuries.
