Kobe Bryant has been to Germany to work on his knee, but now he is back with the team. He spoke to the media on Wednesday, and finally addressed his status for the season opener:
Kobe said it’ll essentially take him 3 weeks to get in real shape once he starts really ramping up activity.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 9, 2013
Bryant has already begun ramping up a bit, and has had no set backs or soreness. Of course, he’s not interested in (sharing a) timeline.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 9, 2013
.@kobebryant: "I do a lot of calf raises during the day, trying to get it as strong as possible, & constantly pushing the flexibility of it"
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 9, 2013
.@kobebryant: "I'm starting to move a little bit more. I'm not where I was, but I can do some things."
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 9, 2013
.@kobebryant: "No setbacks. No soreness."
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 9, 2013
Kobe: "I need to get my fat ass in shape - 6 mos. of eating whatever the hell I wanted to eat & not running caught up to me a little bit"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 9, 2013
So there you go. Kobe seemingly is getting closer to a return, but it sounds like we may not see him until around December. Of course, this is Kobe, so who knows? Bryant has played through a myriad of injuries, sprained ankles, ligament issues, and more, and there’s no doubt that he’s one of the toughest players to ever play. The Lakers will need to rely on Steve Nash and Pau Gasol to carry the load while he’s gone.
Kobe has been using media as motivation and I have no doubt that he can return to at least 80 percent of what he was. He will likely lose some athleticism, so he will have to rely on his brains. Kobe is a cerebral player, and has great footwork, so losing athleticism won’t hurt his game. I imagine that Kobe will be back for the January 8th game against the Rockets, so he can try and show Dwight Howard what he’s left behind. It’s an interesting time for the Lakers, but at least we have some sort of insight into how Kobe is doing on his recovery.