The Los Angeles Lakers will be without star guard Kobe Bryant for the rest of the season, after suffering a devastating injury, as they contend for a playoff position Sunday night against the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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Via ESPN:
"We know he's out, but we can't put our heads down like it's over with," Lakers center Dwight Howard said. "We have to go out there and play. We have a lot of talented guys on this team. I think we can accomplish something great, with or without Kobe."
Bryant's initial fear -- that he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in Friday's 118-116 home win over Golden State -- was confirmed after the game, and he underwent season-ending surgery Saturday.
The 34-year-old superstar is in for an arduous rehab process, but said he is aiming to be ready for the start of next season even though recovery time is expected to be six to nine months. That still leaves the Lakers (43-37) without one of the game's best players for the final two games of their schedule, which concludes at home against Houston on Wednesday.
They own a one-game advantage over Utah for the Western Conference's final playoff spot but lost that head-to-head tiebreaker, so the Lakers must finish at least a game better than the Jazz to make the playoffs for an eighth straight year. Wins in each of their final two games would secure a postseason berth, while a loss in either would see them anxiously awaiting how the Jazz finish with games at Minnesota on Monday and Memphis on Wednesday.
Bryant's injury is the latest and most devastating in a dysfunctional Lakers season that has also seen prolonged absences by Pau Gasol and Steve Nash, who has missed six in a row with a hamstring injury and is listed as doubtful for Sunday.
"We're fueled by these injuries," said Gasol, who had his first triple-double of the season Friday with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. "We want to take on the challenge and prove we're a good team even without our best player."
Without Bryant and his averages of 27.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds, Jodie Meeks will assume the starting shooting guard role. Meeks has averaged 7.5 points and shot 33.3 percent in eight starts.