Kobe Bryant is officially out once again after the Los Angeles Lakers guard was diagnosed with a lateral tibial plateau in his left knee and is expected to miss the next six weeks. After missing the first part of the season with a torn Achilles, the knee injury is a huge setback for both Bryant and the Lakers. While Bryant is telling people not to doubt his return, one veteran is telling him to shut it down.
During the TNT NBA pre-game show on Thursday, Barkley spoke out after news broke that Bryant would be out for the six weeks. According to the veteran turned analyst, Bryant should not play another minute of basketball this season.
"Kobe Bryant shouldn't play anymore this year. They should shut him down, because you know how our bodies are. Your body always over-compensates when it's hurt. There is no doubt in my mind this has something to do with the Achilles and I think one of the worst things that ever happened to pro sports is Adrian Peterson, who I love and respect as a player. We went through this last year with Derrick Rose.... I think with Kobe being a competitor...everybody's rushing to get back now."
Barkley certainly has a point. He went on to say that with or without Bryant, the Lakers are still bad. They are still going to struggle to make the playoffs and get on top of the competitive Western Conference. Keeping Bryant out and letting him to return fully healthy when the Lakers have a stacked roster could be the best thing for both sides.
Bryant does not agree. He told reporters it would be foolish for people to doubt he can make a solid comeback in six weeks. He will not require any type of surgery on the knee, it is more of just waiting for the bone to heal. Of course the injury only puts the newly signed two-year, $48.5 million contract extension into question. Bryant was only back a few weeks before this injury occurred. Will he ever be the type of player worth that money again?
"That's too bad," coach Mike D'Antoni said, via ESPNLosAngeles.com. "You hate it for Kobe. He worked so hard to get back. But he'll be back. He'll be back in six weeks, and we'll deal with it and weather the storm until he gets back."
Bryant was averaging 13.8 points and 6.3 assists in his return for six games, shooting 42.5 percent from the field. In his last game, Bryant played 33 minutes. He claimed to have just twisted his knee, but it was deemed more serious.