The Los Angeles Lakers have started off the season in solid fashion and after getting a win against the Houston Rockets, attention has turned towards Kobe Bryant and his eventual return, which is still up in the air as the star hits a challenging part of the rehab process.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Bryant said that he is not where he needs to be yet and that his return date is still unknown as he tries to come back from an Achilles injury, something that has ended NBA careers for players lesser than him. Bryant has been working hard all offseason to get back to full health and he said that he is in the most "challenging" and tedious part of his rehab process and that it could be some time before he gets back onto the court.
The Lakers have been so far okay without him, but that won't last very long in the Western conference, as there are plenty of teams that will go by them in the standings if he doesn't get things together. There is a chance that Bryant could miss the entire season with the return date up in the air and that would be a tough pill to swallow for all Lakers fans and for Bryant himself. Bryant is one of the greatest players of all time and it's tough to see him struggling to get back onto the court. Last season he was injured in a possibly controversial play and now it is a question of when and if he can return at full strength.
The Lakers need Bryant to be a successful team and while they are 3-3 on the year to start after getting off to a terrible start last season, not having Bryant in the lineup has forced Mike D'Antoni to rethink his sets and who he plays and when. The team has to deal with the health of Steve Nash and Pau Gasol and against the Rockets in a one point win on Thursday, the team got 18 points from Jodie Meeks and 12 rebounds from Gasol, while Jordan Farmar added seven assists. The bench will have to continue playing well for the Lakers to have any chance in the west and early on in the season they rank 28th in points allowed per game and 12th in scoring with over 100 points and they are also ranked in the top 10 in assists and rebounds per game.
