As it was Xavier Henry, it was just pretty impressive.
Henry doesn't have nearly the body of work that Bryant does when it comes to playing well in pain and emerging victorious. But he showed a lot about himself in the Los Angeles Lakers' victory Tuesday night over the New York Knicks.
Henry came off the bench with more energy and passion than anyone in the building, blowing off the just-diagnosed torn ligament in his shooting wrist and the damaged cartilage in his knee. He had 22 points in 23 minutes and demonstrated how Henry can change the feeling in a game with his attack mentality, same as his 22 points off the bench in the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.
"As long as I'm strong in my mind," Henry said of the pain, "I got it."
He has to do a lot of extra work on both his wrist and knee to keep them loose. The left wrist definitely will need offseason surgery; the right knee might also, but it is unclear whether the meniscus had this abnormality already or something went bad during this season.
Henry referred to the pain from both as "bearable"—with no intention of quitting on the season unless it is "unbearable."
Henry summed up his mentality off the bench as trying to "turn it up one notch" from whatever was going on without him. It's a niche that Henry fills well given his driving scoring skills, although there is some duplication with this roster.
Nick Young, Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks and Jordan Farmar all can be that sort of attack-mentality player off the bench. All have been sparks at different times, but they've also caused the Lakers' flow to go more individual than team.
As the Lakers determine which players to re-sign for next season, that'll be part of the thought process. Young, Bazemore and Henry did great together without a point gua...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
