Can we expect anything less from this Los Angeles Lakers season?
The Lakers' dramatic shift into the postseason took another twist on Wednesday night when Bryant fell to the floor in pain after landing on the foot of Atlanta Hawks' Dahntay Jones.
But like all Bryant injuries, this one shouldn't affect the Lakers' postseason chances.
Bryant's clutching of his ankle first signaled a grave seriousness before purple-and-gold worry eased and Bryant limped off the court.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reported the X-rays on Bryant's ankle were negative. The report was that it is a severely sprained ankle and he is out indefinitely.
We've seen this from Bryant before—plenty of times.
There is no doubt the injury is serious and it will be painful. But when has that stopped Bryant?
That narrative of playing through injury has remained his entire career. Bryant suffered an ankle sprain in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals and only missed Game 3 before returning to form.
At least Dwight Howard says Bryant should play through injury (kidding, but how great would that be?)
Bryant has made a career of letting people know how hurt he is and being the hero by playing through it. It seems like just another of Bryant's "I'm hurt real bad, but oh, look at my 32 points" moments.
But if the injury ends up to be too serious even for the man with the league's greatest pain threshold?
Then that could spell minor trouble for the Lakers' postseason hopes.
The 34-year-old is averaging 27.4 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He's the biggest reason the Lakers are back in the playoff picture, and if he misses significant time, the Lakers are at risk.
But if he's out less than two w...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
