In today’s NBA news, Kobe Bryant is healing nicely from his torn Achilles, the Knicks-Nets rivalry is quickly gaining steam, and Dirk Nowitzki looks to be healthy heading into training camp.
Black Mamba right on track
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has been running at 75 percent of his body weight on 
a treadmill, and looks to be a few weeks away from advancing to full-weight bearing running.
This is music to the ears of all Lakers’ fans, as it sounds as though Bryant’s rehab is going according to plan.
It will still remain to be seen, however, if the Black Mamba will be able to suit up opening night when his Lakers host the rival Clippers at Staples Center.
“He’s doing well and has had no setbacks,” Lakers’ head athletic trainer Gary Vuitti said on Thursday, “He’ll be ready when he’s ready. Nobody has a crystal ball on this thing.” he later added.
It appears that we will not find out the true timetable on Bryant until deep into training camp, but it is safe to say that even if he’s not ready to play in the opener, that he will be ready sometime shortly after that.
Kobe, who will be entering his 18th season as a pro, will look to repeat the monstrous season he had last year, when he averaged 27 points on 46% shootin, to go along with six assists and just over five rebounds. “Vino”, as they call him, truly does get better with age. If healthy, Kobe and his Lakers will most likely compete for one of the bottom three playoff spots in the loaded Western Conference.
To see just how well the boys in purple and gold will fare this season, check out our preview.
Battle for NY heating up
The Knicks-Nets rivalry just got a whole lot more personal. A war of words has broken out between Brooklyn Nets’ newly acquired forward Paul Pierce, and New York Knicks’ dynamic shooting guard, and reigning Sixth Man of the Year, J.R Smith.
ESPN.com is reporting that the two have been jawing at each since the summer when Pierce said “it was time for the Nets to start running New York City”
Smith then responded: “I just look at him as a bitter person just getting out of Boston. He doesn’t really know what New York is all about. He’s been playing in Boston his whole career,” he then added: “He just knows, just know that his words have consequences and he’s going to have to pay for them.”
Pierce did not take these comments very seriously when he was asked about it, as he would go on to say:
“Who? Exactly. Who? Who are we talking about right now? Exactly. Who are we talking about? We are talking about nothing.”
Can you feel the tension starting to mount? Surely both teams will use these quotes as bulletin board material when they play each-other this year.
The first scheduled game between the two is set for December 5th, in Brooklyn. Whatever you do, make sure you’re in front of a TV that night — even if Smith isn’t playing. Remember, he still must serve a five-game drug suspension after he is cleared to play.
Check here to see our Knicks and Nets season outlooks.
Dirk’s health looking great early
According to the Dallas Morning News, Dirk Nowitzki looks to be fully healthy entering training camp this season, he’s even been playing 5-on-5 with some of his teammates, which is something he hasn’t done in years.
His Mavericks will have a lot of new faces this season, as the team signed free-agent guards Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon in the offseason.
The offense will still undoubtedly run through Dirk, but he will definitely have a nice supporting cast surrounding him. Health was a
big problem last year for the 7-foot German, as he missed 29 games due to various injuries.
Head coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t seem to think Dirk will have any trouble meshing with his new teammates:
“Dirk is going to benefit from having guys like Monta (Ellis) and Jose (Calderon) around him and those guys will benefit from Dirk, too,” Carlisle said, “Dirk’s been very consistent on the fact that he’s down with anything that gets us winning more games and back to being one of those teams that has a chance. With this group, I think we have an opportunity to get there.”
Optimism is starting to grow in Dallas as the new season approaches, and if healthy, they could be a playoff team in the wild west this year.
To read our outlook on the Mavs, click here