The Los Angeles Lakers and fans in general have adjusted to life without Kobe Bryant in the NBA this season. The superstar guard has yet to suit up for his struggling team, as he continues to rehab from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last season. He did raise some eyebrows last week, telling Rick Fox in an interview that if the playoffs began today, he would play. He further encouraged us all by taking part in the team’s workouts over the weekend. Is his return back to the court imminent? The answer to that and plenty more can be found below:
STORY OF THE DAY:
Bryant will now be able to hit the floor without any restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean he will jump right into game action, but the guard is finally ready to test his ankle joints to the fullest extent. Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report has details:
Bryant has full medical clearance, I was told Sunday by someone in a position to have such knowledge—meaning he can do anything and everything without restriction as the recovery from his ruptured left Achilles tendon nears its conclusion.
Lakers coaches and basketball operations staff are all content to wait for Bryant to decide in his own mind when he’s ready to resume one of the greatest careers in basketball history after one of the worst injuries that can befall any basketball player.
Dec. 6 at Sacramento? Earlier? Later? It’s Bryant’s call, but what is certain is he can now push himself as far as he wants in his first full-speed practices of the season beginning Tuesday. After so many recent days of running but no sprinting or sprinting but no cutting or this but not that, Bryant has been freed even for five-on-five contact scrimmaging whenever he so chooses.
The reason Bryant was able to appear in Lakers team practice Saturday—albeit in a very limited capacity, with players doing less-than-full-speed drills against no defense—was because any and all restrictions on his activity had been lifted.
Chauncey Billups, who suffered the same injury, explained the process you have to go through before successfully coming back, from Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk:
“Side-to-side wasn’t too bad actually, it was kind of explosiveness, getting by guys, going to my right side where I had to push off with my left, and regaining the strength in the calf,” Billups told ProBasketballTalk before the Pistons faced the Lakers Sunday night. “Honestly, my strength isn’t all the way there but it’s possible they say it never will be, but you get enough back to do what you do. That’s one of the bigger challenges.”
As for jumping into practices, Billups said it’s not so much that as just getting your body used to the grind again.
“Before practice you train one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, so it’s a progression,” Billups said. “Then once you get to practice it’s no real big deal. The pounding, the wear and tear of going up and down, that’s something that you have to get used to again. But if you have a steady progression and a process, you can build up to that.”
There is no way of telling how his ankle and Achilles heel will react to real game action, but his return couldn’t come soon enough.
ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL?
After all the terrible things we heard about Lamar Odom over the summer – primarily drug-related issues – it seemed highly unlikely that the forward would ever play again in the NBA. The Los Angeles Clippers, though, are highly interested in obtaining him when he gets himself back in game-shape, and that’s precisely what he is doing now. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports provided some information on Odom’s current status:
Free agent Lamar Odom is working out with elite trainer Rob McClanaghan in Rhode Island this week, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
Odom was photographed on URI’s campus today. McClanaghan and Odom have been working out in URI’s practice facility, witnesses said.
Given the Clippers’ lack of depth at the forward-center position, a healthy Odom could be a major addition for the team. Looking for Clippers tickets? Look no further.
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