Just when the Lakers were starting to put all the drama behind them, they find themselves in the center of it once again. This time it involves their star player, Kobe Bryant, suffering a severe ankle sprain that could keep him sidelined for a good amount of time. Of course there was controversy about what caused the injury as he suffered it during a game against the Atlanta Hawks. Bryant went up for a fadeaway jump shot and landed on defender Dahntay Jones’ foot. These two have had history in the past in which Jones has tripped Bryant purposely. So, was the play dirty or just a mishap?
While I like to think that NBA players have enough respect for one another that they would never try to intentionally hurt each other, given the past these two have had it could be viewed that way. When you watch the video, it is clear that Jones extended his leg so that Bryant would land either on it or have to jerk out of the way. Could it have been called a flagrant foul? Absolutely. Was it? No. Will he face a fine or suspension? Considering how David Stern is, I would say he should expect some type of punishment.
So where do the Lakers go from here? Well their next game is against Indiana which I do not see them winning nor even coming close without Kobe. However, then they get lucky and go against the Kings, Suns, and Wizards which they were projected to win and could possibly handle those games if Bryant cannot play. Knowing Kobe he does not like to be sidelined and will probably have to be restrained to sit out an extended period of time. He has been known to play when he is less than 100% and will probably do the same especially with how they are barely hanging on to the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
It is time for Laker fans such as myself to realize this season is a disaster, and move on. It is time to start thinking about what the Post-Kobe era is going to look like.
The Dwight Howard era? That’s a scary thought.
Honestly, I think Howard is getting a bad rap. The fact is that between the back surgery and his shoulder, he’s never really been healthy this whole season. He shows just enough flashes of brilliance to make people think he is healthy, when in fact he is not. Best case scenario for the Lakers is to miss the playoffs, re-sign Howard, get him a full off-season to rehab that back and shoulder, be glad they got rid of Andrew Bynum, and explore ways to get younger at both guard positions.