Gambling On A Pinkie: L.A. Lakers Must Fight Through Kobe Bryant’s Hand Injury

February 15 08

My AM Take: Knocking on wood, scouring Hollywood for four-leaf clovers, and opening umbrellas outside hasn’t helped Laker-nation avoid bad-luck with injuries.

Rising star Andrew Bynum is out. Luke Walton has been up-and-down with ailments. Newly-acquired Trevor Ariza has had issues. And blending star Lamar Odom missed the start of the season.

Yesterday, L.A.’s bad luck got worse. The star that stirs the purple-and-gold’s drink, Kobe Bryant, continues to have problems with his pinkie finger. Recently, the Lakers’ training staff announced the ligament is torn and could require surgery.

Bryant put a brave face on yesterday’s announcement, electing to play through pain instead of opting for surgery:

“My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest," Bryant said in statement.

"I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer’s Olympic Games. But this is an injury that myself and the Lakers medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis."

This could become a real problem. Shooting hand ailments impact field goal percentage. Also, having to play through pain for several months would take its toll on anyone-even a superstar like Bryant.

Now consider the Laker coaching staff. At any time, their best player, team leader, and go-to-guy could be forced to have surgery or miss a stretch of games because of injury. Yet, they don’t know when or if that happens.

It’s a gamble. Russian roulette style. Would the team be better off with Bryant having surgery, knowing he’ll return in six weeks?

All season, these Lakers have battled injuries and drama. This is one more issue they’ll have to overcome.

Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts. Where will Miller end up? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts. The AM Take is Oly’s morning thoughts on the NBA appearing Sunday through Friday on HoopsVibe.com. Errors can be attributed to the time and his need for another coffee. Click here to read and subscribe to his blog.

17 Comments: Gambling On A Pinkie: L.A. Lakers Must Fight Through Kobe (...)

Posted by
jess
on 06.21.2008

Kobe sucks, maybe he should get passing lessons , from the greatest, STEVE NASH!!!!!!! I heard that he spanked a girl 5 years ago. if u no wut i mean?::;::::;;]]]]]]]]]]]]] .

Posted by
jess
on 06.21.2008

Kobe sucks, maybe he should get passing classes from the best, STEVE NASH!!!!!!!!I heard that he spanked a girl . if you know what I mean. .

Posted by
jigga
on 02.19.2008

WOW tre butta and the next nba sensation need to stfu. First of all kobe is playing through the injury? sooo why would you think hes a wimp. Hes played through worse and hell play through this. I’ve seen him dislocate a shoulder and shoot left handed all game. Oh and "that one guy" is totally right lebrons injury to his OFF HAND mad him cry for 6 games. Whos the bitch now. Stop hating .

Posted by

on 02.17.2008

Boo who Kobe .

Posted by

on 02.16.2008

itd be great if kobe could jsut sit out and the lakers could win..but if anyone has been watching espn or anything...they’ll know that the west standings are ridiculously close and if bryant is out 5-6 weeks and the lakers go on a bit of a slide, they might just slide right out of the playoffs especially with bynum and ariza not coming back for at least 4 weeks...so...kobe pretty much needs to stay in the game, which he is of course planning to do .

Posted by

on 02.16.2008

Kobe needs to get the surgery, ariza and bynum are coming back and is everyone forgeting about Pau Gasol. Anyway kobe could make up for 5 or 6 weeks in a few games, just put up another few 81 nights! KOBE BRYANT IS BETTER THAN MICHAEL JORDAN .

Posted by
Steven [Stunna]
on 02.16.2008

yo, "bdo235" and "that one guy", thats sum real talk there. props to that. ya both proved the point i was trying to make. great job! .

Posted by

on 02.15.2008

Count got shut down! go lakers! .

Posted by
that one guy
on 02.15.2008

the comment under here was for the count not for octane .

Posted by
that one guy
on 02.15.2008

lol the count and tre butta obviously don’t want basketball they’re one of those people who only hear s---from other people. they say he needs to toughen up and they say he’s a cry baby yet he already said that he’d wait until after the season to get surgery. not only did he say he’d wait after the season he said he’d wait until after the olympics. these guys don’t know shit. the count is the 2nd biggest dumba-------on this site next to that octane fucker. i belive that ur a fan of lebron james? u’ve definetly proven it by commentin on almost evry fuckin lebron article around and talkin about how great he is. u think kobe is a cry baby? didn’t "THE KING" fuckin sit out 6 games b/c he "only had a finger injury"?watn’ he the one who said he the one who basically said trade all my teammates away i want jason kidd here. wasn’t he the one who walked off the court with 12 seconds left last year in the playoffs and went to the locker room cuz they lost. that sounds like a much bigger cry baby to me than kobe. .

Posted by
Bdo235
on 02.15.2008

O my gawd! A pinky finger injury can be significant, especially when you chuck 3’s the way Kobe does. Did anyone see the game where he put up only 6 points? His finger was injured at the time, and if you watched the game you could tell his shots were not looking like the usual. Some players sit out of games due to food poisoning, why can’t they sit out because of a finger injury? Surely food poisoning won’t affect your game or how you feel, much the same way a sprained finger won’t affect how you think or play...Ha! Im guessing tre butta & the count do not play a lot of basketball... if Kobe isn’t confident playing with a sprained finger, if he feels he won’t make as many shots, that makes him a coward? FYI the Count, Kobe is planning to finish out this season as well as the olympics. Would you feel confident if you went on a date and had a big zit on your forehead? Maybe so, but not as confident knowing that zit is there. .

Posted by
The Count
on 02.15.2008

i agree with tre butta... you would think a grown man making millions would shut his mouth and play through this pathetic little finger injury. but then again, kobe is a big cry baby so what else would you really expect from him. come on... it’s only a finger. .

Posted by
Tre Butta
on 02.15.2008

I’m a jacka-------because I think Kobe should be tougher than that? Don’t lump me in with ’next nba sensation’. I don’t think Kobe sucks. I’m not sure how my believing Kobe was tougher is in anyway saying he or the Lakers suck. In fact after everyone comes back healthy, watch out. To be honest, I don’t know how serious his pinky injury is. But it’s a ’pinky’ injury. That just doesn’t seem like a very serious injury in my opinion. Sitting out because you have a bruise butt cheek sounds more legit. But I’m not a physical therapist, so I don’t know. .

Posted by
Steven [Stunna]
on 02.15.2008

ok ’tre butta’ and ’the next nba sensation’, u guys are jackasses. kobe WILL be mvp this year. he needs the surgery. dont want to get a worse injury and be out longer. lakerz dont suck. 3rd place currently and only getting better with bynum and arzia returning shortly. kobe gone means everyone pitches in and gets better for the playoffs. know what youre talking about. .

Posted by
the next NBA sensation
on 02.15.2008

who cares about kobe. he sucks. he is important to the team, because the whole lakers team sucks. ever since they lost shaq, and shaq sucks too, they sucked .

Posted by
Tre Butta
on 02.15.2008

What a wimp. Suck it up, put some tape on it and play. Seriously, these guys are softer than melted Country Crock soft margerine spread. Knee, ankle, shoulder, etc. injuries I can see sitting out. But you mean to tell me that after this guy suffered a dislocated shoulder injury, and returned before expected, he needs to sit out for his pinky boo boo. Please......... .

Posted by

on 02.15.2008

kobe needs to get surgery, the lakers need him in the playooffss. plus bynum is about to return alongside trevor ariza! .

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	About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More

Gambling On A Pinkie: L.A. Lakers Must Fight Through Kobe Bryant’s Hand Injury

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