The Los Angeles Lakers have made a number of moves this offseason to try and improve after finishing seventh in the west last year and with Kobe Bryant coming back from a serious Achilles injury, the success of the team could bank on how healthy or not healthy he is to start the season.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Bryant said that he is ahead of schedule when it comes to the Achilles rehab and he also is back after getting a knee procedure in Germany. Bryant previously had that treatment in Europe and he said it did wonders for his knee and now he will get the chance to rest up and recover before the season starts. While there isn't an exact date for his return, the Lakers do not want to rush things and feel that having Kobe 100 percent is worth waiting for.
Bryant and the team is obviously older than most with names like Pau Gasol and Steve Nash entering the latter stages of their careers, but if they can remain healthy for most of the year, there is a good chance the Lakers will improve, even with them losing Dwight Howard in free agency. Head coach Mike D'Antoni spoke to the LA Times and said that Bryant told him the treatment went well and while he was on the sidelines for workouts, he is progressing more and more each day.
Bryant likely will not be ready for the regular season, but the fact that he is on his way to returning is welcome news for the Lakers, as they have the chance to compete in the west this season despite losing Howard. The team will be keeping an eye on Wesley Johnson's foot injury as well and so far in the preseason Gasol looks like a reborn player.
From the Los Angeles Times:
"He said it went great, feels good," Coach Mike D'Antoni said Tuesday, the Lakers and Bryant declining to provide anything additional.
Bryant was at the team's exhibition game against Denver in Ontario but did not talk to reporters beforehand.
Two hours before tipoff, he got off the team bus with a small box of cupcakes in his hand as a Lakers security official handed him his sunglasses. Bryant sat on the bench during the game while wearing his Lakers warm-ups. It was as close as he got to playing exactly three weeks before the season opener."
