The Los Angeles Lakers have been off to a solid start this season and while the team is only at .500, they have done it without star Kobe Bryant and now his return date is getting pushed back a bit more, as the star ruled himself out for the Sacramento Kings game on Friday night.
According to ESPN.com, Bryant will not make his much anticipated return to the Lakers on Friday, while Pau Gasol is banged up with an ankle injury, leaving the team without two of its best stars as they try to compete in the deep western conference. Bryant has been out all season while coming back from a serious Achilles injury and now there is a chance that he will be good to go on Sunday when the team takes on the Toronto Raptors. Bryant said that he is feeling good and that he still needs a little more time to get back to game strength and speed.
Bryant said that he can dunk in practice, but he has not felt ready to get back into a game yet and that could come next week if not on Sunday. Gasol is dealing with an ankle injury and he had an MRI earlier in the week and he also has a banged up hand as well.
"Just running into the shooting," Bryant said. "Because, it's one thing to be out on the track all day and run. It's another thing to run, jump, change directions, now gather your legs for a shot. You still kind of feel like you get those 'Bambi' legs and that sort of thing. But, the Achilles feels pretty good. Other than that, you're just dealing with the typical things that a player playing 18 years is going to deal with -- just it's sore here, sore there."
