Bulls plan on seeing injured Kobe on the court
The West Coast has been buzzing with the news that Lakers star Kobe Bryant tore a ligament in his right wrist during a preseason loss to the Clippers.
It sounds serious enough to cause Bryant to miss Sunday's opener against the Bulls. The Lakers were already planning to play without center Andrew Bynum because of a suspension, and they traded Lamar Odom to Dallas.
But if fans believe this means an easy game, the Bulls aren't buying any of it.
“It seems like he's always got something he fights through,” Bulls guard Kyle Korver said. “The man played with a broken finger for like a year, didn't he?”
When he played for Utah, Korver matched up against Bryant and the Lakers in a couple of playoff series. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau got to know the future superstar when Bryant was attending high school outside of Philadelphia and Thibodeau was an assistant with the 76ers.
“We're planning on him playing,” Thibodeau said. “They're a talented team. It's a lot more than just Kobe. So we have to be ready for everybody.”
Not surprisingly, Bryant told reporters in Los Angeles on Thursday that he expects to play against the Bulls. He sat out the Lakers' second preseason game on Wednesday night.
“I should be fine,” said Bryant after Lakers practice “It's not really going to heal. I mean, it's gone. The ligament is gone. So there's nothing I can do about it.
“But I've dealt with so many hand injuries. It should be all right. If you can play through the pain and you can catch a ball, pass a ball, you should be fine.”
There has been talk that the Lakers seem vulnerable this season with an aging and depleted lineup, and may finally fall to second place in their own arena to the Clippers, who added point guard Chris Paul.
Bynum scored 26 points in the Lakers' 108-103 preseason loss on Wednesday, but he'll sit out the first five games of the season, suspended for a flagrant foul against Dallas guard Jose Barea in last season's playoffs.
After the Lakers failed to land Paul or Orlando's Dwight Howard in a trade, they decided to send Odom to Dallas in an effort to reduce a bloated payroll. In Wednesday's exhibition, the Lakers started a backcourt of Jason Kapono and 37-year-old Derek Fisher.
They still have Pau Gasol and the former Bulls draft pick known as Ron Artest. He officially changed his name and is now Metta World Peace.
“They have great depth on their team,” Thibodeau said. “Gasol is one of the premier bigs in the league. He's got a really tough skill set to match up with. They still have a lot of weapons.”
Following Thursday's practice at the Berto Center, Derrick Rose shared his thoughts on the NBA opener, which is roughly two months late because of the lockout.
“It's something I've been thinking about for a very long time,” Rose said. “As you see in here after practice just shooting, I'm trying to knock off the dust. We're playing great, passing the ball to one another and we're playing team basketball. It's going to be fun.”