Kobe Bryant Injured In Final Play of 96-92 Loss To Atlanta Hawks, Out Indefinitely With Left Ankle Sprain.
On the final play of a potential game-tying shot for the Lakers in the their 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Kobe Bryant came down awkwardly twisting his left ankle on Dahntay Jones’ right foot. Kobe was down and the arena and more in particularly the Lakers bench, staff, trainers and fans in attendance all showed concern for their captain. Kobe laid on the ground grimacing in pain and would have to be helped off the court to the training room as he underwent X-rays to see how damaged his ankle was.
The test came back negative but as a precautionary measure, the Los Angeles Lakers have listed him out indefinitely until they feel he’s ready to return without a possibly of re-injuring his ankle. The Lakers are in a battle for a playoff spot in the Western Conference with only 5 weeks left in the season and currently hold the number 8 seed. As of right now, they’re a half-game ahead of free-falling Utah Jazz and one and a half behind the Houston Rockets.
Pau Gasol who’s been out for 6 weeks with a torn Plantar Fascia is expected to make his return to action next week when the Lakers start their last road trip of the season with the first being in Golden St. on Monday. Kobe’s been producing at a high level averaging 27 points, 6 assist and 6 rebounds a game in a rate that I haven’t seen the Mamba play this efficiently in nearly 7 years. Losing Kobe right now will obviously be a big loss as the Lakers and more importantly Dwight Howard will now be called upon to lead the team to the playoffs while the Mamba recuperates.
Check after the jump for Bruce Bowen’s thoughtful insight on the “accidental” injury Kobe suffered Wednesday night.
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