The Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday that guard Kobe Bryant will miss six weeks with a fractured tibia in his left leg.
Injury Update: Kobe Bryant has a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He is expected to miss 6 weeks.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2013
Bryant is only weeks away from having returned from his torn Achilles he suffered last spring, making this the second major leg injury inside of a year. In preseason, he visited Germany for a treatment on his sore knee.
It's a brutal blow for the Lakers who were just starting to gel after a win over the Bobcats and Grizzlies with Bryant, picking up steam to maybe make a playoff run. Pau Gasol had stopped whining and was playing better. Jordan Farmar could return around the beginning of the year. But now with Bryant lost for what is likely to be another month, you wonder if their feel-good start can return without a healthy point guard or Bryant to help carry the load.
It's looking more and more like a lost season for the Lakers.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' win over Memphis. Apparently...
Kobe hyperextended the knee in third quarter, meaning he played 4th quarter with fracture in knee
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 19, 2013
So that sounds painful. The questions now surround whether this is the start of a habitual series of injuries for Bryant after the Achilles tear, whether the Lakers can tread water for a month and a half to set up a late playoff run, and whether they should even bother or instead move for a full tank job with Bryant lost for essentially half the season.
Here's the video where Bryant was reportedly injured.
Bryant, 35, played in six games averaging 14 points on 43 percent shooting since his return.
