Kobe Bryant has said his goal is to make it through the year healthy and end his final season on the court rather than on the sidelines.
So far, Kobe has been healthy for the most part, but recently he has had some shoulder issues that has forced him to sit out a couple of games.
Kobe missed the most recent game, a win over Philadelphia, and head coach Byron Scott has said that he is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns via Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:
Kobe is questionable for Sunday's game vs. Phoenix, Byron says. His shoulder feels better but nothing definite yet.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) January 2, 2016
Kobe was seen favoring his shoulder in the Lakers win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Kobe first revealed his shoulder issues after the loss to the Houston Rockets a couple of weeks ago and he would miss the team’s next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In total, Kobe has missed five games this season with the Lakers going 1-4 in those games, their first win coming just last night against Philadelphia. If Kobe does sit out against the Suns, it would seem likely that rookie Anthony Brown would get another start as Scott has preferred to keep his bench rotation intact.
Kobe has really come on lately after a bad start to the season. He recorded his first double-double of the season in the win over Boston and his overall efficiency has been much improved.