UPDATE (January 23, 2015 at 11:44 AM PST): According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will likely wait until Monday to make a decision on his torn rotator cuff:
Kobe Bryant and Lakers will likely wait until Monday to make a decision on treatment for his torn rotator cuff, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 23, 2015
There's still significant belief within Lakers that Bryant will need season-ending surgery, but final decision could sit through weekend.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 23, 2015
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After season-ending injuries in each of the last two seasons, Kobe Bryant came into this season with a lot to prove. Early in the season, he did so by putting up numbers that were ridiculous for someone of his age. However, that workload took its toll on Kobe.
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In Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Bryant injured his shoulder and it was eventually announced that he had suffered a torn rotator cuff. Now, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Bryant is expected to miss the rest of the season:
Final word from the doctor today is still to come, but I'm told the Lakers are expecting Kobe to miss the rest of this season.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2015
With this being Bryant’s 19th season and the third consecutive to come to an end by way of injury, there will surely be questions about whether Bryant has played his final NBA game.
Head coach Byron Scott has admitted that he put too much of a workload on Kobe early in the season. He had recently cut back on Bryant’s minutes, and Kobe himself had played much more of a facilitator role as opposed to being the primary scorer every possession.
Bryant being out definitely puts a damper on what has already been a less than stellar season. The team is well out of the playoff race and many fans are already looking towards the off-season where the Lakers could be armed with multiple first-round draft picks and ample salary cap space.
The Lakers will now have to use this season as an opportunity to see what players are worth keeping around for the future, much like last season. Players like Jordan Clarkson, Ryan Kelly and Wayne Ellington are sure to see more minutes throughout the rest of the season.
[divide]Lakers Kobe Bryant Tears Rotator Cuff
