The Los Angeles Lakers will get the 2015-16 NBA campaign underway tomorrow with Kobe Bryant’s status still up in the air.
Bryant participated in practice on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday leading to the consensus he’ll be playing tomorrow.
After practice on Wednesday afternoon, Bryant was listed as probable for the opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, via Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers calling Kobe Bryant probable for the opener
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) October 27, 2015
Bryant played in four preseason games before going down with the lower leg contusion against the Sacramento Kings. The team went with a cautious approach for the rest of the preseason reducing the risk of further injury.
Heading into his 20th season with the Lakers, the coaching staff will be extremely careful with how they handle his minutes. Kobe will be on a minutes restriction and may even play small forward to accommodate Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell starting in the backcourt.
So as of right now, it appears that Bryant will suit up for the season opener against the Timberwolves as a starter. This may change if there is some sort of a setback between now and game time on Wednesday, but the consensus seems to be that he’ll be in the starting lineup at the Staples Center tomorrow night.