In the past two weeks, Kobe Bryant has made significant progress and can see himself playing by the end of November. While he sat out with general soreness on Thursday, Bryant returned to practice and did some individual workouts before receiving treatment yesterday. After practice head coach Mike D’Antoni said that he doesn’t anticipate Bryant playing on the road trip due to the lack of practice time.
After the 100-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, D’Antoni revealed that Bryant won’t play the first game of the road trip via LA Times writer Mike Bresnahan:
Kobe’s not playing on Tuesday at Washington, D’Antoni says.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 25, 2013
With the Lakers reaching the .500 mark after the first 14 games, the team has already exceeded expectations. Considering that the Lakers had one of the toughest schedules to start the season, the team needs to continue playing together on both ends of the court. While it’s always difficult to play on the road, the Lakers have won three straight games and they play three opponents who aren’t playing well right now.
As long as the Lakers are competing and stay around the .500 mark, it’ll allow Bryant to take his time and ensure that he is completely healthy. While he may not return by the end of November due to the Lakers not practicing until December 3, Bryant’s return is near.
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ICYMI: Pau Gasol talked about his great performance Friday against the Golden State Warriors.