After playing in only six games following his return from surgery on his ruptured Achilles, superstar Kobe Bryant went down with a knee fracture shedding a lot of doubt on whether he’d be able to return this season.
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With the season basically lost in terms of contending for a playoff spot, Kobe returning seems a bit pointless and counterproductive. Head coach Mike D’Antoni talked about Kobe’s recovery on Monday stating that his star shooting guard still hasn’t been cleared by doctors according to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times:
Kobe's return this season looks less likely. D'Antoni: "The doctors haven't cleared Kobe so it's a non-issue right now." Only 6 weeks left.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) March 3, 2014
With only 23 games remaining in the final six weeks of the season, the Lakers will be more focused on the upcoming 2014 NBA Draft rather than competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
So far, the Lakers have only won 20 games on the year and appear to be on pace for one of the worst seasons in franchise history. A high draft pick is on the horizon with the Lakers likely to have a lottery pick for the first time since 2005 when they took Andrew Bynum with the 10th pick in the draft.
Needless to say, it may be only a matter of time before Kobe is shut down for the rest of the season. Kobe has been reluctant to end his season due to injury, but it does not make sense for him to return at this point.
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