For the first time this season, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant missed a game when a shin injury kept him out of their game against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, April 7.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, that won't be the only game that Kobe will have to sit out of this season due to health issues.
Bryant will miss Monday's game against the New Orleans Hornets as he continues to nurse the injured shin. Fortunately for the Lakers, the Hornets have the worst record in the Western Conference and have already lost twice to the purple and gold this season
The injury occurred on March 31 in a game against the Hornets when Bryant was inadvertently kicked in the shin. Although he powered through the pain for a few games, it was finally too much for the Lakers' superstar to bear.
"It's very painful," Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti said. "[Kobe]'s been playing with this and it's not getting any better. The only way to stop it is to shut him down. That's why we put him in a boot."
Despite missing another game, it's not expected that Bryant will be out much longer while tending to what is considered a short-term injury. With only a half-game lead on the Los Angeles Clippers for the third seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers will need Bryant back in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.
Second-year player Devin Ebanks is expected to fill in for Bryant as the Lakers' starting shooting guard. Ebanks scored a season-high 12 points on Saturday against the Suns while starting in Bryant's spot.
"Obviously I would rather have Kobe than not, let's get that clear, but it's good for him to rest," Lakers head coach Mike Brown said. "It's good for him to take some time off and get his body right and get this injury right, especially at this point in the season… I'd rather he be fresh going into the playoffs and us be fourth or fifth [in the conference] than him hurting or dinged up going into the playoffs and we're third."
Although the Lakers will definitely miss Bryant's presence, they want their star shooting guard ready when the postseason rolls around in a couple of weeks.
Gil Alcaraz IV is an L.A. native and editorial writer for LakersNation.com. For more from Gil, follow him on Twitter.
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