Kobe bryant torn ligament

One of the reason Kobe Bryant of Los Angeles lakers decided not to have his pinkie finger operated now is due to to the fact that he and Lakers believes they can win it now. Lakers have kept on winning ever since the addition of Pau Gasol to the team, and with Andrew Bynum expected to be back soon enough, why break the momentum? Because of the tight situation between teams in Western Conference, a run of losses will easily make a team drop a few places and even missed the chance to make iot to the playoff. For Kobe, this is a small risk to take, there's never a better chance for Lakers to finally make it a big since Shaquille O'Neal left.

These are difficult questions for me, seeing as how they force me to state answers that I dont really want to admit. First, being forced to play in the all-star game was fine. He did not play much, therefor limiting the potential time that he could have further injured himself. Even if a John Vitti of the Lakers training staff, had to call the medical team of the west team, to stop him from receiving many minutes. In the case of the finger, he SHOULD have surgery. It only makes sence that he take care of any problem so that he cannot get worse. Also, he could return in a better condition, after receiving that proccedure. But that of course assumes that the lakers would still be in contention, to receive a playoffs spot. Which is what makes this decision so difficult, the fact that the west is so great. The problem is not wether the Lakers are good or not, the fear is that the team hits a snag at this late stage, and begins to loose in clusters. The records are so brilliant in the west, that you can have a great record and still be left of the playoff bracket. You cant bank on Gasol and Odom keeping the ship afloat, since you dont know how they would function without Bryant. So in KB's eyes, its a no brainer... he will play injured and help keep the ship steering in the correct direction. If that does not say: MVP ... I dont know what does... According to what Phil said in an interview yesterday.. he expects the Lakers to get a 55 to 60 win record... and for that to occur, you surely need the aid of KB.