Kobe Bryant injury: Lakers star out indefinitely with sprained ankle

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Trudell reports that D’Antoni first called Bryant a “game-time decision” before being pressed into admitting that he expects him to be on the court. D’Antoni also shared that he doesn’t intend Bryant to be used as a decoy.

Bryant is currently tied for second in the NBA in points per game at 27.5. Bryant is also averaging 5.8 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game and has yet to miss a game this season.

Gibson did not mince words as he came to the defense of Bryant and shooters everywhere (via Ohio.com):

If you to go to the deeper level of the discussion, Tom Ziller of SB Nation has written a post about the morality of Lakers schadenfreude.

Could Kobe Bryant go from “out indefinitely” to “in immediately”? The Los Angeles Lakers’ star guard severely sprained his ankle on Wednesday against the Hawks and was declared to be out indefinitely. Then he accused Dahntay Jones of foul play and his wife posted a picture of his swollen ankle. The chances of Kobe playing in either of the next two games were termed “not good” on Thursday, but then Kobe suddenly appeared at the team shootaround on Friday morning:

Head coach Mike D’Antoni then officially upgraded Kobe’s status to a game-time decision after the shootaround ended.

Those unspoken rules of decency disappear when the Lakers are involved. I am as guilty as anyone.

Now line up those two paragraphs, and you start to see it from my perspective. I’m above expressing glee at failure ... except when it’s that one team that’s been tormenting my favorite team for decades.

In the locker room after the game, Kobe was incensed, telling reporters that “it was a dirty and dangerous play that doesn’t belong in the game.” Jones, for his part, denied any intent to injure the Lakers star, saying the play was unintentional.

The two players have a long history of on-court altercations, most notably in the 2009 Western Conference Finals, when Jones received a flagrant foul for tripping Bryant.

Here is the league’s full explanation, with video of the play.

The league also announced there would be no fines or suspensions as a result of the play or either player’s post game comments. Following the game, Bryant told Time Warner Cable Sportsnet that he feels officials need to protect shooters when they’re in the air and called Jones stepping underneath him a “dangerous play.”

Bill H: had to throw the “snuff film” filter on that ankle snap, eh?

Martin R: 8mm style

The biggest headline out of a headline-filled evening of NBA play on Wednesday was that Kobe Bryant is out indefinitely with a severely sprained ankle. He stepped on Dahntay Jones’ foot on a baseline jumper attempt that would have tied the game. The shot missed, the refs didn’t call a foul, Kobe writhed, the Hawks won and Kobe vowed revenge.

This seems like an important moment in the season. Let’s get it all out there onto digital paper.

Since being declared out indefinitely, the question now turns to how quickly he’ll recover. When he spoke to reporters after the game, he was asked whether or not the ankle injury was as bad as the one he suffered in the 2000 NBA Finals vs. the Indiana Paces.

“Yup,” he told reporters via Time Warner Cable SportsNet’s telecast.

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But Jones wants to make it clear that there was nothing dirty about his defense on the play. Soon after the game, Jones took to Twitter and said that he wasn’t trying to do anything to injure Kobe. And if you don’t believe him, he suggests that you watch the tape. We’ll let you decide for yourself.

Here are two .GIFs of the play Bryant was injured on:

The loss of Bryant for any length of time will be a major blow to the Lakers and their chances of maintaining the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.