It seems that Bryant may be farther off than originally thought, as D’Antoni quickly dismissed any potential return for the opener last Friday when speaking to ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin.
The coach conceded that Bryant was still ahead of schedule but crushed any hope that the superstar would return Tuesday against the in-town rival Los Angeles Clippers:
"No. My God, I know he's Superman, but my God. He hasn't run yet.”
Bryant had recently admitted to McMenamin that his workouts have been “scaled back” since he returned from China, noting that he was “cranking it up” while overseas.
That’s not the best sign, although the 35-year-old shooting guard mentioned that he was taking it slowly in order to allow his surgically repaired Achilles to heal up and become more flexible.
To say the least, Bryant has been vague during this stage of his recovery. The closest thing to a timetable we have is when he informed Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he would need “three weeks of rigorous conditioning” in order to “get [his] fat ass in shape.”
That statement came nearly three weeks ago, but it does not appear that Bryant has been able to work out with the intensity required to get back in basketball shape.
As per McMenamin’s report, the Mamba has only been limited to simple spot shooting through training camp and isn’t even ready to practice with the team. Once he finally does, we will have a much clearer idea of when the veteran—going into his 18th NBA season—should be ready.
It would be optimistic to e...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
