Speaking to reporters at TD Garden before the Lakers played the Celtics on Friday, Bryant said that he would get an MRI on his injured left knee “in February — the start of February.” All he can do until then, Bryant said, is “just continue doing what I have been doing. See where it’s at in February.”
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Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni had said he thought there was a chance that Bryant could return on Jan. 28, but the timing of his MRI wipes that out. Bryant suffered the injury on Dec. 17; at the time, he was thought to need six weeks to recover. He will exceed that timeline.
Bryant started the season year on the sideline after having surgery on his Achilles' tendon last spring. He returned to play six games in December before suffering the knee injury. He was averaging 13.8 points on 42.5 percent shooting.
The Lakers have gone 2-12 since Bryant suffered the injury — and he has found little pleasure in watching his teammates during that stretch.
“It’s been very difficult, very frustrating,” he said. “I have tried to detach from it as much as possible. It is like taking David Banner and putting him in the middle of a barfight and hoping he doesn’t become the Hulk. That’s what I feel like watching these games.”
Bryant brushed off a suggestion from Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson that Bryant should just sit out the rest of the season. “No,” he said. “The only thing I can consider, the only thing I can afford to consider, is getting better. Getting stronger. I can’t allow myself to think any other way. I can only think about the next day.”
Bryant was also asked whether the team’s overall performance would have any impact on how quickly he comes back. “I don’t think about that. It’s my job, it’s my job to be ready. It’s my job to get myself in gear and do my job. From that perspective, it is not my responsibility to think about missing games or whatever the case may be. It is my job to be ready.”
