Kobe Bryant Playing in Constant Pain

Kobe Bryant hasn’t been 100% so far this season. The Lakers star tore a ligament in his wrist during the first preseason game and has refused to rest the injury.

Now that the Lakers are 2-0, some critics are saying that its time for Kobe to take a seat on the bench. But it isn’t because of poor performance. Kobe is still the best player on the Lakers and leads the team in scoring, but with a jam packed schedule Kobe is giving his wrist little time to heal.

Coach Mike Brown said:

“It’s tough to monitor him because he doesn’t complain about anything. I’ve been around him a short amount of time and he hasn’t complained about one thing. I’m trying to watch him to make sure he doesn’t overdo it because I know he won’t watch himself. Mentally and physically, he is about as tough as they come.”

According to CBS, Bryant has only missed 16 regular season games in the last six seasons. And if it’s up to Bryant, he’ll continue to play with his injured wrist.

Bryant told Yahoo Sports:

“There are no excuses. You got to be smart about it. You can’t make it worse, but you got to go out there and play. This is painful and so forth. But it’s not going to be worse. You might as well suck it up and go out and perform.”

The Lakers play the Utah Jazz tonight and Kobe is scheduled to start. Do you think Brown should bench Kobe for a few games to allow his star to recuperate?