The Much Anticipated Return

Article Written By: Alexandro H. Zatarain

Nearly eight months after that fateful injury, today is the day. Nearly eight months after Lakers fans hearts just stopped, Kobe Bryant is back. He will make his season debut tonight at Staples Center against the Toronto Raptors.

The Lakers have fared well so far, coming into tonight’s game with a 10-9 record, 1 game behind Golden State for the #8 seed in the Western Conference. Players such as Nick Young, Jodie Meeks and an aging Pau Gasol have come up pretty big.  This trio has been averaging 42.2 points/game combined, but it’s definitely been Gasol leading the team. The 12-year veteran has accounted for 14.5 ppg,  9.8 rpg, and nearly 42% shooting.

The Lakers organization wouldn’t like it if Bryant were to end up like Derrick Rose and re-injuring himself, especially with his newly restructured contract of two years and $48.5MM. So, the next question would be, how would he be used in the coming weeks? And most importantly, how far will he push himself?

Let’s face it Lakers fans, we all know Kobe calls the shots, and he definitely is one of the toughest (if not the toughest) players to ever play in the NBA. And that is where I’m concerned. Will he stay conservative or will he try to come out swinging? I guess we can just wait and see.

But I’ll leave you with this…

Welcome back Black Mamba.