Kobe Still Limping, Says ‘I’m Fine’

The weight of the Lakers-Mavs series might be resting on a single sprained ankle, but according to Kobe Bryant, that ankle is just fine. Via the Worldwide Leader: “Before the Los Angeles Lakers begin their second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, there continues to be some second-guessing about the state of guard Kobe Bryant’s sprained left ankle. ‘I’m fine,’ Bryant said after sitting out practice Saturday to rest the ankle that he hurt late in Game 4 of the Lakers’ first-round series against the New Orleans Hornets. ‘I finished off Game 4 fine, played Game 5 fine, Game 6 was fine [too].’ Bryant averaged 23.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals on 41.9 percent shooting in 36.8 minutes in Games 1 through 4. He had far less playing time in Games 5 and 6 (29.5 minutes per game), but his production level stayed about the same as he averaged 21.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals on 48.3 percent shooting. … Bryant said that he spent the team’s off day on Friday ‘getting healthier’ and ‘resting,’ but Jackson said that Bryant’s ankle has yet to fully recover after he sprained it six days ago. ‘It’s tender to the touch still,’ Jackson said. ‘He’s still limping when he walks. It’s a limited amount of improvement.'”