Surgery for Kobe?

Kobe Bryant has been playing with a busted-up right pinkie finger, and it's worse than anyone thought. An examination by hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin revealed that Bryant has ``a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament, an avulsion fracture and a volar plate injury at the MCP joint.''

Basically, it's in bad shape.

Dr. Shinn has recommended surgery, which would cause Bryant to miss approximately six weeks, but Bryant is resisting the idea.

In a statement released by the Lakers, Bryant said, ``My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest. I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer’s Olympic Games. But, this is an injury that myself and the Lakers’ medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis.”

There is no definitive word on Bryant's involvement in the All-Star Game, but Bryant and the Lakers are against it. Apparently, there's some strife with the NBA about the matter.