Kobe Bryant laughed the instant he came out of the trainer’s room and looked at his locker.
A crowd of reporters already surrounded his stall, hoping that Bryant would speak for the first time in eight days surrounding the latest on his left Achilles tendon.
No luck.
Bryant briefly went toward his locker and then quickly veered toward the player’s lounge.
“I’m feeling good. I’ll be back playing tomorrow,” Bryant said. He paused a few seconds before adding, “I’m kidding.”
The Lakers haven’t updated their timeline on Bryant’s recovery, sticking to their initial estimate back in April that he’ll stay out for least to six to nine months. But considering Bryant’s latest progress entailed performing some light shooting drills this week, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni sounded doubtful on the prospects he would return before Thanksgiving.
“He hasn’t gotten into practice yet,” D’Antoni said. “So it’ll be tough.”
The Lakers have six more games before Thanksgiving on Nov. 28, including contests against Memphis (tonight), Detroit (Sunday), Golden State (Friday), Sacramento (Nov. 24) as well as road games in Washington (Nov. 26) and Brooklyn (Nov. 27)
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