Kobe Bryant, right, has been nursing a bruised lower left leg in the last week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The conviction in Byron Scott’s words, tone and body language hardly wavered, even if Kobe Bryant remains limited with a bruised lower left leg that has sidelined him for more than a week.

Sure, Scott admitted he “can’t guarantee” Bryant will play in the Lakers’ season opener against Minnesota on Wednesday at Staples Center. But the Lakers’ coach did not change his outlook on his star players’ health.

“Do I think he’ll play? Absolutely,” Scott said after practice at the Lakers’ facility in El Segundo. “I think he’ll play, knowing him like I do.”

But Bryant has plenty of work that he will have to complete before ensuring he will not miss the Lakers’ season opener for the second time in three seasons. Bryant only took part in shooting drills on Saturday in what Scott described as a “real light” practice before watching his teammates from the sideline. Scott hopes Bryant can “ramp it up a little more” in Sunday’s practice before having full sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

“I’m not trying to predict what he can do tomorrow,” Scott said. “I just want to see him out here and go a little bit more. If he can do that, we’ll make progress.”

The Lakers held Bryant out for the last three preseason games after bruising his lower left leg in the team’s preseason loss to Sacramento in Las Vegas on Oct. 13. Bryant has not spoken to reporters since following the Lakers’ preseason win over an Israeli professional team, Maccabi Haifa, on Oct. 11.

Scott has downplayed Bryant’s persistent absence. Scott said Bryant can put weight on his leg and reported Bryant just calling his left leg “a little stiff.” Scott also said he limited Bryant partly so he could rest up for the regular season. But Scott conceded on Saturday that Bryant’s latest ailment stems from other factors. The 37-year-old Bryant is entering his 20th and perhaps final NBA season. He also has suffered season-ending injuries for three consecutive years.

“You can take all of those things into consideration,” Scott said. “This is 20 years for him. The body doesn’t heal as fast as he used to.”

Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, 23, practiced on Saturday without limitations two days after having soreness in his right shoulder. But Bryant has not healed enough in the past week to complete any running drills.

“He wants to be make sure he’s able to run, cutting and lateral movements are important,” Scott said. “I don’t know if he’ll be be 110 percent. But I think the closer we can get to him being to that number, the better.”

Yet, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell saw the silver lining. He argued Bryant’s absence indirectly spurred the Lakers to compensate for his absence, something they might have to master throughout the 2015-16 season.

“It forces you to mature early and know how to play with the ball when a dominant player like him is not in the game,” Russell said. “Then knowing how to play with it when he is in the game. You have to adjust. He’s giving us a good taste of being able to play and learn without him. I feel like it will be that much easier.”

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com