Kobe to play despite dislocated finger

For all of the accolades heaped upon LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, he might not get the credit he deserves for one important area of his game—his toughness.  While other Western Conference “superstars” like Utah Jazz malingerer Carlos Boozer shut it down for months after suffering a minor muscle strain, Kobe keeps playing through a variety of nagging ailments.  Already dealing with a tendon injury in his pinkie that will require surgery after the season, he suffered a painful dislocation of the ring finger on his shooting hand in the Lakers’ 105-88 win over Cleveland on Monday.

Despite suffering an injury that would land most players on the injured reserve list, Kobe indicated that he’s not planning to miss any action despite his most recent ailment.  Basically, the Lakers are playing too well right now—at 33-8 they’re tied for the best record in the NBA—and Kobe doesn’t want to mess up the team’s chemistry and momentum by taking time off.  Coach Phil Jackson was impressed with his superstar’s toughness, but also suggested that the decision didn’t come as a surprise:

"These [injuries] are things that you just don't want to do anything with that hand, let alone play basketball or pound the ball or dribble it or shoot it. It's a lot of difficulty, but it's a trademark of who Kobe is."

Kobe injured the finger while battling LeBron James for a loose ball, and went to the sideline in apparent pain after play was whistled to a stop.  The Lakers’ trainer popped the dislocated finger back in place, and Kobe finished the game playing a total of 41 minutes despite what he called "probably the most I'd ever played with."  While he missed practice on Tuesday he was back in the lineup on Wednesday night, completing his second triple double in three games as the Lakers easily handled their cross town rivals the LA Clippers.  Not bad for a guy wearing a splint and with only 3/5 of his shooting hand intact.

"It's not fractured or anything like that. I'm happy. I just made a stab at the ball and I think I caught it at the right angle. I just felt it slide out of place. At that point, I felt like I had done something much worse than what actually happened."

The Lakers play Washington at home on Thursday night, and then Kobe will get a few days of rest before returning to action on Sunday afternoon against San Antonio.