The headline is scary, but the incident itself did not look that bad. He walked off the floor, limping, but walked. The Lakers list him as day-to-day, but with a re-evaluation today (Wednesday). It was not severe enough for the team to schedule an MRI today.
After a Sun Yue miss with 3:10 left in the second quarter, Kobe leapt for the rebound on the weak side, while Powell spun and went for the ball as well. Kobe bumped knees and seem to come down on Powell’s foot, apparently hyperextending his knee. He instantly winces and pulls his leg up under him, then puts it down, signals to the bench he is coming out. He sits for a second with Vitti, then they head to the locker room.
According to WebMD, hyperextension of the knee can mean injury to the ACL, but the extent can vary widely. We’ll update the situation today as news of the re-evaluation comes out.
UPDATE #1: Kevin Ding makes a very good point in the OC Register:
You can be sure that Bryant wouldn’t have been chilling out there on the court in his Gucci sneakers for the second half if there was even a remote threat of serious injury. Bryant is maniacally diligent in getting treatment, believing especially in the importance of treating injuries as soon as possible. He also wouldn’t have been sitting there cracking jokes with Sasha Vujacic to the point that Vujacic was literally falling out of his chair … hair flying everywhere.
