Kobe Bryant to sit vs. Jazz with right Achilles strain
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Kobe Bryant on Sunday night against the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center.
Bryant will be sidelined with a right Achilles strain, according to ESPN's Baxter Holmes.
This will be the eighth game of the season Bryant misses due to injury, having just recently returned to the lineup following a three-game absence due to a sore right shoulder. Los Angeles went 2-1 during that span, earning victories over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns.
Byron Scott said he actually forgot that Kobe mentioned his Achilles (right) last game, in the 4th quarter, kept playing on it though.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 11, 2016
General manager Mitch Kupchak has openly acknowledged that the 2015-16 season is more of a farewell to Bryant than it is a rebuilding year to cultivate the team's roster of young, rising talent. The Lakers sit dead last in the Western Conference with an 8-30 record, while the 37-year-old Bryant is putting up the worst numbers of his legendary 20-year career.
In 31 appearances, "The Black Mamba" is averaging 17.6 points on 35 percent shooting from the field, and 26 percent from behind the arc, along with 4.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 30.4 minutes per game.