Let me first start off by saying this is a COMPLETE 100% stretch of the imagination here and I, in no way, believe Kobe faked his ankle injury but the point of my post will focus on that and other great players injuries this year. 

Last week while talking with Shooter’s Dad he briefly mentioned how he heard someone on the radio say Kobe faked his ankle injury to see how the Lakers would perform without the best player in the NBA.  How did they respond you ask?  Well they went 4-1 including wins @Portland, San Antonio, @Utah and Golden State.  All very impressive wins and their only loss was to the Celtics and the Lakers actually should have won that game too.  Before the injury the big question was how are the Lakers, as well as other good teams, going to perform without their top notch superstars?

For the Lakers, the answer was excellent.  This is a playoff team out West even without Kobe.  Look at the Heat right now for example, they are 0-4 without Wade in the lineup and slipped to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.  The Raptors are another team struggling without their superstar in Chris Bosh.  They have lost 4 in a row, all without him!

Clearly none of these teams are performing to the top of their games without their top players, for obvious reasons.  Back to the initial conspiracy of the gentlemen on the radio, did Kobe fake an ankle injury or may play it up to be more than it really was to wake the Lakers up?  He very well could have, considering the night he came back he looked like he didn’t miss a game dropping 32 points and the 3-point game winner against Memphis.

What if Kobe really did that to get his team playing harder?  It’s brilliant.  Kobe is the best player in the NBA, not just because of his shooting ability and his clutchness but he is a student of the game and watches tons of video, has personal scouting reports, etc.  I wouldn’t put it past him that he was the mastermind behind this “ankle injury” and in reality this was a hidden challenge to his team.  Should great players that have mediocre casts do something like this?  I don’t think it’s right to fake an injury but think about it for a second.  It would make your team that much better.  5 seconds left in the game, who is our go to guy with Kobe out?  Now Odom, or Fisher, even Shannon Brown may take that last second shot now.  It’s gets teams good exposure to high pressure situations with no one to rely on but themselves.  Think about the player on your favorite team who has hit game winners in the last year or two… Roy, Melo, Kobe, LeBron, Nash.  Now think of the next guy on the team who would have taken that shot…

What if LeBron got hurt the last game of the year and was out for the playoffs?  50/50 the Cavs would lose in the first round if LeBron is hurt.  LeBron is the team, he is the one who creates and allows Mo Williams to get 17 ppg and gets West open looks from 3.  The Cavs would be so screwed and right now they are the #1 team in the NBA!  In the West, if Durant goes down the Thunder are not a playoff team and right now they are the #5 seed.  But maybe, just maybe if a team realized how much harder they have to play without their best player to rely on they will have a shot to compete in the playoffs.  The Thunder are inexperienced so if they lost Durant they have no shot at winning in the first round, not even close.  Again, the Cavs would be on the fence because their supporting cast is decent and they play in the East.

I honestly feel that LeBron should sit the last week of the season if they are still up 5-6 games on the Magic.  This is basketball, an ankle sprain can occur at any time.  Will the Cavs be ready for it?

-The Basher