Los Angeles Lakers' loss against the New Orleans Pelicians proved to be a minor one as compared to Kobe Bryant's injury, which might see him miss out for the remainder of the season.
The player reportedly seems to have been troubled with a shoulder injury even during preseason, but when he drove in for a two handed dunk in the third quarter against the New Orleans, he aggravated it.
Only a few minutes later, Kobe felt uncomfortable and checked out of the game, but came back in during the fourth quarter and did not look at ease, which was understood when the player was trying to avoid using his right arm -- he took two left handed shots.
He had 14 points against New Orleans on the night.
"He was hurt?" New Orleans forward Anthony Davis said when asked about Bryant's shots with the left.
"I just thought it was an awesome [left-handed] move, honestly. I thought he's been working on it."
"It felt fine when I went up, didn't feel too good when I came down," Bryant said after the game.
An MRI scan on Thursday revealed a torn rotator cuff in Bryant's right shoulder, which will definitely keep him out of the NBA All Star game and most likely for the rest of the season as well.
This is a huge blow to the Lakers, who have not looked good in the NBa this season.
They have only won 12 games in the league so far while losing 31 and their last ten matches reads an even sorry figure where they have lost eight.
So, with one of their most experienced stars missing, they will struggle to finish off the season any better.
This is not the first injury concern that the LA Lakers had to face after injuries forced some big players out, which includes Steve Nash who was troubled with recurring back problems, Julius Randle, who broke his leg early in the season, and Xavier Henry, who suffered a torn Achilles' tendon.
"There's been a lot of things that have gone wrong so I've just got to deal with it,"Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
"It's like everybody else. Next guy up has got to be ready to play."
