Prior to the Lakers-Celtics game, Kobe Bryant addressed the media to discuss how he’s feeling physically, when his next re-evaluation date will take place and much more. Below is a transcription of his comments:
Q: On how he’s feeling physically and how much he’s progressed the last couple weeks:
Bryant: I’m doing all right. Still working hard on the bike. That’s pretty much what I’m limited to right now.
Q: On if he knows a certain date when his next MRI will take place to see if the knee has healed:
Bryant: I think we’re going in February – the start of February.
Q: On what he does and how he approaches his situation from now until that point when he can get the MRI:
Bryant: Just continue to do what I’ve been doing, see where it’s at in February and see if I can pick it up.
Q: On how difficult it’s been to watch the team lose, plus all the injuries that have hit the roster:
Bryant: Yeah, it’s been very difficult and very frustrating. I try to detach from it as much as possible. I feel like you’re taking Bruce Banner and putting him in the middle of a bar fight and hoping he doesn’t become The Hulk. That’s what I feel like watching these games.
Q: On the difficulty of pulling aside teammates during the game, trying to balance how much he talks to the guys, and how much advice he gives:
Bryant: You just have to measure where they’re at and if they’re ready to receive some helpful criticism and adjustments. That’s not very hard for me to balance. I try to be as constructive as I can.
Q: On possibly sitting out the rest of the season with the team currently performing as they are:
Bryant: No, the only thing I can afford to consider is getting better and getting strong. I can’t allow myself to think any other way. I can only think about the next day. To do anything else becomes distracting. You don’t allow or give yourself wiggle room to not push yourself as hard as you possibly can. By thinking I’m going to sit I’m going to sit out this day or any other, then the motivation is gone and I refuse to have that happen.
Q: On if it’s still worth it to him with the team so far down in the standings now and needing a big push to make the playoffs:
Bryant: I don’t think about that. It’s my job to be ready. It’s my job to get myself in gear and do my job. From that perspective, it’s not my responsibility to think about missing games or whatever the case may be. It’s my job and my responsibility to get ready.
Q: On how much coming back this season and playing however many games can help him in the offseason train to gauge where he is going into next year:
Bryant: I know where I’m at; I know where I’m at. Playing those games helped me identify that, so in my training, I know exactly what adjustments I need to make and how my body felt and how I responded.
Q: On attending a class at Boston College:
Bryant: It was a random thing. Timing is really the most important thing on the schedule. I had a class at 6:30 (p.m.), I think we landed at 5 (p.m.)or something like that, so it was perfect timing.
Q: On what he learned in that class:
Bryant: A lot. It’s interesting because obviously I’ve been doing a great amount of international marketing for the last 15 years, so to sit in a classroom and actually hear the proper terminology for some of the things I’ve been doing was pretty cool.
Q: On what capacity he’d like continue that sort of thing:
Bryant: Learning. It’s always fun to learn and to continue to get better in all facets of your life. I may be a nerd or something, but I really, really enjoyed it. It was really, really fun to me, and I look forward to doing that more often.
Q: On Rajon Rondo returning for Boston and what the biggest challenge is the first game back trying to play coming off a major injury:
Bryant: It’s always your rhythm. The rhythm is always the biggest adjustment, trying to get your game legs back. It’s one thing to train, to run and do what you have to do, but when you step on the basketball court and play at that game speed is a little different.