Kobe: May Need to Whip Out the Cane

Banged up, Kobe has a significant amount of fluid removed from his knee

The LA Times reported that Bryant had a "significant amount of fluid" drained from his right knee recently and hasn't practiced with the Lakers since they advanced past Utah. Also Bynum who has dealt with a torn right meniscus scrimmaged Saturday and he felt his right knee injury was "getting a little worse".

Kobe and Bynum have been pretty banged up over the playoffs so it will be interesting to see how big their roles will be in game 1 tonight at 6. Kobe's injuries have been nagging him most of the year as was made evident after the All-Star break when he sat out for a few games. Expect Kobe to stick to the mid-range jumpshots with limited attacking of the rim. Also Bynum will play a similar role to what he did against Utah with Gasol picking up a lot of the slack.

Jace P-