Kobe's back

He said it feels better now than it did on Sunday, then again he's been resting. Hopefully it holds up when put to the test of a rigorous playoff game. 

Regardless, he's a warrior and will play through the pain. Let's just hope that his shot selection is better than it was in the 4th and OT of the last game.

As good as his back may be feeling now, you never know when he may instantly aggravate it with a hard foul, or awkward fall to the floor - that's the bitch of back spasms.  Let's just keep our fingers crossed that this is a good, clean game for him and that the Jazz thugs don't beat him up too badly.  Hey look, if the Pistons could win a big game without Billups, I think the Lakers should be able to pull through in a big start with a potentially limited Kobe.

I agree though, his implicit and newfound trust in his teammates is going to have to be in evidence tonight - as well as in Game 6 on Friday.  As lakers21 aptly put it, he just needs to play within his limits and trust his teammates (which, BTW, is one of the hallmarks of a true MVP)...and then his teammates have to come through.  If that happens, the Lakers win.  If Kobe tries to do too much and unwittingly shuts out his teammates, the Lakers could end up losing...big.  I don't think this will be the case.

GO LAKERS!

Kobe back better be fine or else can see the Jazz taking a 3-2 lead in the series.  If his back is troubling him for the game we can see little action from Kobe.  He will have to pass the ball more to his teammates.  The Jazz can foucs on the other cause Kobe is not Kobe.  Phil will have to come up with a game plan if Kobe is not alright.  LO and PG will have to step up their game so the Lakers can win game 3.

Go lakers

Well we will know soon enough if Kobe's back is doing well or not.

Hopefully he doesnt have to play too many minutes.

I don't want to see him aggravating the injury.

No doubt.  But, given that Kobe was 75% in Game 5, you gotta love how efficient he was and how when his back tightened up a bit in the 4th quarter he was able to successfully defer to his teammates.  I didn't realize it until I read the paper today, but Kobe did not attempt a shot in the 4th quarter!  (Take that, Oracle!)  He had two assists and three free throws made in the 4th quarter, but apart from that he was able to totally take a back seat to his teammates who came through in the clutch - big time.

The other stat that wasn't so comforting that I didn't realize until now was that Sasha was 1-11 from the field in Game 5 - that cannot happen again!

"The other stat that wasn't so comforting that I didn't realize until now was that Sasha was 1-11 from the field in Game 5 - that cannot happen again!"

They'll start falling, I just dont want him loosing confidence and stop shooting. We need his shooting to really pose a threat on the outside.