Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant remains on track to play against the Sacramento Kings. Bryant, who dunked during practice on Tuesday, will make his season debut on Friday if there're no setbacks this week at practice.
Bryant returned to practice on Tuesday after sitting out for two weeks. Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said the perennial All-Star looked good at practice and, barring any soreness in his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon, could play on Friday.
"We'll see [Wednesday] how he reacts and everything but [Tuesday] was a big step forward," D'Antoni told the L.A. Times. "He played hard, played for about half hour, 45 minutes, did everything.... I didn't see anything he couldn't do."
Bryant spent most of Tuesday's practice being a facilitator. He passed the ball to teammates during scrimmage and didn't take any outside shots, according to The Times.
"He does that in practice sometimes," said D'Antoni. "He can get a shot when he wants to."
The only shot Bryant took during portion of the scrimmage open to media was a dunk off a steal. The Times points out that Bryant jumped off his non-injured right foot and didn't get much air.
"He looked really good, actually," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "You can tell he's been working a lot on his own. He's in a really good rhythm. He knows what he's doing out there."
Nash also returned to practice on Tuesday. The 39-year-old, who's struggling with nerve root issues stemming from his broken leg last season, participated for 10 minutes in the portion of the scrimmage closed off to reporters.
"I can't say he looked as good as Kobe," Gasol said. "But it was good to see him at practice."
Nash has insisted he isn't considering retiring early but is uncertain when he may return. He stressed the importance of not rushing his return because of the fear he might worsen his injury.
