Kobe Bryant to play in season opener

Laker fans received an early Christmas present Thursday when Kobe Bryant confirmed that he will be in the lineup on Christmas Day against the Chicago Bulls at STAPLES Center.

"I should be fine," said the All-Star guard. "I'm playing."

Bryant tore a ligament in his right wrist during Monday's exhibition loss to the Clippers, landing on it after being blocked at the rim by DeAndre Jordan. He played most of the rest of the game, saying he didn't think he was badly hurt. 

"Not at all. There really wasn't that much pain. But I woke up (Tuesday ) morning and it was swollen. It went down and I tried to practice a little bit. That's when (I) knew there was something else going on. "

Bryant hasn't practiced since and missed the Lakers' final exhibition contest, another loss to the upstart crosstown rival Clippers Wednesday night.  His hand was wrapped as he met with reporters, but he kept it behind his back so it wouldn't get photographed.

Not many of his teammates were left after practice, but none of them seemed overly distraught about their leader's injury.

"You know Kobe," said Jason Kapono, who started in place of Bryant Wednesday night. "He's as tough as anybody in the league, and unless it's a much worse situation than it seems to be, I'm sure he'll be out there against the Bulls."

If that worst-case scenario happens, Kapono figures to get some of Kobe's minutes, with some going to Luke Walton and Matt Barnes. All are normally forwards, but capable of playing short minutes at guard. You might also see a Derek Fisher-Steve Blake backcourt for much of the game.

Coach Mike Brown can't make any decisions concerning Bryant's spot until he knows for sure if Kobe's in or out. Brown's gut feeling is that his superstar will be the NBA's version of Ebenezer Scrooge and make the Bulls and MVP Derrick Rose miserable.

"I'd never bet against Kobe," said Brown, who will be coaching his first meaningful game for the Lakers after replacing the retired Phil Jackson.

Ironically, Jackson was at the Laker facility Thursday, accompanied by a white poodle as he picked up his mail and said hello to selected employees. He said he's enjoying retirement and would be spending the Christmas holidays with his kids and their families at Yosemite.

Brown went on to describe an incident that separates Kobe from the rest of us mortals.

"One game a few years ago, Kobe went down in front of our bench and popped one of his fingers out of place. All Kobe did was pull it and pop it back into (place), and he continued playing. You want to talk about a guy with a high tolerance of pain, it's Kobe. So, nothing would surprise me.

"I've coached some tough guys, and he's got to be up there among the toughest, mentally and physically. It's hard to ever doubt him, because I remember when he had that finger (injury), that he wouldn't be able to shoot the ball because of the brace he was wearing on it. I was hoping he'd keep wearing that thing. Well, it made absolutely no difference in his shooting, even though it was on his shooting hand. So for me to stand here and say it's going to hinder him in any way, I'd be lying to you. If I was going to bet on it, I'd bet it wouldn't."

After Tuesday's practice, Brown said the Lakers would basically follow the lead of the doctors in deciding about Bryant's availability. If the doctors say he's out, he's out. Thursday, Brown pulled back a bit on the declaration.

"If the doctor clears him to play but says it might not be a good idea, well, I really don't know. I've never dealt with anything like this or anyone as (single-minded) as Kobe. My understanding is that if the doctor doesn't want you to play, the organization won't let you play. But I'm not sure. Right now it looks like he'll be out there."

Bryant has played through numerous painful injuries in his career, and he said this is just one more for his personal medical journal.

"It's always been in my nature to try and figure out a way to play," Kobe said. "The injuries that I've had, I've been able to play through them because they couldn't get worse if I did anything else to them. I've had tears of ligaments, and then (the ligaments) just aren't there anymore. With this one, it's not going to get any worse. If you can catch the ball, pass the ball and shoot the ball, you should be OK.

"It's just a matter of playing through the pain."