Kobe Bryant: Why It's Foolish to Think About Sitting Los Angeles Lakers Star

Kobe Bryant should not sit out any games for the Los Angeles Lakers while dealing with a wrist injury.

The official diagnosis, a torn lunotriquetral ligament, is undoubtedly a unique one, and it has sidelined players in the past for weeks at a time.

However, Bryant is not an ordinary player, and we have seen time and time again that his borderline psychotic work ethic and competitive spirit will not be slowed by anything that stands in his way.

Not by defenders, not by his index finger and most certainly not by a torn wrist ligament.

The Lakers are off to a 3-3 start to the season, and despite just six games in the books, there are some who are already calling for Bryant to take some time off.

The problem? Bryant's name and the phrase "time off" don't coexist in the same sentence.

Let's get one thing clear: the Lakers need Bryant on the court, and the team cannot compete without him.

His backup is Jason Kapono, and while he has shown that he is capable of hitting an open shot, that's about all he can do at this stage of his career.

For Bryant, who is battling both time and health, it's about the end being a lot closer than he wants to admit.

Now at age 33 and in his 16th season, the miles are racking up on Bryant's odometer. Between all of the regular-season games and playoff appearances, the tread on his tires won't last forever.

Nothing does.

We still haven't talked about something that everyone is overlooking—Michael Jordan's legacy.

Whether fair or not, Bryant and Jordan have been juxtaposed throughout Bryant's career, and the similarities are strikingly obvious.

Bryant, who has five championship rings in his collection, needs a sixth to tie Jordan's mark and fans can bet that he has that idea firmly fixated in his mind whether or not he admits to it.

He recently eclipsed 28,000 points for his career, but he's always been about the jewelery.

Bryant prides himself on being out on the court, and he is a leader by example for his team.

He sets the tone with his fiery passion for the game and it rubs off on his teammates. Since the 2007-08 season, Bryant has missed just nine regular season games, and they all came in the same season.

The injury is clearly impacting his ability to shoot the basketball, but that should have been expected.

Bryant isn't going to have the same success from the floor that he would have if he were playing without injury nor should he be expected to—he's not superhuman.

But is it injury or shot selection that has people continuing to talk about his wrist?

Through six games, Bryant is shooting 51-of-127 (40.2 percent) and just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from behind the arc.

Those are well off from his career averages of 45.4 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from deep.

However, Bryant is a very solid 37-of-45 (82.2 percent) from the foul line, and that aligns itself well with his career mark of 83.7 percent.

How can he be struggling so badly from the floor yet remain efficient from the line?

Two words: shot selection.

Frustrated by an inability to play his typical game, Bryant has been forcing shots from the perimeter when there are better opportunities available.

Over the last two games against Denver (one win, one loss), Bryant has shot a woeful 12-of-48, an incomprehensible 25 percent.

The difference between the two games? Bryant shot 10 less times in the win and missed a triple-double by just a single assist.

In the loss, Bryant managed just two rebounds, four assists and shot eight times from deep—that's right, almost one-third of his shots came from behind the three-point line.

Bryant raved about how healthy his knee feels following a procedure he had done in Germany during the offseason, and he needs to use the spring that is back in his step to a competitive advantage.

Once the shot selection improves, I have a strong feeling the concerns around his wrist injury will soon go away.

That time will come, and six games can hardly be used as a standard of judgement for what Bryant or the Lakers should do in regards to his playing time going forward.

As long as there is something to play for, bet on Bryant remaining on the court.