Kobe Bryant: Lakers Star Claims Torn Wrist Ligament Has Healed

To say Kobe Bryant's torn wrist ligament has bothered him significantly this season would probably not be accurate. He's averaging 29.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

But apparently the torn ligament, which he suffered against the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 19, has completely healed.

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweeted on Wednesday:

Bryant and the Lakers are currently 14-11, 2.5 games behind the Clippers for the Pacific division lead.

It's actually puzzling why the Lakers haven't won more games. Sure, their point guard situation is far from stellar, but they've held opponents to 41.8 percent shooting (best in the NBA), they're shooting 45 percent as a team, they have the best turnover differential in the league and they're second-best in rebounding differential, led by Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

The problem appears to lie in their inability to close out games. They will be rolling throughout the game, but when it comes to the fourth quarter, they simply don't play smart basketball and tend to tire being an older team.

Perhaps Bryant shares some share of the blame for this. While he's still one of the best players in the NBA, he's taken a lot of careless shots down the stretch for the Lakers.

This also highlights the Lakers' curious propensity to abandon the post game as the fourth quarter comes around. Gasol already voiced his displeasure earlier in the season when Mike Brown tried transforming him into Lamar Odom. But Bynum should also be frustrated - he's averaging a phenomenal 17.1 points and 12.4 rebounds and still isn't getting his fair share.

It's nice to hear Bryant is fully healed, but that hasn't been the main problem this season for the Lakers.