Kobe Bryant will make his return to the NBA tonight as the Los Angeles Lakers face the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The game will be live streamed at 9:30 PM ET.
The future Hall of Famer will make his season debut Sunday night against the Raptors, a team he's gone 13-1 against at home in his career -- including 10 straight wins.
"I don't feel like I have any limitations really," Bryant said after Thursday's practice as he prepares to play for the first time since suffering the injury on April 12 in a home win over Golden State.
"The change of gear is not quite where I want it to be, but it's easy to compensate through that and go out there and be effective."
While he might be eased into full minutes, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni expects what he always has from Bryant.
"That he'll be a dominant player," D'Antoni said.
With wins in six of their last eight since Nov. 17, the Lakers (10-9) find themselves without much of a hole to dig out of in the Pacific Division after a 4-7 start. Friday's 106-100 win at Sacramento ensured they'd have a winning record when Bryant returned.
The Lakers have nine players averaging at least 8.3 points. Gasol's 14.5 leads the way, but that's almost certain to change with the franchise's all-time leading scorer returning.
"We knew at the beginning of the season we were going to have to do it by committee," Meeks said. "We don't have any superstars. Our superstar is coming back Sunday, but 19 games we didn't, so we had to share the ball."
Bryant is unlikely to be sharing any minutes in the Lakers' backcourt with Steve Nash just yet. Nash's return from nerve damage in his back remains unknown and D'Antoni referred to him playing Sunday as doubtful.
The Raptors will look to spoil the party and close out a three-game road trip by snapping a five-game losing streak.
Their latest disappointment came Friday in a 106-97 loss at Phoenix. Amir Johnson scored a team-high 22, while Rudy Gay had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Toronto was outrebounded 53-36, including 18-11 on the offensive glass.
"We did a decent job of getting stops," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, "but then didn't get the rebounds. That's about toughness, that's about attention to detail."
With or without Bryant on the court, Casey said his team needs to worry first about fixing their own issues.
"We got to worry about us, no matter who we're playing," he said.
And no matter who the opponent is, Bryant's expectations for Game 1 of his comeback remain simple.
"Just come out and win a game."
