Kobe Bryant expects to play in preseason opener

After spending the large majority of last season on the bench, Kobe Bryant spent the entire summer working himself back into shape and refining his game.

However limited Bryant might be due to his age and coming off two injuries, he fully expects to play in the Lakers preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets on October 6th, a little over a week away.

"Kobe Bryant said he has “no reason to think” he would not play in the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Nuggets in San Diego on Oct. 6.– Marc Spears"

Bryant may not play every game this preseason, but he appears certain to kick the pre-season off on the right foot.

In more Kobe news from media day, Byron Scott also had high hopes of Bryant.

"Byron Scott on Kobe: “I expect him to play 82 games and to play well.”– Mark Medina"

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Hopefully for Lakers fans, this was some sort of figure of speech or Scott misspoke, because this is not likely what fans want to hear. It’s very likely that Bryant’s body is not going to be able to perform at the same level it did two years ago.

We saw how he broke down against the Warriors before tearing his Achilles. Even more, we saw him break down all the more quickly against Memphis last year. The last thing he’d need is to play the full rigors of an 82-game schedule, unless he’s doing it for 15 minutes a night.

What do you think about Bryant playing a full 82 games? Do you want him playing in the preseason, also?