Kobe Bryant is injured. Despite battling through broken/dislocated finger(s) on his shooting hand, back spasms, and most recently, ankle issues, he remains committed to playing all 82 games this season.

Now of course, this is not in the team's best interest. For the Lakers to accomplish their ultimate goal of repeating as champions, they'll need Bryant to be as close to 100 percent as possible. And for the first time this season, Phil Jackson seemed to be taking this into account after watching his star hobble his way through a five-point performance against the Bobcats.

"It occurred to me [Wednesday] during the course of that game," Jackson said, when asked if it might be time for Kobe to rest for a few games.

Never has so much been made out of such an innocuous statement.

Many took this to believe that Phil was actually considering forcing Bryant to sit out games that he would otherwise be willing to play in, however limiting his current crop of injuries may be. As much as it would be the best thing to do, especially leading up to the All-Star break when Bryant could get some extended time to let some of his ailments heal a bit, let's face it: it's not happening.

All Jackson said here was that the thought "occurred" to him. But what also likely occurred to him was the fact that Bryant would fight his coach to the death on this issue if it was one that Jackson attempted to force.

Bryant hasn't missed a game due to injury since 2006, and his motivation for stubbornly staying on the court -- while certainly admirable -- remains unclear. Ironically, Bryant's Lakers will play the Nuggets on Friday, who will be without the services of Carmelo Anthony for the seventh consecutive game due to an ankle injury.

Anthony has said he won't return until the ankle is 100 percent, and his team has managed to do okay without him, going 4-2 in this current stretch of games that he's missed. It wouldn't hurt the Lakers to see if some of their guys could similarly step up in their star's absence, but apparently, for some reason, this would be too painful for Bryant to endure on the sidelines.

At this point, Phil Jackson is simply not going to go against the wishes of his superstar. It isn't a battle worth engaging in -- not yet anyway, as we're just past the halfway point in the season. Whether or not things change as we approach the latter part of the year will remain to be seen.

Especially as the concept of the Lakers trying to defend a title with a broken-down version of Kobe Bryant gets closer and closer to being realized.

Source: Brett Pollakoff, FanHouse