PORTLAND, Ore. -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is receiving a shot in his right wrist before games in order to numb the pain caused by his torn lunotriquetral ligament, according to a team source.
Bryant suffered the right wrist injury, his shooting hand, during a Lakers preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers when he fell to the floor and braced his body weight on his right hand after having his shot attempt blocked by DeAndre Jordan. On Thursday, the Lakers confirmed a report in the Orange County Register detailing Bryant's treatment.
Bryant missed the Lakers preseason finale after suffering the injury but has played in all seven of the Lakers games to start the regular season, averaging 25.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists on 41.7 percent shooting.
The 16-year veteran had a tough shooting stretch during a back-to-back against Denver, going a combined 12-for-46 (26.1 percent) in the two games.
He admitted the necessity to "make some adjustments with (his) jumper" after missing 22 of 28 shot attempts in a 99-90 loss to the Nuggets on Sunday and bounced back with 37 points on 14-for-29 shooting in a 108-99 win against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.