Kobe Bryant has a torn ligament in his right finger. That just happens to be his shooting hand and for the Lakers thats as big of a problem as they could have right now.

If Kobe decides to go ahead and have the surgery, he will sidelines for 6-8 weeks and in the topsy-tervy Western conference, anything could happen in that time frame.

Kobe first hurt the finger during their game at the Nets on Feb. 5th. He reinjured it in their game against the T-Wolves on Wednesday night and things aren’t looking good for him.

So far he has already pulled out of the three point contest (replaced by Dirk Nowitzki) and could potentially sit out of the All Star game on Sunday.

“My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest,” Bryant said in statement.

“I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer’s Olympic Games. But this is an injury that myself and the Lakers medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis.”

Yeah, good luck with that Kobe. Kobe needs to go ahead and get the surgery now before he hurts it worse and can’t compete in the playoffs. At least this way if the Lakers can stay in the playoff picture they will have him back right on time to go for the last few games of the season and the beginning of the season.

The Western conference is so close right now though, they may not even be in the playoff picture without their superstar. Here is how it looks right now:

1. Hornets (36-15)
2. Suns (37-16)
3. Lakers (35-17)
4. Jazz (34-19)
5. Spurs (34-17)
6. Mavs (35-18)
7. Warriors (32-20)
8. Nuggets (32-20)
9. Rockets (32-20)

Only 4.5 games seperate the top teams from the bottom teams. If the Lakers lose 4 in a row they would be out of the playoffs. They are definitely in a bind right now.