LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant will see limited playing time to start the NBA season, Coach Phil Jackson said Wednesday.
In a sign Bryant hasn't fully recovered from off-season knee surgery, Jackson said his playing time will be strictly monitored in the new season's early going, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I don't anticipate he's going to be playing heavy-minutes games to start the season," Jackson told reporters. "We'll have to find a pattern out there so he has the greatest influence in the amount of minutes he can" play.
Bryant's right knee was operated on for the third time since 2003 after last season's Lakers victory over Boston in the NBA Finals. He said it was "probably about 60 percent" when Los Angeles opened the pre-season Oct. 5.
The forward has put in a sluggish pre-season, going only 18-for-66 from the field in exhibition play.
"I'm not that concerned about his shot as I am just about having an overall ability to play with the kind of energy he wants to play with," Jackson told the Times.
