Basketball On The Internet.

WHETHER you are a fan of Kobe Bryant or not - and it seems a far more black-and-white question than any asked in the Michael Jordan era - you had to feel for him yesterday when he snapped his Achilles tendon leading his beloved Los Angeles Lakers against Golden State.

The 34-year-old five-time NBA champion has carried the ageing Lakers all season, guaranteeing they would grab that final berth in the playoffs and doing everything in his power to make his guarantee reality.

He has been a monster this season, and that's saying something.

His competitiveness and will-to-win have rarely been more consistently brought to the fore and he had 34 points in this contest before he could not continue.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni must take some of the blame though for this situation, playing Bryant into the ground, even after knee and ankle issues in the same game, ultimately a 118-116 win orchestrated by Pau Gasol.

Many now want to jump on the "attack-Kobe" bandwagon for having a rant on his Facebook page after learning about the extent of the injury and what it would mean beyond missing the rest of this season.

Frankly, you cannot blame him for feeling this way. Cut him some slack.

"This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I've done millions of times!,'' Bryant wrote on Facebook.

"The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??''

Well Kobe, if anyone can find a way, it will be you.

Bryant left the court in agony toward the end of the Staples Center win over Golden State after making two free throws.

He had surgery today, the Lakers confirming he now faces between six and nine months on the sidelines recovering and rehabilitating.

Lakers head trainer Gary Vitti described the injury as a "third rupture.''

"It is gone. It has to be sewn back together,'' Vitti said.

Post-game Bryant said he felt a "pop'' as he tried to beat Harrison Barnes to the outside with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

"I felt like I got kicked. It is a move I make a million times and pop,'' Bryant said. "Just a freak situation I guess.''

In any other season maybe it could be described as "freak'' but not in a season which has gone like this one.

Fans were ecstatic in the off-season when the Lakers signed Steve Nash and then Dwight Howard, believing they had the makings for a championship run.

But Nash missed a chunk of the season injured, Howard came in injured and coach Mike Brown was shown the door early as the team struggled to find cohesion.

Metta World Peace, Steve Blake - the injuries and inconsistencies have continued under D'Antoni so no, maybe it was a freak injury but certainly not a freak situation.

No-one could want this to be the way Kobe's storied career ends.

"The season has been full of obstacles & difficulties,'' Gasol wrote on Twitter.

"I am sure we will keep fighting till the very end as we have been doing.''

Miami Heat star LeBron James reacted to Bryant's injury on Twitter, saying he expects Bryant to return just as strong as ever.

Most of us do.

THE good news out of the NBA is Andrew Bogut is not as badly hurt as first feared and will soon be leading the Golden State Warriors in their return to Western Conference playoff action.

Bogut sat out the second half of Thursday's loss to Oklahoma City after injuring his left ankle, but an MRI scan has revealed only bone bruising.

The initial scare was most likely because it was the same ankle which cost The Bogeyman 38 games earlier this season after the Aussie superstar had undergone arthroscopic and micro-fracture surgery.

Warriors coach Mark Jackson expects his centre back for the playoffs, which is great news for Golden State and Australian NBA fans.