Kobe's back injury in game four opened the door for ton of speculation. The fact the ABC7 reported that Kobe "couldn't stand up on the plane" didn't help much.

Throughout his career, Kobe has been known to suck it up--and he'll do just that on Wednesday:

Kobe Bryant met the media Monday with a new companion - an electronic stimulating device hooked up to his sore lower back.

Plans call for the two to spend a lot of time together for the next couple of days, or longer.

The Los Angeles Lakers' star tweaked his back in the opening minutes of Sunday's 123-115 overtime loss at Utah that tied the Western Conference semifinals 2-2.

"It's pretty sore right now," Bryant said Monday. "It's tight. It's to be expected the next day, I guess. I don't know how I made it through the game, to be honest with you."

Bryant said he was receiving treatment around the clock.

"Secret stuff," he replied with a smile when asked to be specific about the treatment.

Regarding the electronic stimulating device, Bryant said he had slept with it on Sunday night.

"It cuts down the pain," he said. "How, I don't know."...

"I'll be ready to play. I can't imagine it being any worse than it was last night." [Fox Sports]

I'm sure Vic The Brick will be equipped with some cool words for Kobe before the game.

Moving onto things of lesser importance (though they sure could use some defense right now), Trevor Ariza has been cleared by a second physician:

Hoopsworld has learned that Trevor Ariza of the Los Angeles Lakers has been cleared by a second independent doctor. Sidelined for months with a broken foot, Ariza has now sought out two additional opinions hoping to get back on the floor to help the team in its ongoing playoff run.

The Lakers' physician has been conservative as Ariza's CT Scan still shows a line on the bone which is normally interpreted as an unhealed fracture.

Ariza recently saw a doctor in Utah who postulated that the bone has indeed healed and that the line may never fully disappear.

The recent third opinion concurred which sends the ultimate decision to the Lakers who are inherently conservative when it comes to long term health of their players. To date they haven't been willing to put Ariza in harm's way, even for the ongoing playoff push. [Hoopsworld]

That's the scoop for now. Game five is on Wednesday. I'd call it a must-win. The Lakers definitely DO NOT want to face elimination at EnergySolutions in game six, so I'm calling Wednesday the game of the series.