Kobe Bryant has been limited as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, but coach Phil Jackson isn't worried about his superstar.

"I think the regular season is gonna be fine," Jackson said. "Right now, there's obviously a conditioning and strength factor that are both there. He's working real hard. He's feeling OK about it. But game shape, not ready quite yet.

"But we'll go some minutes and see how he goes in those minutes, and determine how many minutes [Bryant will play]," Jackson added.

The coach plans to limit Bryant to about 16 minutes against the Kings on Wednesday night. He also recently urged the guard to conserve some of his energy.

"Just don't push it too fast," Jackson said, recounting their conversation. "That's all. We're doing it just the way we want to do it. A couple appearances on the floor, maybe 16 to 18 minutes are fine. Any more than that right now, I think, is expending a little bit too much."