A quick injury note: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant missed Monday’s practice with a sore left foot, but is listed as “probable” on L.A.’s injury report.
Bryant is expected to start against the Clippers for L.A.’s 7:30 p.m. tipoff at STAPLES Center.
Archive for the 'Injury News' Category
Prior to the second half in L.A.’s preseason finale against Denver in San Diego, Lakers forward Pau Gasol addressed the team’s beat writers outside the Lakers locker room to update his condition.
Here are the Spaniard’s more significant comments:
Q: On whether he’ll play in the opener:
Gasol: It’s not out of the question … I’ve just got to let it heal. Hamstring injuries are tough. If you don’t heal it right, it can become a long-term issue, and that’s something we don’t want to do at this time of year.
Q: On how it responded to Wednesday’s practice:
Gasol: It got a little worse, it got a little aggravated so we took a step backward. Now we’re just trying to let it heal so I can go back out there.
Lakers forward Pau Gasol and center Andrew Bynum will miss Thursday evening’s preseason game in Anaheim against Denver, though forward Luke Walton will dress and be a coaches’ decision to play.
Gasol, who strained his right hamstring earlier in training camp, will also miss Friday night’s game in San Diego and await re-evaluation early next week.
Jackson explained that his All-Star forward had some questions about how (the hamstring) felt after Wednesday’s practice, during which Gasol ran and went through some drills. The head coach said it might be more of a fatigue issue, but to “alleviate” Gasol’s response, the team felt it was best to keep him out of the final two preseason games as there was nothing to gain by playing him.
“I’m not worried,” said Phil Jackson. “Whether he makes it (for the season opener on Tuesday) or not I’m not worried.”
Bynum, who strained his rotator cuff and suffered a contusion of the left knee this week, will not play Thursday evening but will be re-evaluated on Friday morning. He’s listed as day-to-day.
Walton (back), meanwhile, practiced for the first time in over a week on Wednesday and will dress against the Nuggets, though his participation will be up to Phil Jackson.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum suffered a minor rotator cuff strain in Tuesday night’s 113-107 win over the Golden State Warriors. Bynum did not practice Wednesday due to the injury but is being listed as probable for Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets in Anaheim.
“My training staff hasn’t anticipated anything that would prohibit him from playing, but we’ll see what it’s like (Thursday),” said head coach Phil Jackson.
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Injured forwards Pau Gasol and Luke Walton both participated in Wednesday’s practice after missing the past couple games.
“I put them through practice today. We’ll see how they react to that tomorrow. They looked okay,” Jackson said.
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The Lakers carry a 5-1 record into the first of back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets. Tonight’s game is schedule for a 7pm tip from the Honda Center in Anaheim on KCAL/9 and TNT. Tickets available here.
After Monday’s practice at L.A.’s facility in El Segundo, Phil Jackson provided an injury update for his three players on the MASH list:
Lamar Odom: The small forward, who suffered a bruised shin against Sacramento on Thursday in Las Vegas, participated almost fully in practice and is probable for Tuesday night’s game in Ontario, CA, against Golden State. Odom confirmed that he was feeling better after a few days of ice and stim.
Pau Gasol: Gasol, who tweaked a hamstring and first missed practice on Tuesday, Oct. 13, was a limited participant in practice but is listed as doubtful to face the Warriors.
Luke Walton: Like Gasol, Walton first missed practice last Tuesday, and is also doubtful for the Ontario game.
The next chance for Gasol and Walton to play will be on Thursday in Anaheim when the Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets, though Jackson has said that team’s priority is getting each Lakers’ player ready for the Oct. 27 season opener.
Add Lamar Odom to the list of Lakers forwards that are nursing minor injuries as training camp hits the midway point.
Late in the first half Ron Artest and Sacramento’s Jon Brockman got tangled up under the basket, eventually kicking Odom in the shin as they fell to the floor.
Odom would briefly return to action in the second half before retiring to the locker room to get checked out by trainer Gary Vitti. He is officially being listed as day-to-day with a lower right leg contusion.
After the game Odom told Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell that while the shin was sore, he wasn’t overly worried about it.
Lakers Forwards Pau Gasol and Luke Walton sat out practice for the second day in a row Wednesday due to a slight hamstring strain and minor back pain respectively.
“There’s nothing defining for either one of them right now,” said Head Coach Phil Jackson. “Pau felt a little twinge when he was doing warmup exercises and what not.”
Both will travel with the team to Las Vegas for Thursday night’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings, but Jackson expressed doubt when asked about their ability to play.
Last week, Phil Jackson explained that D.J. Mbenga had not been able to participate fully in practice due to an injury, which Lakers spokesman John Black detailed on Monday:
Due to a malalignment of his hips/ hip flexors, the imbalance is causing him pain in his abdominal, groin and hip flexor areas. He continues to work with our training staff to rehabilitate and is expected to make a full recovery at some point in the near future.
***10/6 UPDATE - Phil Jackson said that Mbenga practiced for the first time in five days on Tuesday, and should be fully operational soon.
An hour prior to L.A.’s Game 1 tip against Denver, Lamar Odom answered a few questions in the locker room about his sore lower back, which he will not allow to limit him against Denver.
“It’s not the time for that, right?” he said. “No excuses at this time of the year. ”
But make no mistake … It’s sore.
“There’s a little patch of fluid that just kind of lays on the spine, and it’s not going to go anywhere until I finish playing,” explained Odom.
He did acknowledge, however, that his back is feeling better on a daily basis; Odom got a nice boost on Tuesday by lifting weights for the first time since his Game 4 fall in Houston. That, to Odom, was as good a sign as any that he’s progressing.
“(Lifting) helped me get my blood flowing and helped me get some energy,” he explained. “I need the weight room, it helps me stay strong.”
He certainly prefers lifting to the shot that he received prior to Game 5 in the Houston series, which helped limit the inflamation in his back for that game but bothered him in the morning.
“The shot, to me, kind of tricked my body into feeling like it wasn’t hurt,” he said. “But the next day, I was feeling kind of sore. So I’d rather not do it. El natural. That’s what they call me.”
Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who bruised his back after an airborne drive in Sunday’s 99-87 loss at Houston, participated in Tuesday’s shootaround and will be a game-time decision for the 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
What does “game-time decision” mean, you wonder?
Just what it implies, but let’s get more specific: A given player - in this case Odom - will get on the court under the training staff’s supervision and test out his injury prior to the game. The training staff will then discuss the situation with the coaching staff, and collectively that player’s fate is decided. Of course, a player’s personal feelings as to whether or not he can battle through the injury is taken into consideration as well.
Indeed, Odom will go through some drills upon arriving at STAPLES, have a few conversations, and leave it to Phil Jackson to let the media know his status at about 6:15 p.m.
When we know … You’ll know.
If Odom isn’t able to go, look for Andrew Bynum to start.
