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Phil Jackson acknowledged before Sunday’s game against Toronto that Ron Artest is suffering from plantar fasciitis in both feet.
“We haven’t had any conversation about sitting out, but if it continues, he may have to,” said Jackson.
Artest, who generally prefers not to discuss his injuries, is averaging 11.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists while leading the team in three-point shooting at 39.6 percent, boosted by his 3-of-3 from distance against the Knicks on Friday.
Luke’s back.
As in, he has returned from his back injury … not just that he’s back … you get it.
“I feel good,” said Walton, who returned for a six minute fourth quarter stint against San Antonio, his first action in 27 games. “I came in here and got treatment this morning, and I feel great right now. I’m excited … I told Phil I’d love to play more tonight.”
Walton explained prior to Wednesday’s game in Dallas that once his name gets called, he’ll forget all abou this back. It may be stiff in the morning, but, to be fair, it’s stiff every morning.
His primary focus in terms of basketball is to help improve L.A.’s ball movement, particularly with a second unit that managed not a single assist against the Spurs.
“It’s been missing in our offense for a while, just that fluid ball movement that the triangle is made for - the passing it to the open man, making the extra pass type of play,” said Walton. “I’m definitely going to try and do that as much as I can as opposed to go out there and try to score. Just get the ball moving and hope you get that flow back that makes us such a dangerous team.”
Phil Jackson thinks that will be the case.
“(Luke) just has a knack of playing, he knows how to play the game and fit in the system pretty well,” said Jackson. “He’ll help it out. We’ll see if he can play a few minutes tonight to give us some support.”
In the third quarter of Tuesday night’s loss in San Antonio, Kobe Bryant’s back stiffened up on him to the point that he could barely walk, which kept him - reluctantly - on the shelf for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
Yet Bryant, determined to play against the Mavericks on Wednesday night, awoke at 5 a.m. to begin working his back into game-ready shape.
“I think he’s going to give it a try,” said Phil Jackson. “He’s spent all day trying to get himself ready for the game.”
Jackson explained that even if Bryant is hurting, he won’t necessarily remove him from the game if he’s still helping the team. If the team play is suffering due to Bryant’s back, however, he’ll likely come out.
“If he hurts our effort on the floor, you have to (remove) him as a coach,” said the head coach. “I didn’t like the way he was moving in the third quarter, but he was helping us play better as we went through that quarter.”
Jackson was also asked if he’d consider holding Bryant out for an extended period of time due to his various ailments.
“I don’t see why, unless he’s hurting the team out there and it would be a long-term situation where if he played now it would affect him five, 10 games down the line,” he explained. “I just don’t see that happening.”
In other injury news…
- Sasha Vujacic, who tweaked his hamstring against San Antonio, would play at the two guard in Bryant’s place, with Shannon Brown next on Jackson’s list after the Slovenian.
- Ron Artest, who’s battling finger and foot injuries, will start.
- Luke Walton (back) is again available, hoping to play as many minute as Phil Jackson allows.
- Adam Morrison, who suffered from a sore throat and flu-like symptoms yesterday, is feeling better and could play.
Kobe Bryant made just 1-of-14 shots in the first half and 4-of-21 for the game in L.A.’s 95-77 win over Milwaukee, struggling to hit from the field for the fourth consecutive contest (33 percent combined).
The difference in that first half was that Bryant was attempting to play without a splint on his right index finger, on which he suffered an avulsion fracture earlier in the season that he said he aggravated against Sacramento (he also appeared to take a swipe to the finger against Houston on Tuesday evening).
Bryant explained after the contest that playing without the splint afforded him increased range of motion, but made his finger too weak to support his shooting stroke.
“It’s just not strong enough,” he said of the finger, which will of course not keep him out of any game action.
Phil Jackson blamed Bryant’s finger almost exclusively for his shooting struggles:
He has been fiddling around with his “prosthetic” for his broken finger. He went from hard to semi-hard protective plate that was in there and made from lead that was conformed to nothing at all now. It is noticeable in his shooting and he knows it so I think he is going to go back to what worked before.
In short, the splint will go back on until Bryant feels strong enough to shoot without it.
Before missing his fourth consecutive game due to a left hamstring strain, Pau Gasol told reporters that he felt some discomfort after running on a treadmill the previous day.
“There was soreness after a while,” he said.
Gasol, however, will try the treadmill once again prior to L.A.’s Sunday tipoff against Milwaukee, and said that he hopes to practice with the team on Monday.
Afterwards, he will accompany the team on its two-day trip through Texas, including a Tuesday game in San Antonio and Wednesday contest in Dallas. Whether or not he’ll play will continue to be determined on a day-by-day basis.
“I’m very hopeful that I’ll be able to play and be with the team soon,” he said, “How soon? I’m not sure, can’t really tell.”
Phil Jackson said before Tuesday evening’s game that Pau Gasol’s hamstring injury was “less severe” than Gasol’s previous right hamstring strain that kept him out of the season’s first 11 games.
The strain is classified as “mild to moderate,” as reported yesterday.
“There is an insignificant amount of (a) tear, but it’s still something that we want to prevent from becoming anything greater,” said Jackson. “We’re hoping it’s game-to-game, though I highly doubt he’ll be ready for (Wednesday’s game).”
In short, Gasol will miss Tuesday’s contest against Houston and, as Jackson said, more than likely Wednesday’s against the Clippers. He will be re-evaluated prior to the team’s Friday evening game in Portland.
Particularly as the Lakers have Ron Artest (concussion) back in the front court after a five-game absence, Jackson implied that the team has the luxury of proceeding with caution in regard to its Spaniard.
“With Pau, the idea is that we can cover (for him) with Andrew (Bynum), Lamar (Odom) and Josh (Powell),” Jackson concluded. “We don’t want anything to happen that is extenuating; that’s why we have the depth we have on this team. We have some margin for error right now.”
We learned quite a bit after Monday’s practice on the Lakers’ injury front, which kept Lamar Odom (gastrointestinal discomfort) and Pau Gasol (left hamstring strain) out of the building but saw Ron Artest (concussion) return to the fold.
Here’s the update after Lakers shootaround on Tuesday as it relates to L.A.’s game against Houston tonight: Odom participated in shootaround and will play; Artest is expected to play; Gasol will not play.
Artest saw his neurologist on Tuesday morning and was cleared to play, though the pair will reunite prior to the game to make sure everything is go for launch.
Lakers forward Luke Walton resumed basketball activities during Monday’s practice, and expects to go through a full practice on Thursday following the team’s back-to-back games against Houston and the Clippers.
Walton, who aggravated his back during L.A.’s Nov. 13 game in Denver, said that he has been feeling better on a daily basis, today managing to go through shooting drills, a game of 3-on-3 and the like with his teammates.
“It felt great,” he said of his back. “The worst part was the conditioning. My legs, (after) not playing for five or six weeks or (however) long it’s been.”
After a calming down period, Walton has been working extensively with L.A.’s training staff* throughout the last few weeks, focusing primarily on strengthening his core muscles.
*Pictured above with Lakers Athletic Performance Coordinator Alex McKechnie.
“It’s huge because those are all the muscles that protect you from injuries you have in your back,” he said. “We (have done) a lot more core strengthening work and we feel now that we’re at a place where it’s strong enough to play NBA-style games.”
Walton had aggravated his back in a similar fashion this preseason, admitting that he may have come back too quickly (a week and a half, instead of the suggested six weeks) to the point where he re-injured himself. He actually began to feel much better weeks ago, as with the initial injury, but he and the team have been much more conservative this time (24 games and counting) as he built up strength that is hoped to sustain him throughout the season.
In the meantime, it’s been a struggle for the ever-competitive Walton to sit on the sideline and watch, (even from the broadcast booth). He explained that while he observes, he’ll occasionally offer pointers to teammates while constantly evaluating where he may be able to help.
“Knowing the offense, knowing that we haven’t really been moving the ball, releasing pressure and the other little things that makes this offense run,” he said. “I know I can get in there and help the team.”
And in fairness, Walton’s ability to move the basketball is at least one explanation for why L.A.’s bench hasn’t been consistent this season.
In closing, when asked if the recent injury developments with Pau Gasol (strained hamstring) or Ron Artest (concussion) have increased his sense of urgency, Walton shook his head.
He’s been chomping at the bit since Nov. 13.
From L.A.’s PR department:
Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who suffered an injury to his left hamstring in last night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, was examined today by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo.
Results of an ultrasound test and an MRI show that Gasol has a mild-to-moderate strain of the left hamstring. His status for tomorrow’s game against the Houston Rockets is doubtful and he shall be listed as day-to-day beyond that.
As Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell reports on his Twitter account.
Pau Gasol has a strained left hamstring and will be re-evaluated at the half to see if he can return. 7:10pm
Gasol missed the first 11 games of the season w/a right hamstring strain (tonight’s being unrelated). More news after half. 7:13pm
FROM LAKERS.com
