Author: Mike Trudell

Kobe Bryant, who has missed two straight games due to a sprained left ankle, remains a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game in Utah.

“It’s really up to him,” said Phil Jackson. “If he feels like he can play, he’ll play.”

Andrew Bynum, on the other hand, will not be in uniform due to a hip contusion.

“I don’t think Andrew will play,” was Jackson’s quote. “Right now he has kind of resigned himself to the fact that (he won’t play).”

One other piece of injury information from Tuesday is that Lamar Odom missed practice to have an MRI/CAT scan on his sore left foot. Both exams were negative, and Odom is probable for Wednesday.

In a firm reminder of just how deep and talented they really are, the Lakers rallied to a 101-89 victory over visiting San Antonio despite the absence of their best, and biggest, players.

Kobe Bryant (ankle) missed his second straight game, and Andrew Bynum (hip) joined him on the inactive list, just the third game the young center missed this season and the second Bryant has missed in three seasons.

The Lakers are no stranger to playing without Bynum, but playing without Kobe never seemed a possibility until he literally didn’t take the floor of L.A.’s Saturday evening win in Portland. No. 24’s previous missed game due to an injury? Check all the way back to December of 2006.

But on Monday, there was a noticeable extra collective hop in the remaining Lakers’ step in pregame warm ups that carried through the contest. All of those who saw the floor found a way to contribute, led by a huge game from Pau Gasol and by Lamar Odom’s all-around play.

Gasol, who struggled with his shot (8-of-20) due in part to fatigue (46 minutes), still managed to score 21 points, grab 19 rebounds, toss eight assists and block five shots. Odom added a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double of his own, but it was a complete effort that saw seven Lakers score at least eight points that ultimately did the trick.

“It was fun,” said Gasol of the all-around effort. “I think it was a good challenge for us; the way we played tonight was beautiful to be out there … we played hard and got a nice win.”

Phil Jackson cited L.A.’s rebounding (45-42 edge), defense (held the Spurs to 55 points in the final three quarters) and the respective individual efforts of each of his players.

“It is always good for a ball club to feel like they rally,” he said. “We stepped into the game with two starters that were out and we had to put two or three guys from the bench on the court that probably do not have too many minutes.”

There was Ron Artest, who nailed back-to-back three-pointers to counter a 9-0 start to the game and finished with a line of 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

And Derek Fisher, who canned 6-of-9 shots for 13 points and provided steady floor leadership throughout.

There was Sasha Vujacic, who has struggled for much of the year but checked in late in the second and immediately nailed his first three shots, two of them three-pointers, to help erase a nine-point S.A. lead. Later, he offered some scrappy defense in the fourth quarter.

And Jordan Farmar, who in 18 minutes off the bench scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting … Shannon Brown, who started in place of Bryant and scored eight points with three assists … Luke Walton, who played only 11 minutes but added four points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal to the effort.

“You never want to see your teammates injured in any way, but I think anytime guys get an opportunity to prove that they belong in this league, that they can play at a high level, they’re going to take it,” said Fisher. “When Kobe and Andrew are out, we have to execute to get high quality shots, so the ball moves more. When those guys are in there, we can rely on them to do great things.”

Speaking of that execution…

“We were aware of how we needed to play, especially being short handed,” explained Odom. “We limited their second-shot opportunities, ran the triangle and played good team defense.”

It wasn’t easy at first, as Tony Parker repeatedly got into the lane and helped the Spurs score 34 points in the opening quarter (Bynum’s interior presence may have helped), 20 of which came in the paint. But L.A.’s defense collectively stepped up in the second, holding the Spurs to 13 points total while scoring 22 of their own to turn a six-point deficit after one into a three-point halftime lead.

Then in a solid all-around third quarter, the Lakers opened an 11-point lead, but the Spurs chipped six points off that margin to create a 73-68 margin into the fourth. There, Gasol was terrific, as documented by his eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the final period alone as the Spurs never got closer than six points.

“Pau is a good director out there with the ball,” said Jackson. “He is unselfish, he reads the defenses well. He made some really goo passes tonight and I told him his defense was good.”

“(Gasol) put it together tonight,” added an admiring Bryant after the game. “We’ve seen glimpses of that this season … hopefully he can keep it up.”

Whether Gasol will have Bryant at his side when he and the rest of the Lakers face Utah on Wednesday night* is yet to be determined, however.
*Bynum is doubtful

“I’ll make a decision on Wednesday,” said Kobe. “Game-time decision. If I’m ready to go I’ll play.”

Yet as Bryant acknowledged, if the Lakers play team basketball as they did in defeating the Blazers and Spurs without him, there’s little need for him to rush it in Salt Lake City.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
4 Personal fouls committed by the Lakers in the second half, to 12 by the Spurs. That resulted in 13 free throws to six for San Antonio.

7 Lakers who scored at least eight points.

20 Spurs points in the paint in the first quarter alone as Tony Parker repeatedly got into the lane, aided by the absence of Andrew Bynum. L.A. improved significantly afterwards, however, holding S.A. to 28 paint points for the rest of the game.

43.9 L.A.’s winning percentage (18-23) without Kobe Bryant since 2003-04 in 41 games heading into the victory over the Spurs.

46 Minutes played by Pau Gasol, who did yeoman’s work in a 21-point, 19-rebound, 8-assist, 5-block effort.

The first question asked of Phil Jackson in Monday’s pregame presser was, of course, regarding the status of Kobe Bryant for the evening’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

“Kobe’s not going to play tonight,” said Jackson.

On Saturday night in Portland, Bryant had missed his first game since Dec. 8, 2006, due to injury because of a sprained left ankle upon which he had an MRI on Monday morning. Jackson said that he was “not informed enough to talk about” the results of the exam, but said that Bryant wants to play in Utah on Wednesday.

“I think if he feels like he can play, he’s going to play,” said Jackson. “He’s not going to sit out just because that might extend the duration (for) which he doesn’t have to play.”

As such, Bryant will be re-evaluated on Tuesday morning, and again on Wednesday prior to the game in Salt Lake City, L.A.’s last before the All-Star break.

Preparing for a game is always a bit more difficult when coaches aren’t sure which players will be available, particularly when one of those players is Kobe Bryant.

Heading into Monday’s contest against the Spurs, Bryant remains a game-time decision with a sprained ankle, while Andrew Bynum is not expected to play due to a hip contusion he suffered in Portland on Saturday.

Nonetheless, assistant coach Jim Cleamons joined us to take a look at Tim Duncan and his San Antonio Spurs.

Kobe Bryant, who on Saturday in Portland missed his first game since Dec. 8, 2006, had an MRI exam on his sprained ankle Monday morning and is a game-time decision for the San Antonio game.

Phil Jackson said after Monday’s shootaround that the results of the exam would not be available until later on in the evening. Jackson will likely address the issue during his pregame media session at STAPLES Center.

Andrew Bynum, who suffered a hip contusion against Portland on Saturday evening, will miss Monday’s game against San Antonio, according to Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson.

Bynum had missed only two of L.A.’s first 52 games.

Among the reasons Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was eager to get Ron Artest into L.A.’s doors in the offseason was the forward’s solid three-point shooting.

And after a slow start, Artest has gotten hot from distance, improving to 40.1 percent from three-point range to lead the Lakers:

Lakers Three-Point Percentage (minimum 50 attempts):
1) Ron Artest – 40.1
2) Sasha Vujacic – 35.8
3) Derek Fisher – 35.0
4) Jordan Farmar – 34.7
5) Shannon Brown – 33.3
6) Kobe Bryant – 32.7
7) Lamar Odom – 29.5

Artest has been particularly hot in February, nailing 8-of-13 attempts, including three straight big ones to turn the tide of L.A.’s road win in Portland on Saturday:

Artest Month-by-Month From Three
October/November: 39.1 percent
December: 32.7 percent
January: 43.1 percent
February: 61.5 percent

Among a few explanations for Artest’s increased accuracy is his improved understanding of L.A.’s offense – thus, where to get his shots – and his improved health, which he detailed after the Lakers win in Philadelphia on Jan. 29.

Artest, a career 34.7 percent shooter from three that shot 39.9 percent last season, currently ranks 23rd in the NBA in three-point percentage; the No. 10 spot (42.9 percent) is well within range particularly if his shooting trend continues.

Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Blazers contest in Portland while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to snap an nine-game losing streak in the Rose Garden.

Inactives
Lakers: Kobe Bryant*
Blazers: Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Joel Pryzbilla
*No, really … more on that below.

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Artest, Odom Gasol and Bynum
Blazers: Andre Miller, Jerryd Bayless, Martell Webster, LaMarcus Aldridge, Juwan Howard

Kobe Bryant Out For First Time Since Dec. 8, 2006
How about that? Kobe ALWAYS plays, so his sprained ankle was obviously really bothering him to the point that he didn’t feel like he could help significantly (CLICK HERE to read more). Portland was dealing with its own injury to a star player, as Brandon Roy was set to miss his 10th straight game with a right hamstring strain.

First Quarter
12:00 No Kobe + No Roy = A Bit Less Energy. Portland’s always among the loudest arenas in the league, particularly when the Lakers are in town, but there was certainly some deflation with the stars from each team in dress clothes.

7:22 Juwan Howard, who’s literally one of three players still in the NBA from his 1994 Draft Class (Jason Kidd and Grant Hill), made all four of his face-up jump shots to give Portland an early 12-8 edge.

0:03.3 Before the game, assistant coach Brian Shaw mentioned his curiosity to see which players would step up in Bryant’s absence. While the first quarter was a collective effort, Shannon Brown distinguished himself with a team-high nine points in seven minutes thanks to 4-of-5 shooting, including a quarter-ending and-1 that cut Portland’s lead to 29-26 despite the Blazers’ 62.3 percent shooting.

Second Quarter
9:21 Little things plagued the Lakers early on in this one, including a defensive lapse from Brown that left Rudy Fernandez – among Portland’s best three-point shooters – wide open at the end of the shot clock when Brown stepped in to double Steve Blake. Fernandez swished the open look, putting Portland up 37-28.

3:30 After a solid steal and resulting fastbreak layup from Derek Fisher (whose minutes were up considerably with Bryant on the bench since Phil Jackson needed his floor leadership), Gasol laid in near the rim to tie the game at 41. The bucket capped an 11-2 run for the Lakers, who at that point were led by Brown’s 14 points and seven boards from Odom.

0:00.1 Ron Artest caught fire for the Lakers to close the half, nailing three consecutive three-pointers including a buzzer-beating bomb from just inside the halfcourt line to give L.A. a 54-48 cushion.

Third Quarter
12:00 Already playing without Bryant, L.A. learned that it would be without Bynum for the second half due to a hip contusion he suffered early in the first quarter.

9:54 Fisher continued a solid game by nailing his second three-pointer of the first two minutes, keeping L.A.’s lead at six as he climbed to 14 points. His season high, accomplished three times, was 15 heading into the game (one of those games was L.A.’s first in Portland on Jan. 8).

3:44 Into a full time out, the Blazers shooting percentage had gone straight down the tubes since a 63.2% first quarter. Forced largely into settling for jumpers, Portland had converted just 11-for-30 (36%) from the field to trail 67-59. L.A., meanwhile, turned again to Artest, whose back-to-back buckets got him to a game-high 19 points before Gasol’s quarter-ending dunk (courtesy of Farmar’s pick-and-roll dish) gave L.A. a 73-64 edge after three. Artest, Fisher and Brown had combined for 50 of L.A.’s 73 points, while Gasol (8), Odom (6) and Bynum (6) had just 20.

Fourth Quarter
9:00 Sasha Vujacic, who couldn’t get anything to go against Denver (missing all five of his three-point attempts) nailed his first shot of the night, a two, that preceded Jordan Farmar’s three-pointer moments later to put L.A. up 78-66. We’d be remiss not to mention Odom’s fantastic work on the glass after he grabbed his 19th board to match his season high.

6:23 Farmar nailed another triple to give L.A. its biggest lead to that point as the bench contributed a solid opening to the fourth. They were simply getting a bit of production from everyone who entered the game … you know, the whole rally-around-the-flag bit.

2:14 On defense, Odom grabbed his 22nd rebound to tie a career high (previous in March of 2008 vs Golden State), while on offense Gasol became the sixth Laker in double figures. The game concluded moments later at a 99-82 clip, leaving your postgame numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
3,000 Career assists reached by Lamar Odom early in the third quarter to become the eighth fastest player in NBA history to 3,000 assists and 6,000 rebounds. It’s quite a list in front of him: Larry Bird, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor.

63.2 Portland’s shooting percentage in the first quarter, rendering 29 points. From there on, however, they couldn’t hit a thing, finishing at just 43.7 percent.

22 Odom’s career-high rebounding total in an impressive all-around game that also featured 10 points, six assists, a steal and a block.

6 Lakers in double-figures, including Ron Artest (21), Shannon Brown (19), Derek Fisher (14), Pau Gasol (13), Jordan Farmar (12) and Lamar Odom (10)

5 Years it had been since the Lakers won in Portland, when they earned a 86-83 victory on Feb. 23, 2005, a nine-game stretch.

Late in L.A.’s win over Charlotte on Wednesday, Andrew Bynum collided knees with the Bobcats’ Stephen Jackson, which he said affected his movement in that game and Friday night’s loss to Denver.

“It’s bothering me, but I’m going to play through it and get some rest over the All-Star break,” said Bynum. “But it’s not anything too bad.”

So, while Bynum doesn’t have full range of motion in his knee, it’s not something he’s confident won’t be a lasting issue.

To help appease the problem, Bynum is wearing a Styrofoam pad under a knee sleeve on his left knee, and he continues to wear a larger brace on his right knee. That right knee is the one that Bynum spent much of the offseason strengthening after tearing his right MCL last Jan. 31st in Memphis.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will miss Saturday evening’s game in Portland due to his sprained left ankle, an injury he originally suffered in Philadelphia on Jan. 29 and that he aggravated against Charlotte on Wednesday.

It will be the first game Bryant has missed due to injury since Dec. 8, 2006, when a sprained ankle kept him out of L.A.’s game against Atlanta.

He will be re-evaluated on Sunday in Los Angeles; the Lakers next game is on Monday, Feb. 8, against San Antonio.

Blazers All-Star Brandon Roy will not play in Saturday evening’s contest against the Lakers due to his strained right hamstring, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian.

When Portland defeated the Lakers 107-98 on Jan. 8, the fourth-year guard had 32 points on 9-of-11 field goals and 13-of-14 free throws, plus six assists and five rebounds. L.A. was without Pau Gasol in that game due to a hamstring strain of his own, but the Spaniard will start on Saturday. Kobe Bryant (ankle) will also start for the Lakers.

Roy, who has missed nine straight games, will be replaced by second-year guard Jerryd Bayless in the starting lineup.

Throughout the first week of the 2008-09 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers found themselves amidst a heavyweight fight, going blow for blow with the Denver Nuggets.

L.A. took Game 1 by two points, dropped Game 2 by three points, snatched Game 3 on the road by six and then lost by 19 in Game 4. Not a lot of room for error, to be sure.

Then in the third quarter of Game 5, Kobe Bryant fully figured out Denver’s aggressive, trapping defense to turn what had been a seven-point deficit into a nine-point victory. L.A. carried nearly the same formula into Game 6 at Denver, and clinched the series on the road in more-than-convincing fashion, 119-92.

Friday’s matchup at STAPLES Center, however, took place in early February, not late May.

Among the differences: while the Lakers were focused on winning, not a great deal was at stake; Kobe Bryant was playing on a bad ankle, while Carmelo Anthony opted not to play for the seventh straight game due to his own injured ankle; the teams had met only once this season, back on Nov. 13 when the Nuggets beat a Pau-Gasol-less Lakers team on a back-to-back.

“It’s more difficult in the regular season because in the playoffs you’re only focusing on that one team,” said assistant coach Jim Cleamons. “We realize that Denver is our opponent tonight, but we’re going to see a different defense tomorrow night in Portland. There is a rhythm that players get accustomed to, and that’s more difficult in this case.”

As such, it wasn’t surprising to see an up-and-down game in which the Lakers built big leads, then watched Denver shoot its way right back into the contest before the Nuggets nailed nine second half threes to ultimately make the game’s final run and earn a 126-113 road win.

Chauncey Billups alone hit five of his nine total three-pointers in the third quarter that Phil Jackson said ultimately changed the course of the game for good, but there were so many hard-to-explain runs, we had to keep a detailed log of the swings in quarter-by-quarter fashion:

First Quarter
5:09 Remember how Kobe hurt his ankle last game and some though him “questionable” for the game? He responded by sinking his second straight three, from the same spot after pulling up in transition, to climb to 5-of-6 from the field for 13 of L.A.’s 24 points to create an 11-point lead as L.A. threw the first punch. In related news, Bryant is not a normal person.

0:04.6 Chauncey Billups drew a foul from Kobe while attempting a three-pointer, making 2-of-3 free throws to cap an 11-0 answer amidst a 17-4 overall run as the Lakers nearly fell asleep after that terrific Bryant-inspired start.

0:00.5 Remember the NCAA title-winning dunk for NC State in 1983, when Lorenzo Charles caught a halfcourt desperation attempt and stuffed it home? Well, the stakes weren’t quite as high tonight, but Gasol snatched Bryant’s miss out of the air and dropped it home to tie the game at 30 after one.

Second Quarter
9:00 “Mind over matter for Kobe Bryant” was the 710 ESPN radio call by play-by-play man Spero Dedes after No. 24 dropped his fourth three-pointer of the first half to climb to 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, putting L.A. up 43-36 thanks to a 13-6 run to start the second. Moments later, Bynum left the game in favor of Gasol, after not moving as fast as he has in previous games. Though he managed to score eight points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting with four rebounds, he just wasn’t getting up and down the floor extremely well. Perhaps not coincidentally, Bynum was wearing a left knee sleeve, which hasn’t been the case of late.

3:01 Just as quickly as L.A. built its lead to open the quarter, they once again let Denver come back the other way until the Nuggets led 57-53, a 21-10 streak for the powder blues.

0:05.4 That “game of runs” thing continued to close the half, as L.A. climbed back into the driver’s seat with an 11-2 burst capped by Gasol’s put-back slam of a Josh Powell layup attempt (Powell got six minutes of relief duty, scoring four points with a board). At the break, L.A.’s lead was 64-59.

Third Quarter
4:37 Ready for your next lead swing? The latest to that point came as Bryant got consecutive tough hoops to fall, complaining that he was fouled on each, the latter of which was a spinning, fall-away bank off glass from the elbow that put L.A. up seven.

2:29 You knew what was coming next … this time it was all Billups, who literally nailed three consecutive three-pointers, No.’s 6, 7 and 8 on the night in 10 attempts. That put Denver on a 12-2 run, got him to 34 points on the evening, while Kobe had 27 for the Lakers.

0:02.4 The Nuggets run continued through the end of the quarter, when J.R. Smith capped Billups’ ninth three (seriously) with two free throws to give the Nuggets a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter
9:25 Another run? Really? Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith scored four points apiece off Denver’s bench to cap an 8-0 run that gave the Nuggets their biggest lead of the game at 102-91.

3:48 Bryant’s and-1 layup followed Gasol’s put-back dunk for a quick 5-0 Lakers spurt that cut Denver’s lead to eight as L.A. tried to make a final push…

0:29.9 … But instead, the Nuggets ran off the final run of the game in ridiculous form, making three more three-pointers to finish an absolutely absurd 15-of-22 from distance (68%) and ultimately run away with a 126-113 win.

POSTGAME NUMBERS
3.5 Games between the Lakers (38-13) and Nuggets (34-16) in the standings.

9 Career high three-pointers nailed by Chauncey Billups, including five in the third quarter alone, for 27 of his game-high 39 points.

17 Rebounds for Pau Gasol, plus 17 points.

27 Points for J.R. Smith off the bench, including 19 in the second half. Shannon Brown led the Lakers with 13 off the pine.

33 Points for Kobe Bryant on 11-of-22 shooting, plus nine rebounds despite his injured ankle.

68 Denver’s unheard of shooting percentage from three-point land, including Billups’ 9-of-13 and J.R. Smith’s 3-of-4.

Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to take a look at last season’s Western Conference Finals opponent, the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers handily beat Denver in Games 5 and 6 after a tough first four contests, and this season dropped their only matchup on a road back-to-back at the Pepsi Center when Pau Gasol watched from the sidelines with a strained hamstring.

Hamblen shared with us that the Lakers expect Kobe Bryant (ankle) to play, and have prepared as if Carmelo Anthony (ankle) will play as well (though that appears unlikely). He also detailed the recent success of Chauncey Billups, and suggested how L.A. plans to deal with Nene and Kenyon Martin in the post and J.R. Smith off the bench.

Despite aggravating his ankle sprain against Charlotte on Wednesday, Kobe Bryant is expected to play against Denver on Friday.

Phil Jackson confirmed as much subsequent to Friday morning’s shootaround at L.A.’s practice facility, saying that Bryant participated in limited fashion, though he received treatment during some of the drills.

That Bryant would again battle through an injury comes as no surprise, of course; in fact, Kobe has not missed a game due to injury since Dec. 8, 2006 against Atlanta, when he sat with a newly sprained ankle before returning two days later.

Denver is dealing with its own ankle injury, as All-Star Carmelo Anthony has missed six consecutive games with a sprained ankle, and told Yahoo! Sports that he would not play until it was 100 percent.

The Lakers won’t officially know Anthony’s status until game time, however, and Phil Jackson said that L.A. would prepare for both his inclusion and his exclusion from the contest.

If you missed the two latest episodes of our regular podcast engine on Lakers.com, The Popcorn Machine, here are some highlights from Gary Vitti and Patrick O’Keefe’s respective interviews:

Episode #18: Lakers Head Athletic Trainer Gary Vitti
For the past 26 years, Gary Vitti has run the show for the team both in the training room and off the court. He joined us to discuss the varying responsibilities that come with his job, the freakish toughness of Kobe Bryant and more.

Other topics covered:
– The primary rewards of the job (lasting relationships)
– Disseminating just enough information to the media through the head coach and public relations staff so that as few questions as possible are asked.
– Vitti’s description of as close to a typical day at the office as is possible, starting from before the players report to the time he and his staff finally go home.
– A run through of Vitti’s outstanding staff, which features Director of Athletic Performance Chip Schaeffer, Athletic Performance Coordinator Alex McKechnie, Assistant Athletic Trainer Marco Nunez and Massage Therapist Marko Yrjovouri.
– The inexact science of evaluating sports injuries and constructing treatment plans.
– Why Kobe Bryant is “absolutely the toughest, mentally and pyhsically, athlete that I’ve ever worked with,” and some Kobe anecdotes from Vitti’s 13 years with him.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Episode #19: Lakers Video Coordinator Patrick O’Keefe
Ever wonder what exactly Kobe Bryant watches on film and why? Curious about what Phil Jackson likes to see on game edits that help his team prepare for each and every opponent? You’re in luck, because Lakers video coordinator Patrick O’Keefe joined us on the Popcorn Machine to discuss many of the behind-the-scenes details.

Other topics covered:
– O’Keefe’s routine in Indiana last week, from his pregame preparation to how he cut the video from the first half, and how that edit may have affected the team in the second half.
– Working with and for Kobe Bryant.
– Preparing Bryant specifically for last Friday’s Philadelphia game, specifically by assembling scouting reports for Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Willie Green.
– The locker room set up for video consumption both at home and on the road.
– The importance of knowing personnel around the league in order to prepare video the right way.
– Why Phil Jackson is a terrific coach for a video guy.
– Which Lakers aside from Bryant frequently request videos.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Kobe Bryant, who on Wednesday aggravated a sprained left ankle that he originally suffered in Philadelphia last Friday, spent Thursday afternoon’s practice in full rehabilitation mode.

“He’s working with it,” said Phil Jackson. “He didn’t come out on the court and practice. He’s trying a variety of therapies on it right now to see what will work for him.”

Jackson said he’s sure that Bryant wants to play on Friday against Denver, as he always does, but that the team will have to wait and see how he feels before the game.

A regular question this season regarding Bryant – who’s played through a motley crew of injuries – has been whether or not Jackson has thought about shutting him down.

“It occurred to me yesterday during (L.A.’s win over Charlotte), but I told him he really did quite well during the game,” the head coach responded. “His shooting was 2-for-12, (but) a lot of those balls were dropped on him as the 24-second clock was running out.”

Jackson explained that Bryant kept the team running its offense, played good defense and generally did good things for the Lakers, and as long as that is the case, Jackson has maintained that he won’t keep Kobe off the floor.

Bryant uncharacteristically admitted that he was hurting in his postgame address to the media on Wednesday, but he wasn’t available for comment on Thursday. Yet and still, it certainly wouldn’t surprise Bryant’s teammates to see him in the starting lineup on Friday.

“He usually plays 82 games,” said Lamar Odom. “That wheel is going to really have to hurt for him not to play.”

On Monday evening in Memphis, Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson revealed the results of an aptitude test put on by the NBA Player’s Association that he took after retiring as a player:

– Outdoor adventurer
– Nursery school teacher
– Lawyer
– Minister

Thank goodness for the Lakers – and the Chicago Bulls, for that matter – that he decided to become a basketball coach.

When the Lakers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 99-97 on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Jackson won his 534th game for the Purple and Gold, surpassing Showtime era coach Pat Riley for the most wins in franchise history.

“It’s been a really good run,” said Jackson, who has claimed four of his 10 NBA titles with the Lakers. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them.

“My staff, the guys who help me prepare this team for the games … all those ingredients going into this. It’s not really an individual record in my mind, it’s a team (accomplishment).”

After victory No. 534, Lamar Odom was asked what it’s been like to play for the league’s top coach in terms of both championships and winning percentage.

“Incredible,” said Odom. “Every day I learn something new. He understands people, personalities. Meshing them together is a big deal in basketball.”

That Jackson passed Riley is particularly interesting since the two entered the NBA together as players in 1967, and coached against each other throughout the 1990’s.

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” said Jackson. “We competed against each other in a lot of ways, so there’s some significance to that. I respect his game tremendously and his coaching style too, so that’s something that I take with pride.”

Jackson concluded that while he’ll take the wins, the true measure of a coach and a team is championships won. His only goal for this season, of course, is to help claim title number 16 for the Lakers.

What is it about the Charlotte Bobcats that has killed the Lakers in the past, producing six victories in the last seven meetings between the teams?

Do the bright orange uniforms of a franchise that has yet to make the playoffs act as high-dosage kryptonite for purple and gold? (those colors do clash pretty badly, but to be fair, Charlotte wore its blue-pinstriped kits on Wednesday).

The only other NBA franchise against which the Lakers have an all-time losing record is the Boston Celtics. The Bobcats, meanwhile, have met L.A. just 10 times since the team debuted in Charlotte, winning six of those contests including both meetings last season and three straight at STAPLES Center.

The two wins in 2008-09 allowed the ‘Cats to join Orlando as the only team that the Lakers didn’t beat last regular season, and while L.A. got its revenge and more against Orlando in the Finals, their first shot at the Bobcats didn’t come until Feb. 3rd at STAPLES Center.

Assistant coach Brian Shaw had even quipped during our pregame LakersTV interview that he was going to utilize reverse psychology with the team, simply asking them to keep the game close and not embarrass themselves since Charlotte would inevitably win.

Apparently, Shaw’s (fake) strategy worked, because on this Wednesday evening, Charlotte didn’t manage to shoot the Lakers with its traditional poison arrow in a 99-97 Lakers victory. Yet even without All-Star Gerald Wallace, a first-time All-Star, the Bobcats didn’t make it easy.

Clawing around throughout, the ‘Cats kept things tight until the Lakers ultimately preserved a late lead in the final minutes to emerge with a two-point win.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first three quarters the Lakers played after an eight-game road trip, and the Bobcats managed to cut an eight-point lead halfway through the fourth back to just one before late buckets from Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar sealed the deal.

It was thanks to the terrific all-around play of Odom (19 points, seven rebounds) and Andrew Bynum (17 points, 14 rebounds) that L.A. was in the game in the first place, and fitting that Odom made the game’s biggest play by tipping in a Ron Artest miss with 1:02 left in the game to give L.A. a five-point cushion.

With his team up three and 0:07.9 seconds left on the clock, Farmar put the game on ice by slapping away an inbounds pass that was gathered by Pau Gasol and passed back to L.A.’s backup point guard for a breakaway dunk. Flip Murray did hit a three from near halfcourt at the other end, but it was too little, too late.

Gasol and Kobe Bryant – who tweaked his left ankle at the close of the first half – combined to make just 8-of-25 shots, mandating the collective effort from Odom and Bynum, while Artest chipped in 14 points and Shannon Brown combined with Farmar for 19 off the bench.

“I think (the key) was Lamar coming off the bench and making those big plays and getting his tips in,” said Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson, who led all scorers with 30 points.

Phil Jackson noted the general play of his bench, which outscored Charlotte’s 40-27.

“The bench played well tonight, gave us a little bump which is good to see,” said Phil Jackson. “We survived the night when Kobe really was hampered by his injuries.”

Bryant, who first tweaked his left ankle in Philadelphia on Friday, played through the pain by turning into a passer in the second half, notching four assists in the third quarter but managing just 2-of-12 shots from the field for five points. After the game, Bryant limped out of the locker after uttering this quote: “I was hurting today, to be honest,” a rare admission from perhaps the league’s toughest player.

Gasol, meanwhile, made 6-of-13 shots for his 14 points, but he did add five assists and came up with three blocked shots including a crucial swat of Jackson with 1:16 left in the game and L.A. nursing a three-point lead.

“That’s what we need to do, we need to step up our defense in the last quarter of the game especially,” said Gasol. “There’s no other way to do it … get stops, get extra possessions, and now that I’m in better shape as far as my legs go I need to help on that aspect of the game even more.”

Odom, who scored L.A.’s final six points of the third and accounted for its first five of the fourth to create some breathing room, created much of his offense off six offensive rebounds. Ironically, Jackson had mentioned before the game that Odom didn’t need to – or like to – force his offense as he had to before Gasol arrived and Bynum emerged. But as the rest of the team stalled, Odom filled the void.

“He’s extremely versatile and he can contribute in many ways,” said Gasol, who noted Odom’s 8-of-10 performance from the field. “He read the mismatches that he had well and was able to attack and put the ball into the basket.”

As a result, the Lakers took home their league best 24th home victory to climb to 38-12 on the season heading into a tough back-to-back against Denver and Portland set for Friday and Saturday.

Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
534 Wins while coaching the Lakers for Phil Jackson, surpassing Pat Riley’s previous Lakers record of 533. After the game, Jackson credited his players and fellow coaches for the honor.

34.8 L.A.’s shooting percentage in a sluggish first quarter, perhaps reflecting the team reacquainting itself with STAPLES Center after an eight-game road trip. They improved, however, to finish at 46.4 percent for the game.

9 Rebounds corralled by Andrew Bynum in the first quarter alone. He’d finish with 14 to lead the Lakers, four short of his season high.

7 More rebounds collected by the Bobcats, which L.A. overcame in part by forcing twice as many Charlotte turnovers (14) as it committed (seven).

3 Blocks from Pau Gasol to lead L.A., including a clutch swat of Stephen Jackson with 1:16 remaining in the game and the Lakers clinging to a three-point lead.

Coaches around the NBA often remind their players of one of the toughest games on the schedule: the first home game after a long road trip.

There’s a tendency to let the proverbial guard down and relax in the comforts of one’s home, which the Lakers are finally experiencing after a 13-day trek across the country. But as assistant coach Brian Shaw told us, that’s the last thing L.A. can do against a gritty Charlotte Bobcats team that has long had the Lakers’ number.

Last season, the Bobcats first defeated the Lakers at home in double overtime, then proceeded to win by 10 points in North Carolina on March 31.

One major blow to the ‘Cats for Wednesday’s game was to lose All-Star Gerald Wallace to a hamstring injury, which allows the Lakers to push Ron Artest over to Stephen Jackson and Kobe Bryant on Flip Murray (once Murray enters for starter Steven Graham).

Shaw explained what the Bobcats like to do on offense, how to attack them defensively and detailed their most dangerous lineup heading into the 7:30 PM tipoff.

So natural and unique is his game and his contribution, Lamar Odom has at least to a certain degree existed under the radar throughout his NBA career.

Yet with just eight more assists, the lanky lefty will become the seventh fastest player in league history to reach 6,000 career rebounds and 3,000 assists, a true mark of his versatility.

In 714 career games, Odom has amassed 10,584 points, 2,992 dimes and 6,338 rebounds, and is set to join an extremely impressive club of 3,000 and 6,000:

1) Larry Bird (574 games)
2) Chris Webber (667)
3) Kevin Garnett (681)
4) Oscar Robertson (688)
5) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (691)
6) Wilt Chamberlain (691)

If Odom doesn’t drop eight assists on Wednesday evening against the Bobcats, he’ll likely do so on Friday against Denver, which would tie him for 7th place alongside Lakers legend Elgin Baylor with 716 games.

Not too bad, huh?