[0] LAKERS NOTEBOOK: SHORT HIATUS FOR KOBE.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

It's a question that coach Phil Jackson and the rest of the Lakers organization hoped they wouldn't have to ponder: Is Kobe Bryant and his sore ankle better off on the injured list, even if it costs the team one or two games in the tight Western Conference playoff race?

All involved acted as though it was a no-brainer Friday night, when Bryant's strained left ankle was deemed not serious enough to warrant a trip to the injured list and an automatic five-game absence from the lineup.

Instead, Bryant sat out Friday's game against the Washington Wizards and said he will miss Sunday's game at Sacramento. The team hopes that will give Bryant, who is also suffering from a lingering injury to his right ankle, enough rest to come back strong for the final 11 games of the regular season.

``I was pretty confident that I wouldn't have to go (on the injured list),'' Bryant said after the Lakers defeated the Wizards 104-91. ``It feels pretty good when I walk, but when I'm out there running around, it gets worse and worse. It's tricky; some days it feels better than others.

``I didn't want to go on IR; that would be tough to swallow. If I went out and ended up being healthy and able to play some of those games, that would be tough.''

Bryant, who injured the left ankle in the final minutes of the Lakers' loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday, walked toward the Staples Center parking lot without a noticeable limp.

``We spent some time talking about (Bryant going on the injured list), but it isn't serious enough to deem putting him off of it for 12 days,'' Jackson said. ``Perhaps he won't play this weekend, but we might need him next Wednesday or Friday.

``It's not dangerous enough to where he's not going to feel better in four or five days. That's an eternity for a NBA player. In an ideal situation, maybe we'd sit him down for a month, but we don't have a month.''

The Lakers don't have a whole lot of healthy players left either. The team placed guard Tyronn Lue on the injured list with a sprained right ankle and activated guard Mike Penberthy. Lue had been playing through the ankle injury, which he suffered in the March 11 game against Seattle.

Also, forward Robert Horry missed the game with a cervical strain in his neck, and Isaiah Rider played despite being sent home from the morning shootaround with a viral infection.

--Lineup shuffle: Injuries to Bryant, Lue and Ron Harper (left knee) left the Lakers with a starting backcourt of Derek Fisher and Brian Shaw, with Penberthy and Rider as the only backups.

Penberthy had been on the injured list for the past 10 games with an injured shoulder, but he was the first guard off the bench Friday,two minutes ahead of Rider, who entered the game to a large ovation from the Staples Center crowd.

--Trouble within? Before the game, Jackson briefly and somewhat reluctantly addressed his recent criticism of Bryant. The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Jackson as saying, among other things, that Bryant was ``bored'' in the Lakers' triangle offense.

Jackson said he had spoken to Bryant about the article, but did not go into details about the conversation.

``We have talked about it,'' Jackson said. ``I don't know about working it all out or if it's all right now, but we talked about it.

``Kobe and myelf have had good communication and we've been working on it all year. I think the real problem is with people who keep bringing up these rumors and innuendo.''

Shaquille O'Neal, whose relationship with Bryant has been well documented, was typically cryptic when asked about Bryant and Jackson.

``(Jackson) has never said any of that stuff in the locker room, so I have no reason to pay attention to that,'' O'Neal said. ``What we did last year worked, so why shouldn't it work this year? Last year we received the highest honor we could achieve (a NBA championship), so why would we go away from that.''