LAKERS NOTEBOOK: BRYANT IS TIRED, SORE THE DAY AFTER.Byline: RICH HAMMOND Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer EL SEGUNDO El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and -- Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. shuffled slowly through the Lakers' practice gym Tuesday afternoon, as much from exhaustion as from the sprained ankle A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. he suffered the night before against Indiana. ``I'll catch up on my sleep,'' Bryant said. ``It comes with the territory if you want to get healthy.'' To that end, Bryant appears to have dodged a bullet. Bryant did not practice Tuesday but might play tonight against New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded if his ankle feels strong enough in the morning shootaround. At most, the injury would force him to miss a game or two, rather than several weeks as he initially feared. Bryant injured the ankle when he went up for an off-balance shot and landed on the foot of Pacers center Jeff Foster Jeffrey Douglas Foster (born January 16 1977, in San Antonio, Texas) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. . Bryant winced in pain but was able to walk off the court and later returned to the bench. ``It scared the hell out of me,'' Bryant said after Tuesday's practice. ``When it first happened I thought I would be out two-and-a-half or three weeks. I heard it pop and everything.'' The sprain sprain, stretching or wrenching of the ligaments and tendons of a joint, often with rupture of the tissues but without dislocation. Sprains occur most commonly at the ankle, knee, or wrist joints, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty in moving the involved joint. is described as moderate. Bryant said he did not sleep much Monday night, as he stayed up and did ankle-movement exercises to retain mobility. Bryant described the exercises as ``ABCs,'' in which he rotated his ankle in the shape of letters, and said he was pleased with the relative lack of swelling. ``I'm just glad I know the alphabet,'' Bryant joked. Coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. left open the possibility that Bryant would play tonight but said the Lakers wouldn't ``push the issue.'' Bryant will test the ankle this morning and make a decision about tonight's game. ``Hopefully, with the magic of our trainers, he will be back out there,'' Jackson said. ``It depends on how he's feeling. He's got a good idea of what level he's at.'' Bryant, who missed 14 games with a severe ankle sprain ankle sprain Orthopedics A stretching of the ankle ligaments and/or muscles with swelling two seasons ago, had thoughts about returning to the game Monday, but the Lakers held on despite some anxious fourth-quarter moments. ``We were able to hold it together,'' Bryant said. ``We did it on the defensive end and that's very encouraging. That's how you win biggames.'' If Bryant is unable to start tonight, Maurice Evans will take his place in the lineup. Feeling better: Brian Cook, who missed Monday's game with a case of vertigo, said he felt much better Tuesday and expects to be able to play tonight. Cook said his recent upper-respiratory infection caused a nerve in his ear to become inflamed and caused vertigo. ``I'm just happy to be seeing straight,'' Cook said. ``I walked into the training room (Monday) just kind of using the walls to walk and walking around stumbling.'' Sticking around: The Lakers signed assistant general manager Ronnie Lester to a three-year contract extension. Lester's contract was due to expire at the end of this season. rich.hammond@dailynews.com (818) 713-3611 CAPTION(S): box Box: LAKERS VS. NEW ORLEANS/OKLA. CITY - Rich Hammond |
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