Lakers guard Kobe Bryant hopes to return Tuesday against Memphis after missing the past five games because of an injured left ankle and tendon. And it couldn't come soon enough, jokingly threatening that if he doesn't return to the lineup by then, "he's firing everybody."

The Lakers have managed just fine, going 4-1 during his absence and Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix says that simply illustrates the team's depth. There should be no debate valuing Bryant's value to the team (it's high). But there's a valid debate on whether the Lakers' 4-1 record during Bryant's absence came as a result of better team chemistry, something that wasn't always present when Bryant was on the floor because of his want to carry the team and team passivity. 

That being said, Joseph Treutlein, co-owner of Hoopdata.com, wrote in The NY Times' Off the Dribble blog that the main issue didn't involve offensive efficiency since that actually worsened during Bryant's absence. But the team made up for that with strong defensive performances. 

And then don't forget in the Lakers' recent loss to the Boston Celtics, NBC Los Angeles' Kurt Helin provided a good reminder that Bryant sure would've been helpful in making a game-winning shot, something he's done in five games including the Lakers' last meeting against Boston on Jan. 31.

It's still a few days before the Lakers will play, let alone Bryant. So in the meantime, Forum Blue and Gold has been passing the time by watching Bryant tribute videos

More Lakers links (after the jump)

Beware of any movement within the Lakers organization the following week. We're not talking about trades. That deadline has already passed. We're talking about the repercussions if Lakers guard Kobe Bryant isn't healthy enough to play Tuesday against Memphis.

"If not, I'm firing everybody," joked Bryant, who has missed the past five games because of a left ankle and tendon injury. 

All kidding aside, Bryant anticipates playing against Memphis after practice Saturday, but he'll have a much better idea how he feels tomorrow when he gets treatment.

The Lakers' schedule this week couldn't come at a better time. After their 87-86 loss Thursday to the Boston Celtics, the Lakers had the day off Friday, a short practice Saturday and plan for another day off Sunday before playing Tuesday at Memphis . With Bryant's sprained left ankle, Andrew Bynum's right hip, Luke Walton's pinched nerve in his lower back and Sasha Vujacic's sprained right shoulder, the Lakers hope the extra rest is the right subscription for full recovery.

The most urgent case obviously involves Bryant because of his skill level and because he's on pace to recover fairly soon. Bynum has already returned to the lineup for the past two games. Walton is out indefinitely. And Vujacic is expected to miss "a couple weeks," the team said Saturday.

And after today's practice, Bryant says there were several things that pleased him, including his elevation ("I can jump."), his conditioning ("I'm really fortunate I got these really huge lungs.") and his level of pain ("The ankle is still a little sore in certain points, but it went away." )

He joked that he would've stayed in the lineup had he known he was a game away from playing in 1,000 career contests, a feat guard Derek Fisher ultimately reached before Bryant ("I would've just limped through the game."). He kicked around the idea that Walton proposed when the Lakers trailed Boston by one with 2.2 seconds remaining ("He said next time what you do when you can’t play is sit on the bench in your uniform. If it comes down to that situation, just send yourself in like Mariano Rivera."). And then the interview came to a screeching halt when Bryant was asked what he thought of Tiger Woods' apology ("I'll catch ya'll later" as he walked away with a frustrated look.).

Kobe Bryant, who has missed the last five games with a sprained left ankle, practiced Saturday and said he plans on playing Tuesday when the Lakers play at Memphis.

Bryant will have been out for 18 days since he last played in a game.

He said the ankle was still sore after practice Saturday.

Still, when asked if he was playing on Tuesday, Bryant smiled.

"I should be. If not I'm firing everybody," Bryant said. "It's been long enough."

Sasha Vujacic suffered a sprained right shoulder during Thursday night's game and will be out for several weeks, the Lakers said.

The Lakers don't play again until next Tuesday at Memphis, inevitably leaving more time in between for fans and the team to stomach its 87-86 loss Thursday to the Boston Celtics.

The Times' Mike Bresnahan noted the team's poor shooting in the final minutes of the game. I documented how Celtics guard Ray Allen had a big night in an otherwise sluggish season. And the Kamenetzky Brothers described in detail the numerous challenges the Lakers will face for the rest of the season.

While Silver Screen and Roll break down how some of those challenges could include the numerous trades made around the league, Forum Blue and Gold says it's not exactly sold on Cleveland's trade involving Antawn Jamison, and it's not just because his debut entailed a zero of 12 clip in the Cavs' 110-93 loss Friday to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Fans have certainly aired their grievances too, with some of them wanting The Times' Broderick Turner to offer some solutions. But as ESPN Los Angeles' Arash Markazi wants to remind fans to relax and remember an 82-game season presents many highs and lows.

More Lakers links (after the jump)

It's a time period the Lakers and many of their fans don't like to revisit. The 2004 NBA Finals, you know, the one where the Detroit Pistons upset the Lakers and denied them their fourth championship in five years.

But Coach Phil Jackson brought up that season in context with the latest trading deadline. After Rasheed Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks from the Portland Trail Blazers, the Pistons acquired the current Boston Celtics forward in a three-team trade involving Boston and Atlanta. The effect was felt instantly that season, resulting in an NBA championship.

Jackson didn't see any of the trades this past week bearing the same magnitude. And the Lakers made no moves before the deadline, meaning they'll look to defend their NBA championship with nearly the same roster as last season's, with exception to the essentially off-season swap with Trevor Ariza to Houston and Ron Artest to L.A. Nonetheless, Jackson still kept an eye on specific moves from the perspective on how it could affect the Lakers in the postseason.

Jackson seconded the viewpoint of General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who recently told The Times' Mike Bresnahan that Dallas' acquisition of Washington forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood will be significant. The Clippers trade involving shipping defensive specialist Marcus Camby to Portland also caught Jackson's eye because the Trail Blazers (32-15) are slated to face the top-seeded Lakers (42-14) in the first round of the playoffs.

But there was one trade Jackson initially refused to discuss, that one involving Cleveland's acquisition of forward Antawn Jamison from Washington for center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A little bit of prodding revealed Jackson's true feelings.

"I don't know what that does for them to tell you the truth," Jackson said. "They're going to get Ilgauskas back and it's going to be one of those scenarios we see in the NBA where you ship a player out, then you get another player, then that player retires and they pay him off. Then he comes back in 30 days. I don't know what that does for the league. I think it's kind of a weird situation."

So this was the player the Celtics were supposedly trading.

Guard Ray Allen had often been the subject of trade rumors as the deadline approached. And the reasons were fairly obvious. Though he's part of the Big Three, including forward Kevin Garnett and guard Paul Pierce, Allen has shot a career-low 33.3% this season.

Yet, despite having a two of 10 effort Jan. 31 against the Lakers, he scored a team-high 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting in the Lakers' 87-86 loss Thursday to the Celtics. And after a look through the game footage, Derek Fisher's contention that Allen's performance stemmed between Allen being a good shooter and team defensive breakdowns is pretty accurate.

"Obviously he's a great shooter. Sometimes they’re not going to be really anything you can do to maybe keep him from having the type of night he had tonight," said Fisher, who largely struggled defending Allen. "But there were a few times where we didn’t defensively react the way we needed to, which allowed him in particular a couple transition threes and he got a dunk in transition. Those are points you cant give him. If he makes a shot with a hand in his face, you have to give him credit for being Ray Allen. There are some times when he was wide open and those are the breakdowns we can’t have in a game like that."

Although Fisher isn't absolved from some blame for those lapes, the film shows that the problem wasn't squarely solely on him and Shannon Brown. Though they often trailed Allen's efficient cutting from screens, rarely did the rest of the team help adjust its defensive strategy. Below is a breakdown on all of Allen's shot attempts.

In any one-point loss, including the Lakers' 87-86 defeat Thursday to the Boston Celtics, there's always various areas that could have shifted the balance the other way. It's part of the perils in competition where the margin of defeat or victory is disproportionate to the number of factors that led to the final outcome. Or in more simpler terms, the little things start piling up.

There was of course the absence of Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (sprained left ankle), which the Lakers successfully stomached for the previous four games but could've benefitted from his clutch play down the stretch. That role should've gone to forward Pau Gasol, but he proved against Boston he's not entirely comfortable being the main man during crunch time, wrote the Orange County Register's Kevin Ding.

Instead, it was Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who attempted the final shot, but the Daily News' Vincent Bonsignore said the "shot never had a chance." It was a final shot that would not have been necessary had the Lakers made shots late in the game, including Shannon Brown going zero of four in the final quarter. The Times' Broderick Turner summed up it was a tough night for the Lakers' back court, with Fisher and Brown combining for only three of 18 from the field. And while noting the Lakers' poor shooting in the fourth quarter, Forum Blue and Gold also pointed out that "the game started out with Boston taking an early and healthy lead due to unbelievably accurate shooting and some sloppy Lakers offense."

Yet, the loss didn't really mean much to Silver Screen and Roll because "I saw enough to know that these guys are getting ready for the stretch run." As for the Celtics, Coach Doc Rivers made not the see the victory as more important than any others, but ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg says the latest victory provides proof that the Celtics shouldn't be written off this season.

More Lakers links (after the jump)

Lakers Guard Derek Fisher

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson

Lakers Forward Pau Gasol

Lakers forward Lamar Odom

--Mark Medina

Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

With the whistles coming later than expected, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson remained expressionless with a stone-cold face masking his obvious frustration.

Forward Lamar Odom just missed a layup, leading many to think the team finished on the losing end of a Lakers-Celtics matchup that featured many peaks and valleys. But the Lakers were given a timeout with 2.2 seconds remaining. Great that the team had a second chance. Bad that the Lakers expected that timeout much earlier. Lakers forward Pau Gasol said he called the timeout immediately after Paul Pierce missed a layup with 5.8 seconds remaining.

"I think I made eye contract with the referee," Gasol said. "The refree decided not to call the timeout. I thought we made eye contact and I think they showed the replay. I thought the guys looked at me and they didn’t call it."

They did, but again with 2.2 seconds remaining as Lakers trailed by one. During Kobe Bryant's absence because of a left sprained knee, Jackson had determined that the offense flows through everybody. But if he had to choose who would attempt a game-winning shot, it would be Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who's had his fair collection of big shots, including the one with 0.4 of a second left in the 2004 conference semifinals in San Antonio and two big three pointers in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic.

Yet, when Ron Artest threw an inbounds pass to Fisher, the circumstances allowed that him to only muster an off-balance 21-foot shot that was heavily contested by Boston guard Ray Allen. Fisher's attempt only hit air and the Celtics left Staples Center with a 87-86 victory, ending the Lakers' four-game winning streak.

Celtics 87, Lakers 86 (final)

The Lakers had one last chance to pull out a victory over the Boston Celtics without their star on Thursday night at Staples Center.

But Derek Fisher, who had a horrible shooting night, put up an off-balanced jumper as time expired, failing to draw rim and sending the Lakers to their first loss in five games.

Kobe Bryant missed his fifth consecutive game with a sprained left ankle.The Lakers don't play again until Tuesday night in Memphis, meaning that if Bryant plays then, he'll have rested his ankle for 18 days.

But the Lakers aren't sure when Bryant will play again.

Fisher was one-for-nine shooting from the field, his last shot not even close.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 22 points.

The Lakers remain 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the best record in the NBA. But the Denver Nuggets, who defeated the Cavaliers earlier Thursday night, are five games behind the Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference

Ray Allen (24 points) gave the Lakers the business, which was something he didn't do in the first meeting this season.

Allen was two for 10, missing all six three-point attempts, in the game last month in Boston. He had just seven points.

Even with that, the Lakers showed how tough they are without Bryant.

The Lakers fell behind by nine points early in the fourth, but they rallied back.

When Lamar Odom made a three-pointer that tied the score at 80-80, the crowd roared.

Odom just smiled as he came back down court.

-- Broderick Turner

Photo: Celtics forward Paul Pierce is tied up by Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic as he tries to drive against Ron Artest in the first half Thursday night. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Phil Jackson previewing Lakers-Celtics

--Mark Medina

Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Kobe Bryant missed his fifth consecutive game Thursday night because of a sprained left ankle, the Lakers said before they played the Boston Celtics at Staples Center.

The Lakers don't play again until Tuesday night at Memphis.

If Bryant were to play in that game, he would have been out of action for 18 days, giving his ankle more time to get healthy.

But the Lakers aren't saying when Bryant will play again.

Also, Lakers guard Derek Fisher entered Thursday night's game six points shy of 9,000 for his 14-year career.

Fisher has scored 6,202 of his career points with the Lakers, the rest with the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.

-- Broderick Turner

It's not the typical way these things work, what with Lakers forward Ron Artest aiming for the diplomatic route but Pau Gasol not afraid to provide bulletin-board material.

Artest had no interest whatsoever in talking about his matchup with Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who was limited in their last meeting in January to 15 points on four of 11 shooting in a chippy outing that started right from the opening tip.

"I’m really beyond that," Artest said.  "It’s a new day. It’s a whole new day. I can’t really focus on the past."

Meanwhile, Gasol was asked about forward Kevin Garnett, who has largely struggled with a knee injury. Even though Gasol's response was probably stating the obvious, that probably won't bode well for the Celtics power forward, especially given his irritation when asked about his own injury.

"I don’t know what exactly is going on with him," Gasol said. "I think he's struggling. He's physically limited obviously. But that's all I know and that's all I see and all I heard. He competes and is still a competitor and still plays. I still feel like he's limited. Otherwise he'd be contributing a lot more."

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and guard Kobe Bryant decided to take the more conventional route, saying that the Celtics are still a threat in the East, despite the team's age (the Big Three featuring Ray Allen, Garnett and Paul Pierce are in their 30s), injuries (Marquis Daniels’ thumb, Pierce’s knee and Garnett’s leg were hurt in December) and record (33-18 mark is fourth in the Eastern Conference).

"They’re going to be in this right up until the end," Jackson said. "I think they’re going to be one of the teams in the East that’s running for their money."

-- Mark Medina

Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

While several teams pulled together trades that could bear great postseason significance, the Lakers  remained quiet before today's trade deadline.

The Mavericks pulled off a trade with Washington over the All-Star break, with the main asset being Caron Butler. Portland got defensive stalwart Marcus Camby, as the Clippers cleared cap space, presumably to give them a better chance of landing LeBron James this summer. 

The Cavaliers are trying to give James every reason to want to stay, hoping their recent acquisition of Washington forward Antawn Jamison makes a difference. In an interesting twist, that transaction was part of a three-team trade in which  the Cavs also got former Clipper Sebastian Telfair, Washington got former Clipper Al Thornton and the Clippers received former Wizards forward Drew Gooden. 

There was another significant three-team trade reported, this one involving Houston, Sacramento and New York. The Knicks get Tracy McGrady from the Rockets and guard Sergio Rodriguez from the Kings; the Rockets obtain Sacramento guard Kevin Martin and New York forwards Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries, as well as some draft considerations.  And then there's Boston's  apparent acquisition of New York guard Nate Robinson.

All of this movement isn't to say Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak hasn't spent a lot of this week on the phone, much like any person in a team's front office. They tried working out a deal for Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, but to no avail. 

"We don’t seem to have anything going in our arena," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "Everything seems to be going on everywhere else."

More Lakers links (after the jump)

The Lakers weren't active before the trade deadline, and Coach Phil Jackson hasn't seen anything that would make him activate Kobe Bryant tonight against Boston.

As expected, the Lakers didn't make any moves before today's noon deadline, keeping their team intact as they push for the NBA's best regular-season record over the next two months and, possibly, the franchise's 16th NBA championship.

Jackson was asked about the Cleveland Cavaliers' acquisition of Antawn Jamison and answered with a smile, "I don't care about that."

Jackson was also asked if Bryant would play tonight.

"Not that I know of," he said.

Bryant exhorted teammates at the Thursday morning shoot-around, likely urging them to play well against Boston, but did not take part in any physical activity, Jackson said.

Bryant is expected to miss his fifth consecutive game because of a sore left ankle. Bryant said Wednesday he was bothered more by a sore peroneal tendon in the ankle than by a sprain. 

-- Mike Bresnahan

The job security involving Lakers forward Pau Gasol couldn't be much greater. Nearly two years since the Lakers acquired him in a trade with Memphis, it's been natural lately to reflect on the immediate impact he's brought to the team. In addition to providing Kobe Bryant a much-needed complementary player in the post, the Lakers have won a championship, made two Finals appearances and are 136-39 in the regular season since Gasol's acquisition.

Yet even with Gasol agreeing to a three-year extension in December worth up to a reported $64.7 million, depending on the NBA salary-cap figures to be determined in 2011, he provided an interesting answer when a reporter mentioned that he's pretty safe as  today's trade deadline approaches.

"This I where I want to be and I will work hard to continue to be," Gasol said.

The conversation arrived at that point soon after he was asked if anyone on the team had addressed the trade rumors involving the Lakers -- presumably combinations involving Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Adam Morrison and Josh Powell for Chicago guard Kirk Hinrich. Though Gasol downplayed any type of discussion, he offered an interesting perspective on how players react to the never-ending trade reports that circulate, particularly during this time of the season. The quote below provides a case study on how trade rumors feed the fans' insatiable appetite for discussion, become a poker game among teams' front offices and create uncertainty for the players involved.

"It's kind of interesting when it doesn’t have to do with you, especially if you're in a good spot and a good situation that you would never want to be moved from," said Gasol, who had recounted his trade experience from Memphis recently to The Times' Mike Bresnahan. "That's the way I feel. When you want to be moved and there's rumors, that makes it a little bit interesting and distracting to you and your play. But sometimes it's part of the deal and you have to accept it."

-- Mark Medina

Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers forward Pau Gasol and Warriors guard C.J. Watson eye a loose ball during play in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.

There stood Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at the team's practice facility Wednesday in El Segundo, holding court with reporters for nearly eight minutes after practice. He talked about something as depressing as injuries in a straightforward yet friendly manner he typically reserves for fans, not media members.

He sat out Wednesday's practice because of a sprained left ankle that's kept him sidelined for the past four games, but joked he ran "wind sprints in flip-flops." He acknowledged he "skimmed through" a recent GQ profile that highlighted how Bryant has overcome his wounded body parts both literally and figuratively, saying that though "I didn't get the chance to really dig into it," he appreciated the story "made me look a lot better" than how perhaps he's been portrayed otherwise over his career.  Bryant also liked the pictures that accompanied the eight-page cover story, joking, "I look better in the photos than I look in person."

But the key difference that stuck out in Bryant's conversation with reporters involved his contention that this left sprained ankle is something he can't currently overcome, and that the big-picture perspective (the NBA championship) is more important than any short-term goal (playing Thursday against Boston).

"It’s important for everybody on this team to understand what we’re playing for," said Bryant, who doesn't plan to suit up against the Celtics. "I would love to come back and play but I’m not ready. So I won’t. We want to win a championship. We have to do what’s necessary to get that job done. So if that means missing a big TNT doubleheader, so be it."

And for the record, he said the latter part of the quote with a smile. This may strike some Lakers fans as a contrast to Bryant's relentlessness to play through his fractured right index finger, despite opponents' constantly jamming it and the resulting decreased shooting percentage in January. They may also see how the latest news contrasts to Bryant's wanting to immediately play after initially spraining his ankle Jan. 29 against Philadelphia after colliding with forward Elton Brand.

After aggravating it the following week against Charlotte late in the first half, Bryant returned for the second half as well as the next game against Denver. But for the Lakers' next game against Portland on Feb. 6 on a back-to-back, Bryant decided he wasn't fit to play, ending a streak of 235 consecutive games, a feat that would leave Cal Ripken proud. Bryant hasn't suited up since and remains unsure of his exact timetable.

I had earlier maintained that the situations involving his finger and ankle are different. Though having a fractured finger is far from enjoyable, playing through that injury is technically doable. As far as Bryant's insistence to play through his ankle before and his decision to take a long-term approach now seems pretty straight forward and doesn't really need much parsing (though I've kind of already done that). The strained tendons and muscles in his left leg have added difficulty to the recovery process, with Bryant noting "tendons are a little different; they have their own agendas on what they want to heal." But his outlook on recovering from injuries appears the same.

Said Bryant: "My philosophy on injuries is if you're healthy, you play."

It sure didn't sound like Kobe Bryant would play Thursday against Boston.

"Right now it's a no," he said Wednesday. "If I wake up tomorrow and I feel drastically different, then I'll play, but I doubt it."

Bryant said the sprain in his left ankle wasn't the problem any longer. It was a sore peroneal tendon in the outside part of his lower left leg.

The Lakers have gone 4-0 in Bryant's absence, though they struggled Tuesday in a 104-94 victory over Golden State. If Bryant sits out Thursday's game, the Lakers don't play again until Tuesday in Memphis.

--MIke Bresnahan

There's only one day remaining before the trade deadline, and it looks as though the Lakers will not be a major player in the market.

The Times' Mike Bresnahan reported that talks about possibly acquiring Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich were at a "stalemate." Bresnahan wrote: "The Bulls want to part with Hinrich's contract (two more seasons after this for a total of $17 million), but they will take back only expiring contracts. The Lakers, definitely conscious of how far they are over the luxury tax, have an expiring contract of note in Adam Morrison ($5.3 million) but they want the Bulls to also take Sasha Vujacic, who has one more season at $5.5 million."

The Riverside Press Enterprise's Jim Alexander noted that the Lakers' current $91.4-million payroll and the $21.5 million they owe in luxury taxes suggest any trades are unlikely. But 710 ESPN's John Ireland said money wasn't an issue for Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who "will always spend if he thinks the costs will bring him a title." Regardless of whether the Lakers make a trade, Coach Phil Jackson acknowledged to reporters Tuesday before a 104-94 victory over Golden State that he certainly took note of trades around the league as well as potential transactions reported by various media.

Some of the major deals thus far include the Dallas Mavericks acquiring Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross. The Clippers traded veteran forward Marcus Camby to the Portland Trail Blazers for guard Steve Blake, forward Travis Outlaw and $1.5 million in cash. And though his future team remains in question, it's safe to say forward Amare Stoudemire won't be playing for the Phoenix Suns much longer.

More Lakers Links (after the jump)

The L.A. Times' Mike Bresnahan, Broderick Turner and I discuss the Lakers' 104-94 victory Tuesday over the Golden State Warriors.

We had so much fun talking shop that we extended the discussion with the Lakers Round Table, with topics including trade talk, the importance of home-court advantage in the postseason, Kobe Bryant, and Andrew Bynum. Oh, and how Turner is the best basketball player among the three of us.

--Mark Medina

Follow the L.A. Times Lakers blog on Twitter. E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo credits: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times, Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times, Mark J. Rebilas/US Presswire, Derek E. Hingle/US Presswire, Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times, Alex Gallardo/Los Angeles Times, Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times, Steve C Wilson/Associated Press.