{"id":398210,"date":"2011-04-26T00:54:27","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T00:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/26\/kobe-plans-to-play-through-ankle-sprain-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-26T00:54:27","modified_gmt":"2011-04-26T00:54:27","slug":"kobe-plans-to-play-through-ankle-sprain-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/26\/kobe-plans-to-play-through-ankle-sprain-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobe plans to play through ankle sprain (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP)\u2014After three straight trips to the NBA finals, there are few playoff predicaments the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> haven\u2019t already escaped. Just last spring, they were in the same jam they currently face: tied at 2 in a first-round playoff series against a young, hungry opponent.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City had the Lakers two games away from a shocking first-round elimination last year before they pulled much the same escape they\u2019re hoping to make against New Orleans this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the same position, as far as being tied,\u201d said Pau Gasol<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> the Lakers\u2019 fourth-leading scorer in the series with 12.3 points per game while making a team-worst 39.5 percent of his shots. \u201cWe just have to make sure we come out and get Game 5 as we did in the past, because we know how important it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the two-time champions face that pivotal first-round Game 5 against New Orleans on Tuesday night at Staples Center, they\u2019ll have to draw from their expansive well of postseason experience just to keep moving forward on the brutal drive toward a threepeat.<\/p>\n

The Lakers still haven\u2019t drained that well, but their task gets a bit tougher each time they have to go there to find the energy necessary to finish off contenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey certainly play better when they\u2019re in a desperate mode, there\u2019s no doubt about that,\u201d coach Phil Jackson said after Monday\u2019s workout at the Lakers\u2019 training complex. \u201cThey were somber. They understand the nature of we to have to do with this ballclub.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, the Lakers have been here before while playing 67 postseason games over the previous three years. But the dilemma posed by the Hornets is unique.<\/p>\n

For one thing, few players in recent playoff years have carved up the Lakers\u2019 defense as thoroughly as Chris Paul<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> is doing it in this series. Paul, who destroyed Los Angeles with 33 points and 14 assists in Game 1, is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 assists and 7 rebounds per game after putting up the first triple-double ever posted against the Lakers in 712 playoff games during New Orleans\u2019 win in Game 4.<\/p>\n

For another, Kobe Bryant<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> is limping on a sprained left ankle that might be a bit more serious than the countless injuries he has managed through in the past few seasons. After getting ice and massage during the Lakers\u2019 flight home, which landed about 3:30 a.m. local time Monday, he refused any further treatment, preferring to head into Game 5 without knowing the full extent of his latest injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says he\u2019ll play,\u201d Jackson said of Bryant, who didn\u2019t speak to reporters Monday. \u201cHe won\u2019t let them deal with it. \u2026 Doesn\u2019t matter, he\u2019s going to play tomorrow. That\u2019s his attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson also said Paul isn\u2019t the biggest problem faced by the Lakers, who have all but conceded they can\u2019t shut down the four-time All-Star point guard. Their game plan increasingly focuses on slowing down Paul\u2019s teammates\u2014a tactic that didn\u2019t work in Game 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re bothered by (Trevor) Ariza and (Carl) Landry,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWe\u2019re paying attention to Chris Paul, and he\u2019s make big plays. We\u2019re not worried about that. We\u2019re worried about something we can do something about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hornets have remained humble about their upstart run at the Lakers after stumbling into the playoffs and losing leading scorer David West<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to a season-ending injury. Yet two victories in four games have built a fire of confidence under New Orleans, which is drafting off the remarkable pace set by its star point guard.<\/p>\n

Paul has accumulated his own share of injuries, including a nasty cut near his right eye, but teammate Jarrett Jack<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> knows the Hornets can count on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s tough as nails,\u201d Jack said of his boyhood friend. \u201cThe only way he\u2019s not going to play is if he can\u2019t breathe. Nothing is going to keep him out of the game. It\u2019s the same as Kobe. You saw him. He could barely walk, and he was yelling at Phil (Jackson) for taking him out the game. If you want to be that guy in this league, that\u2019s what you have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul lavished postgame praise on Ariza, the former Lakers forward who scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half of Game 4 while holding Bryant scoreless on defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was unbelievable,\u201d Paul said of Ariza, who won the 2009 title with Los Angeles. \u201cI told him after the game I fed off of his energy. I might have had four points in the first half, but he single-handedly kept us in the game. It\u2019s hard enough to run around with Kobe. For him to be out there to score, he was doing it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers are familiar with best-of-three finishes to their playoff series: Three of their four postseason series last year were tied after four games, as were two series during their initial title run in 2009.<\/p>\n

The Lakers prevailed every time\u2014but that doesn\u2019t mean it gets any easier to do it, point guard Derek Fisher<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you could just play the way you want to every time you go out there, there would be more teams that have done what we\u2019re trying to do,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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\nKobe plans to play through ankle sprain (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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