Ankle

Kobe Bryant is expected to play on Friday night after missing two games and playing only 12 minutes in one other game because of a severely sprained ankle. His wax figure went through a similar recovery process. Bryant's likeness, at Madame Tussauds Hollywood , was fitted with a muscle stimulator, similar to the device the Lakers All-Star guard used to help treat his ankle. Additionally fans signed a giant get-well card at the feet of Bryant's figure, wishing him a quick recovery.

Utah authorities think they have a valuable new use for the ubiquitous ankle bracelet: to locate missing patients with Alzheimer's or dementia.  Officials in Davis County, about half an hour north of Salt Lake City, say the device, which typically monitors criminals on house arrest or parole, could be a cost-effective solution to a common problem. “We think it's just a different application for an existing technology,” Deputy Sheriff Kevin Fielding told the Los Angeles Times.

When the Lakers host the Washington Wizards on Friday, the team may finally have as close to a full roster as it has had all season. After the Lakers practiced Wednesday, Coach Mike D'Antoni said he expects Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to play against the Wizards. "Hopefully Kobe and Pau will be back Friday — hopefully," D'Antoni said. Bryant severely sprained his left ankle on March 13 in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. After playing only one quarter two days later against the Indiana Pacers, he didn't return and sat out the next two games.

SACRAMENTO - After missing two games with a sore left ankle, Jamal Crawford returned to play for the Clippers, but his shooting has been a little off. Before the Clippers played the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, Crawford was six for 25 from the field, including two for 13 from three-point range. "No, I don't have my rhythm back just yet," Crawford said. "But I know it's going to come. The more shots I shoot and miss, the closer I am to getting back on track.

INDIANAPOLIS - Kobe Bryant is expected to play Friday against the Indiana Pacers. "He's better. A lot better," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. Bryant sustained a severely sprained left ankle Wednesday against Atlanta and was declared out indefinitely by the Lakers. He did some shooting almost three hours before tip-off, testing out the ankle. D'Antoni said the coaching staff and athletic trainer Gary Vitti would watch Bryant closely when the game starts. "We'll all sit together and we'll have a conversation," D'Antoni said.

INDIANAPOLIS — The debate raged around the NBA on Thursday as Kobe Bryant iced his severely sprained left ankle and mixed in some compression therapy to reduce swelling while he watched the movies "Django Unchained" and "Zero Dark Thirty. " Was the play dirty, clean or somewhere in between? Bryant suggested he was injured Wednesday because Atlanta Hawks forward Dahntay Jones knowingly chose to "walk underneath" him while Bryant was coming down from an off-target 18-foot fadeaway in the final seconds of the Lakers' 96-92 loss to the Hawks.

  Join Times Lakers writer Mike Bresnahan at 12:15 today for a live discussion of Kobe Bryant's ankle injury.   [Mobile viewers: click here to view this chat in another window.]   As Bresnahan wrote after Bryant injured his ankle at the end of the loss to Atlanta on Wednesday, "Kobe Bryant was unhappy. "Fuming, actually, as he talked about a severely sprained left ankle that would keep him out "indefinitely," according to the Lakers . "Bryant suggested that Atlanta Hawks swingman Dahntay Jones caused the sprain by purposely sliding his foot under Bryant while Bryant was still in the air on an 18-foot fadeaway jumper with 3.9 seconds left.

ATLANTA -- Kobe Bryant severely sprained his left ankle Wednesday night and will be out indefinitely, according to the Lakers. Bryant appeared to come down on Dahntay Jones' foot after missing a baseline shot in the final seconds of the Lakers' 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Bryant left the game after the Lakers committed a foul. He did not return. X-rays were negative. Bryant was not happy with Jones, suggesting the Hawks swingman caused the sprain by purposely sliding his foot under Bryant while he was still in the air on the 18-foot fadeaway jumper.

ATLANTA - Kobe Bryant was unhappy. Fuming, actually, as he talked about a severely sprained left ankle that would keep him out "indefinitely," according to the Lakers. Bryant suggested that Atlanta Hawks swingman Dahntay Jones caused the sprain by purposely sliding his foot under Bryant while Bryant was still in the air on an 18-foot fadeaway jumper with 3.9 seconds left. Bryant missed the shot and stayed down on the court for about a minute, limping to the locker room for X-rays that showed no broken bones after the Lakers' 96-92 loss Wednesday at Philips Arena.

When the Clippers got the news on the injury front Monday, there was a sigh of relief. The team learned that Caron Butler didn't suffer any structural damage to his left elbow, although an MRI exam revealed Monday that the small forward does have an elbow strain. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Butler will be out "approximately a week" because of the injury. Guard Jamal Crawford , after sitting out the last two games because of a sore left ankle, practiced some Monday and there is a good chance that he will play Wednesday when the Clippers play host to the Memphis Grizzlies.