Gary Vitti

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.

Kobe Bryant's left foot is now in the hands of Gary Vitti. Vitti, in his 21st season as Laker trainer, detailed Friday the treatment plan for Bryant's plantar fasciitis, a painful swelling of the strip of tissue that stretches from the heel to the ball of the foot. Vitti said the Lakers were "way ahead of the curve on this thing," and outlined a regimen that included deep-tissue massage and the distribution of an anti-inflammatory topical medication via ultrasound and electrical current.

Gary Vitti walked into Staples Center three hours before game time Saturday, the Laker trainer smiling at his task, five players on the 12-man roster requiring near round-the-clock service. "This is the first game?" he said, laughing. "It feels like Game 7." Vitti and his medical staff put Karl Malone, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, Devean George and Kareem Rush back together again in the time between Wednesday's game at Portland and Saturday's against the Houston Rockets.

Barring catastrophic injury, A.C. Green on Nov. 20 will play his 907th consecutive game, breaking the NBA record held by Randy Smith. And Gary Vitti will smile. "I will have a soft spot in my heart that night," Vitti said. "Just say, 'Yeah, A.C.' " Green spent his first eight seasons with the Lakers before leaving as a free agent in the summer of 1993 to sign with the Phoenix Suns.

Teams that refuse to divulge injury information can be more forthcoming than Lakers Coach Mike Brown was Friday about Kobe Bryant's right foot. Bryant sat out the Lakers' morning and evening practice sessions, a team spokesman said, because his foot was bothering him. He was listed as day to day. Asked about Bryant's injury, Brown said, "It's one of his feet. " Pressed for more details, the coach deferred to Gary Vitti , saying the longtime trainer was staying on top of the situation.

Lamar Odom wasn't ready to talk about his new reality show. "Let me change my underwear and I'll be right back," the Lakers forward said as reporters ambled over to his locker before Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns. Odom wanted to change out of civilian clothes and into his Lakers uniform before discussing his upcoming weekly 30-minute show on the E! cable network, perhaps a subconscious wardrobe switch to reassure himself that the team was foremost in his mind, not his new TV deal.

After suffering what the Lakers termed a "moderate sprain" in his left ankle, Andrew Bynum remains a game-time decision for Tuesday's matchup against the New Jersey Nets. He missed morning shootaround to receive anti-inflammatory treatment to minimize the swelling on his ankle, said Lakers spokesman John Black. Coach Mike Brown will turn to the Lakers' training staff to decide whether to rest him or limit his minutes. Brown said he'll either start Troy Murphy or Josh McRoberts, though the Lakers featured Murphy at center when Bynum missed most of the Lakers' 120-112 victory Sunday over the Golden State Warriors.

MILWAUKEE - The older, slower, stumbling Lakers were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, so the outcome was practically predetermined. What were not expected were dual injuries to their aging backcourt, Steve Nash unable to finish the game and Kobe Bryant limping through the locker room after a 113-103 loss Thursday to the Milwaukee Bucks. Bryant was bothered by a bone spur in his left foot, Nash sidelined by what he called a hip spasm. BOX SCORE: Bucks 113, Lakers 103 Bryant will be evaluated by doctors in Sacramento when the Lakers arrive there Friday, a day before they play the Kings to complete a four-game trip.

Phil Jackson said Monday afternoon that trainer Gary Vitti had decided against removing the stitches from Kobe Bryant's right index finger, moments before Vitti said that, indeed, he had taken out the stitches and that he had told Jackson about it.

Mike Bresnahan covers the Lakers for The Times and ties up loose ends on the day of his self-designated "Lakers game of the week." The Lakers play tonight at Cleveland. Christmas 2009. A great day for gifts, pleasant weather and family time . . . unless you were at the Lakers game. The Cleveland Cavaliers came to town, Pau Gasol got knocked around (by Shaq on an early layup attempt), and the Lakers got grinched, 102-87. Gasol had 11 points, Andrew Bynum only four, Ron Artest fouled out and Lamar Odom was ejected.