Tuesdays

Steve Nash is doubtful to play on Tuesday night, still struggling with hamstring and hip soreness. "Steve is still experiencing some discomfort, and it's day to day and he'll keep trying to improve," said Coach Mike D'Antoni.  "It's getting better but it's not quite there yet. " On Sunday, D'Antoni said he was hoping to have Nash back by Tuesday for the Lakers' battle against the New Orleans Hornets.  Steve Blake will get the start instead....

Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes Click here to download TV listings for the week of April 7 -13, 2013 in PDF format This week's TV Movies     SERIES NCIS A Navy reservist comes home to find her living room covered with blood and her husband missing, in this new episode. Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo and David McCallum star. 8 p.m. CBS The Voice Blind auditions continue.

Coach Mike D'Antoni says Metta World Peace has an 80% to 90% chance of playing Tuesday night when the Lakers host the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center. World Peace tore cartilage (meniscus) in his left knee  March 25 against the Golden State Warriors. He had surgery March 28 with an initial recovery timeline of at least six weeks. He participated in a three-on-three scrimmage Monday. As long as he doesn't suffer any setbacks Tuesday, World Peace is expected to be back into the lineup less than two weeks after knee surgery.

A slightly less heralded Laker nudged his way into the spotlight Tuesday night alongside Shaquille O'Neal , Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson . His name is Earl Clark , and his fame in NBA circles is burgeoning. "You saw the game," veteran Dallas guard Vince Carter said after Clark helped the Lakers emerge with a 101-81 victory over the Mavericks at Staples Center. "He did everything. He was as big as their stars. " Clark had 17 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high five blocks, the forward reappearing in a big way after a string of mostly forgettable performances since his midseason breakthrough.

AT PHOENIX When: 7 PDT. Where: Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Ariz. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 20-12-3; Coyotes 14-15-6. Record vs. Coyotes: 3-1. Update: Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin was chosen the NHL's rookie of the month for March. He had four goals, 11 points and a plus-10 defensive rating in 17 games.

The Jim Mora coronation is over at UCLA, and the coach is happy to be moving on. There were Bruins faithful who grumbled when he was hired now giddy with the memory of a nine-win season and a victory over USC. But 2012 ended with a three-game losing streak, including a 49-26 shellacking at the hands of Baylor in the Holiday Bowl. "The destination is still far out there," Mora said. "I like the excitement that was generated last year, but nobody was satisfied with how the season ended.

If Shaquille O'Neal needed a nickname on his first day as a Laker, it could have been the Big Worrywart. As dominant as he was, the best big man in the NBA recognized he represented just a fraction of the Lakers centers who had come before him. George Mikan won six titles while becoming Mr. Basketball. Wilt Chamberlain won two titles (one as a Laker) and scored 100 points in a game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six titles (five as a Laker) and was the league's all-time leading scorer.

Steve Nash sat out practice on Monday, working instead to try and stretch his strained hamstring. Coach Mike D'Antoni called him "doubtful," although he wasn't sure how Nash will be officially listed for Tuesday's battle against the Dallas Mavericks. Nash sat out the latter part of the Lakers' loss in Milwaukee to the Bucks after tweaking his hip and hamstring.  He tried to play on Saturday in Sacramento against the Kings but lasted only about two minutes. At 38-36, the Lakers are tied with the eighth-place Utah Jazz.  Utah won the season series, so the Lakers will need to finish with a better record to overtake the Jazz in the playoff race.

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: TNT, TWC, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 38-36; Mavericks 36-37. Record vs. Mavericks: 2-1. Update: The Lakers lead the 10th-place Mavericks by only 11/2 games but can create standings separation and clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a victory. Dallas has juggled its starting lineup continually throughout the season but has won four of its last five games, including home victories over Boston, Utah, the Clippers and Chicago.

Join David L. Ulin and author and artist Ben Katchor at 10 a.m. Tuesday for a live video chat about the art of storytelling and cities, real and imagined. Katchor is a visionary comic artist, a MacArthur "Genius" fellow who has made urban landscapes part of his subject. "Born in 1951, he makes comics that bristle with an off-kilter melancholy reminiscent of New York in the 1970s, a city in decline but also oddly full of life," Ulin wrote in a review of his latest collection.