Lakers coach watches him hobble through game, but knows Bryant will want to play Friday night against Denver.

By J.A. Adande Perhaps one day the Clippers will realize that trying to save money can wind up costing you money, a scenario exemplified most recently by the case of Mike Dunleavy.

Kobe Bryant has skipped practice with the Los Angeles Lakers to rest his sore left ankle. The Lakers will wait until game time Friday night to decide whether Bryant will play against the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers currently have the highest payroll in the NBA and there has been much chatter recently surrounding a possible deal for the Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich. Reportedly, the proposed deal would have sent Hinrich to the Lakers, with Sasha Vujacic and Adam Morrison (and his expiring $5.2 million contract) headed to Chicago

LOS ANGELES(AP) With his superstar hobbling and the Charlotte Bobcats refusing to go away, Phil Jackson never got terribly comfortable while becoming the winningest coach in Los Angeles Lakers history.

the Los Angeles Lakers found a way to overcome more distractions and a pesky Charlotte Bobcats team, which had won three of their previous meetings with the Lakers at Staples, to eke out a 99-97 win on a night that began with a standing ovation from a pregame ceremony in which Lakers great Jerry West presented Kobe Bryant with a game ball in recognition of Kobe’s ascension to the top of the Lakers’ career scoring list.

Melissa Majchzrak/NBAE via Getty Images With Chris Paul sidelined, is any point guard playing better than Deron Williams? There are a few things I try not to do. Among them: I try not to wake up my wife and kids when they’re sleeping

Jackson’s old nemesis is now in his rearview mirror: “Here’s some of what Phil Jackson said tonight after passing Pat Riley and becoming the Lakers all-time leader with 534 coaching victories: ‘It’s been a really good run. Having this opportunity, to coach this team, is always special. So the fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them (the players).

by Sean Ceglinsky The greatest of all-time. It’s a moniker Phil Jackson could get used to.

By J.A. Adande The true reflection of Phil Jackson’s stature in the NBA coaching hierarchy isn’t that he surpassed Pat Riley for most victories as coach of the Lakers. It’s that he no longer needs to be measured against Riley, the man who provided Jackson’s first target for coaching greatness.