Reserve small forward/shooting guard Trevor Ariza will miss at least the next 8 weeks with a broken bone in his right foot. Ariza has played in 24 games (3 starts) this season with the Lakers and he is averaging 18.0 minutes, 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Ariza has shot well for the Lakers since coming over from the Magic as he’s hitting 52.4% of his shots from the floor.

The Lakers will be without starting center Andrew Bynum for at least the next 8 weeks due to a dislocated kneecap. This will hurt the Lakers big time as Bynum has been really playing well this season. Bynum has played in 35 games so far this season and he’s averaging 28.8 minutes, 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. Kwame Brown and Ronny Turiaf will pick up the minutes to replace Bynum. Brown has played in 15 games so far this season and he is averaging 19.2 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. But, Brown has been a bust so far in his NBA career so the Lakers will likely suffer a huge dropoff in production from the center position. Ronny Turiaf is a hustling player that always gives his all but he has physical limitations in playing center. Turiaf has played in 32 games so far this season and he’s averaging 16.2 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

The Lakers have lost cener Chris Mihm for the next 3-4 weeks with a sore Achilles. He has played in 19 games (5 starts) this season and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He is only shooting 36.9% from the floor and 64% from the free throw line so far this season. The Lakers will just have to give Andrew Bynum more playing time now and that should be a good thing for them.

Center Kwame Brown is out indefinately with a sprained MCL. He has played in 7 games (6 starts) so far this season and he has averaged 21.0 minutes, 4.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He better hurry back as Andrew Bynum and Chris Mihm have both been playing well and there might not be many minutes left for Brown.

Starting power forward Lamar Odom will miss the first week or two of the season with a shoulder injury. This will hurt the Lakers big time as Odom is Kobe Bryant’s only real help on offense. Odom played in 56 games last season and he averaged 15.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Ronny Turiaf will start in Odom’s place until he’s ready to return. Turiaf played in 72 games (1 start) for the Lakers last season and he averaged 5.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Turiaf will do a decent job of playing defense and rebounding until Odom can return but the Lakers offense will suffer a little bit.