The Lakers will be without 23-year old power forward Derrick Caracter for about two months due to surgery on his left knee.  Caracter played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 5.2 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.2 assists per game.  This is a bad break for the second year player, as Caracter was in line to see a nice bump in P.T. in 2011-12.

21-year old rookie small forward Devin Ebanks will miss at least the next three weeks for the Lakers due to a stress fracture in his lower leg.  Ebanks has played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 5.9 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Lakers won’t miss Ebanks too much as he was only getting on the court in garbage time.

The Lakers will be without backup small forward Matt Barnes for at least a month (and maybe two) with a torn meniscus in his right knee.  Barnes has played in 37 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 20.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  His minutes will likely fall to Shannon Brown & rookie Devin Ebanks.  Brown has played in 37 games (0 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 18.8 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Brown is also shooting 41.5% from three point range so far this year and that is outstanding.  Devin Ebanks has played in 12 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Lakers and he averaged 6.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Lakers are going to miss Barnes as he was pushing Ron Artest for P.T.

The Lakers will be without 37-year old center Theo Ratliff for the next 4-6 weeks due to knee surgery. Ratliff has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 8.4 minutes, 0.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. This hurts the Lakers’ depth at center as they are already without Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers will be without backup shooting guard Sasha Vujacic indefinitely due to a severe high ankle sprain. Vujacic played in 67 games (1 start) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 8.6 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Vujacic has had some big shots in the past for the Lakers in the playoffs but he fell behind Shannon Brown on the depth chart so they shouldn’t miss him too much.

The Lakers have lost starting center Andrew Bynum indefinitely due to a strained left Achilles tendon. Bynum has played in 65 games (all starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging 30.4 minutes, 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Pau Gasol will likely slide over to center with Lamar Odom replacing him at power forward until Bynum returns to action. This will really hurt the bench of the Lakers as Odom will now be in the starting lineup.

The Lakers will be without backup shooting guard Sasha Vujacic for the next couple of weeks with a sprained shoulder. Vujacic played in 52 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging 7.9 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The Lakers shouldn’t miss Vujacic too much as they weren’t playing him much this season anyway.

Kobe Bryant’s ankle is worse than originally thought, and after playing with what was listed as a “sore left ankle” against the Denver Nuggets, Kobe has missed two straight games for the Los Angeles Lakers and it has been updated to a “sprained left ankle”.  He played 39 minutes against the Nuggets, going 11-22 for 33 points and 9 rebounds.  Kobe’s outside shot was on (he hit 4-8 threes) but he lacked the aggressiveness going to the hole that we are used to seeing out of Kobe.  I’m not sure if he tweaked his ankle and made it worse, but he has been sitting out since that game and may sit out of the All-Star game.  He is listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s game against the Utah Jazz.  The Lakers won both games without Kobe, first a road win against the Portland Trail Blazers and then a home win over the Spurs.  So, the Lakers are still a very capable team without Kobe, but they are going to need him to be healthy towards the end of the season and once the playoffs start.  It might be smart then for Kobe to rest his ankle up for the second half of the season.  Knowing how competitive Kobe is, don’t be surprised to see Kobe out there tomorrow night and even make an appearance during the All-Star game this weekend.

Kobe Bryant has a badly broken finger, an aching knee, and now has a sprained ankle to deal with.  That isn’t going to stop the “Black Mamba” from playing though, and he is expected to play tonight against the Denver Nuggets.  Kobe knows how to play through the pain, which he has proven by playing most of this season with a broken index finger on his shooting hand.  It hasn’t really affected his game too much either, with Kobe averaging 27.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 46% from the field.  The one part of his game that his finger could be limiting him is his three point shooting.  Kobe is only hitting 32% of his threes this season, which is his lowest three point percentage since the 2001-’02 season.  Kobe has been playing great overall though, and the Lakers are atop the Western Conference with a 38-12 record.  Without Kobe they go from arguably the best team in the NBA, to just a decent team, so they can not afford to lose him.  Kobe’s competitive drive will keep him on the court as long as he can, and hopefully his injuries don’t get worse and affect him in the playoffs.

The Lakers will be without back up small forward Luke Walton for the next 6 weeks due to a pinched nerve in his back. Walton has played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this season and he is averaging 10.6 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The Lakers won’t miss him too much as his injury will just open up more minutes for Shannon Brown who is off to a good start this year.