Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 01/15/2010

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Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 01/15/2010

Preview: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 01/15/2010

The Lakers entire 13-man roster should be healthy enough to play for the first time this season when they host the Clippers on Friday.

At Lakers practice on Thursday, Kobe Bryant said his lower back is "a little tight [but] other than that, I'm fine," and expects to take the court when his team tries to exact revenge on the Clippers after their 102-91 victory on Jan. 6.

Bryant said he had a "nice little device" to keep his back loose on the plane ride home from Dallas on Wednesday night and received more treatment on his back in the morning.

The Lakers star had back spasms on Tuesday in San Antonio that caused him to miss the entire fourth quarter against the Spurs and the entire second quarter the next day in Dallas .

Bryant sat out of practice on Thursday to undergo therapy and rest his back, but watched from the sidelines as Pau Gasol participated in his first full-contact practice with the team since straining his left hamstring in a game against the Mavericks on Jan. 3.

Gasol, who missed the Lakers last six games with the injury, said he is ready to return to game-action on Friday.

"That's my plan," Gasol said. "I had a really good workout today and I worked out in San Antonio and Dallas also on the court. I think it's good timing for me to come back."

Like Bryant, Gasol also expressed feeling "some tightness," but was confident about his return after admitting to be "over cautious" and "over worried" about his left hamstring because a previous injury to his right hamstring caused him to miss the first 11 games of the season.

"Obviously after a little tear you feel the scar tissue that is built there, but other than that there's no pain," Gasol said. "I trust that I can be out there playing at my best right now without any danger.

While the health of All-Stars Bryant and Gasol is key to the Lakers success, the rest of the roster has been beset by injury and slowly recovering as well.

Lamar Odom is nursing sprained index and middle fingers on his right hand that he aggravated on Wednesday, Ron Artest has a sprained right index finger and plantar fasciitis in his right foot, Sasha Vujacic is limited by a strained right hamstring and Luke Walton is working his way back from a pinched nerve in his back that caused him to miss 28 games.

Bryant said that Walton's return has been just as important as Gasol's will be.

"[Luke] made a big difference yesterday," Bryant said. "We ran our offense through him for a stretch of five-six minutes. I thought it was unfair when people said [at the beginning of the season] that when Pau gets back, we'll have a full team. That's not right at all because Luke is a big, big part of what we do."

As Gasol stayed late to get up extra shots with Lakers assistant Chuck Person, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was asked how Gasol looked out there.

"He's handsome, he looked good," Jackson said with a wry smile. "He's a handsome Spaniard."

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