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Good news out of El Segundo Monday afternoon. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who left Sunday's win over the Warriors with 1:51 to play in the first quarter after landing on teammate Josh McRoberts' foot and rolling his left ankle, will be listed as "day-to-day" ahead of tomorrow's game at Staples against New Jersey.

Bynum spent the day with Gary Vitti getting treatment, but didn't require an MRI for what was called a "moderate" sprain during yesterday's game.

Whether he plays against the Nets or not -- if there's any question, he ought to sit -- it seems unlikely he'll miss extended time, obviously something the Lakers can't afford.

An examination following Sunday's All-Star Game, revealed Kobe Bryant suffered a nasal fracture in the third quarter after a foul from Miami's Dwyane Wade. Tuesday, Bryant was also diagnosed with a concussion, and under the terms of the NBA's new protocol for concussions and other head injuries, Bryant will have to satisfy a strict set of criteria before being allowed back on the floor.

After speaking with a source familiar with the league's policy, here are few things to know:

• As part of the policy, during the preseason every player in the NBA undergoes baseline neurological testing.
• If a player is diagnosed with a concussion, he's no longer allowed to play until cleared in consultation with the NBA's director of the concussion program, Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Michigan.
• To gain clearance, a player must return to his symptom free neurological baseline, then complete a series of exertion tests, each growing in difficulty (from a stationary bike to jogging, to agility and individual basketball drills) remaining free of symptoms after each test.
• There is no set amount of time that must pass between each exertion exercise. Testing is situation specific, and relies on the medical judgment of the doctors and other medical personnel involved.

Obviously this isn't an instant process, and it's one the NBA (and the Lakers, as I was told by a team spokesman) takes very seriously. Bryant will be re-evaluated Wednesday, but there's certainly a very good chance he misses that night's game against Minnesota.

More to come tomorrow following shootaround.

More specifically, a costochondral fracture (a fracture of the cartlilage connecting the rib to the sternum say the Lakers, for those who haven't finished each season of their "House, M.D." DVD collection).

Blake originally suffered the injury Tuesday against Phoenix, then aggravated it in the third quarter last night in Salt Lake City against the Jazz. He didn't return, and will be re-evaluated in the next couple days, but it's reasonable to believe his availability for Friday's game against Cleveland, then Saturday vs. the Clippers is murky.

Obviously I can't say with certainty it's the same thing, but in my glory years I had a rib cartilage injury that sounds awfully similar, and in my case at least it was almost comically painful. There's a reason Blake looked like he wanted to lie down and die last night on the tv broadcast. Later, he told ESPNLA's Dave McMenamin basic things like breathing and laughing brought the hurt.

(Meaning if you see Blake on the street, don't lead him up steep hills and keep those witty one-liners to yourself.)

By now we all know the Lakers aren't rich with high end point guards, so losing any depth there hurts. It's all relative, but Blake has been the team's most consistent point producer at the 1, showing far more comfort in Mike Brown's offensive system than he did in the triangle. He'd also playing substantial minutes, over 24 a night, including key stretches late in games. Missing games means likely means more time for Derek Fisher, and presses Darius Morris into service.

I'm a fan of Morris' long term potential, but as we saw Wednesday putting him on the floor means a wide variety of results. Some good (penetration, more quickness,etc.), some bad (tendency to dribble too much and to places he shouldn't go, slower decision making due to lack of experience, and so on), but almost all unpredictable. If there's anything the Lakers don't need offensively, it's another injection of unpredictability. Fisher meanwhile, at least through 12 games, has offensively been the wrong kind of predictable.

Hopefully Blake is able to return soon. Otherwise, the lack of depth with which L.A. entered the season, already problematic, just got worse, likely adding more to Kobe Bryant's plate.

Which is fine, because he's not really doing any heavy lifting these days, right?

With Andrew Bynum sitting the third game of a league-mandated four-game suspension and the franchise facing its first 0-3 start since disco ruled the world, the Lakers can't afford to go down another big heading into tonight's game against Utah.

Fortunately, they should take the floor reasonably whole.

Forward Josh McRoberts, nursing a sprain to his left thumb suffered on Christmas against Chicago, left Monday's loss in Sacramento at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter with a sprained left big toe and didn't return, but is expected to suit up against the Jazz. Starting at center in Bynum's absence, Pau Gasol wore a large pad on his right shoulder Monday protecting his own Christmas sprain, but suffered no additional damage and is also expected to play.

At Tuesday's shootaround, Mike Brown explained how losing McRoberts on Monday night put the team in a bind, forcing him to play Metta World Peace at power forward after Luke Walton was, in Brown's estimation, "laboring a little."

It was hardly an ideal setup.

"Metta has not had an opportunity to get a rep at the four in over 2 1/2 weeks. The first day or two, we started to give him some reps at the power forward spot, but I didn't like it at the time," he said. "I didn’t want him trying to learn two positions. He did not have another opportunity since about the first or second day of training camp to get reps at that power forward position."

With McRoberts available, World Peace can try to build on a strong performance against Sacramento from his reserve small forward spot. Gasol, meanwhile, is still looking for a true breakout game, though upon further review Brown had good things to say about his performance last night.

"He did a terrific job, going back and watching the tape, of facilitating. We played through him a lot, especially in the second half on the post, where he might not have scored, but man he made some very good passes to his teammates from that post up position," he said.

I asked if, with Bynum still out, Brown wants Gasol to be more "selfish," calling his own number more. “If he was I’d be OK with it, because he’s very skilled. But because he’s playing the way that he is, a lot of the passes that he made were set-up passes. Guys got some very easy looks from it, so I’m OK with that," he said.

"When I was in Cleveland, people asked me that about LeBron all the time. But when a guy is making the game easier for his teammates, you’ve got to be OK with that. Other guys will step up."

Wednesday night, Derek Fisher suggested Kobe Bryant would probably hack off his injured right wrist and play left-handed if it meant getting on the floor for Sunday's opener against Chicago. Friday afternoon, Bryant practiced and declared himself fit. Even better, there wasn't a saw anywhere in sight.

Bryant said the torn lunotriquetral ligament, suffered in Monday's exhibition loss to the Clippers, is painful and has forced some "subtle" measures to compensate, but ultimately he's just trying to forget about it. Neither coach Mike Brown nor Bryant's teammates noticed anything different about him this afternoon, so apparently Kobe is doing fine in that regard.

That Bryant is taking the floor will shock ... nobody. The big question, as it generally is with Kobe, isn't about "if" but "should." Is Bryant doing the smart thing by suiting up?

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Monday's practice was a positive one for the Lakers on a few levels, but perhaps most importantly because it saw the return of Matt Barnes, who has missed the last 20 games following surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.

Barnes participated in the non-contact portions of today's workout, and deemed it a success. All the salient details are contained here, in this handy news story.

In terms of a timetable for returning to game action, Barnes said he'll need three full practices before he's ready. Looking at the schedule, the Lakers play tomorrow at home against Atlanta then Wednesday night in Portland. It's unlikely they'll practice Thursday afternoon ahead of Friday's game against the Clippers. Assuming Phil Jackson has them on the court Saturday and again Monday (after Sunday's tilt vs. OKC), the third practice would have to wait until after next Tuesday's game against Minnesota.

If that's the case, for the sake of spitballing, it would be reasonable to look for Barnes in uniform a week from Friday at home against Charlotte. The Lakers have jimmied with these sorts of things before (Andrew Bynum, for example, was moved back into the starting lineup faster than expected), but won't risk a setback for Barnes. At this point, his presence is far too valuable.

Better to wait the extra game than rush him back. However it's sliced and diced- perhaps a bad metaphor referencing a guy coming off surgery- the news is positive for the Lakers. Given the inconsistencies of Ron Artest as the starting small forward and the second unit generally over the last few weeks, Barnes' ability to defend multiple positions, create second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass, and general tendency to cut to the paint is sorely needed.

Well, given his history it could have been worse, but the injury suffered by Andrew Bynum to his right knee in Friday's series clinching win over the Oklahoma City Thunder definitely left a mark, reports ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin.

An MRI Saturday revealed a small tear of his anterior horn (i.e. the front) of his lateral meniscus in his right knee. Say it five times fast. I'll wait...

Bynum is officially listed as day-to-day, and he's questionable for tomorrow's Game 1 against Utah at Staples.

Interestingly, the injury isn't necessarily new. Writes McMenamin: "The Lakers said they became aware of the tear last June when Bynum came in for his end-of-season exit interview, but Bynum was able to play with the injury without it bothering him during the 2009-10 season. When Bynum hyperextended his right knee... (Friday), the tear went from "very small" to "small."

Obviously the tenor of the series changes from the start if Bynum can't go. In combination with Pau Gasol, his presence gives the Lakers more size than the relatively small Jazz can comfortably handle. If Bynum were to miss time, Jerry Sloan's defensive game plan gets a lot less complicated.

More on this as it develops...

Earlier, I passed along the news Kobe Bryant will sit out the final two games of the regular season, the official reason being an "avulsion fracture of the right index finger." Unofficially, he could use said finger to point to all the other body parts bothering him throughout the year. Bryant has fought ankle, knee, groin, elbow, and back trouble, plus flu (stomach/normal) and other maladies we probably don't know about. He just sat out two games thanks to the knee, and is (over an admittedly small sample size) shooting 30 percent in three April games.

One need not believe in unicorns and jackelopes to also believe Bryant could use a few more days of R-and-R.

Particularly since the games remaining aren't steeped in meaning. First, the Lakers should be able to beat Sacramento (Tuesday) and the Clippers (Wednesday) without Kobe. We're talking about opponents with one and two wins respectively over their last 10 games. Moreover, the Lakers have fallen behind Orlando for the second seed overall in the playoffs, and even with those two winnable games appear unlikely to catch the Magic. Orlando also has two games remaining, tonight in Indiana, then Wednesday hosting Philly.

Indy is hot (winning eight of 10), but I'll still toss my lot in with Orlando in both tilts. If form holds, the Lakers have nothing to play for relative to the standings.

Finally, any lingering hopes the Lakers had to gain some continuity and momentum heading into the postseason died heading into the weekend when Kobe made the (wise) decision to sit against Denver and Minnesota. Rhythm will have to be built on the fly over the course of this week and into the postseason. At this point, health becomes paramount, with Kobe's health being paramountiest.

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I have no idea how long Kobe Bryant will be out thanks to the injured left ankle that kept him in street clothes for Saturday's 99-82 streak-busting win over the Blazers in Portland. None. Not a clue. He could very well play Monday night against San Antonio. Maybe he sits a little longer, waiting until Wednesday's game in Utah, or perhaps he decides to shut 'er down until after the All-Star break.

Frankly, like a lot of people I was a little thrown he actually sat himself down in the first place. (Happy, because he needed it, just a little surprised he did.)

So what happens if Kobe misses time? What would the Lakers look like?

Between Saturday's win sans-24 and Friday's loss to a Nuggets team without Carmelo Anthony, it's pretty clear good teams can continue to succeed without star players.

Here are a few ways in which things change, and how the Lakers have to adjust:

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In a statement earlier today, Lakers PR said after Sunday's loss against the Cavs, forward Ron Artest suffered a fall in his home that required medical attention, including stitches to his head and elbow and a CT scan. More news now from El Segundo about the diagnosis, and it's not ideal:

EL SEGUNDO- Ron Artest was examined today in Los Angeles by a neurologist. Diagnosis from his examination showed that Artest did suffer a concussion in last night’s fall. Artest’s condition has improved since last night; however, he will continue to see a neurologist on a daily basis until he is cleared to return. He is definitely out for tonight’s game against the Kings at Sacramento and his status beyond that will be considered day-to-day.

Obviously not as good as "Artest hopped a plane to Sacramento," but not necessarily reason to sound the alarm. That the Lakers make a point of noting his improved condition is nice, and speaking with the LA Times Artest's agent David Bauman seemed reasonably unconcerned, but given the nature of concussions it can be difficult to make projections on a possible return date. We're certainly not going to do without more information available.