Andrew Bynum's sprained left ankle was not considered serious enough to follow up with an MRI exam, and the Lakers are officially listing their center as day to day before Tuesday's game against New Jersey.
Bynum was injured Sunday against Golden State after an awkward landing while trying to block the shot of Warriors power forward David Lee. The X-rays were negative.
He went to the team's training facility Monday and underwent a series of physical treatments with longtime trainer Gary Vitti, including electro-stimulation, ice and manual therapy, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.
Bynum left Sunday's game with 1 minute 49 seconds to go in the first quarter and limped while exiting the arena more than two hours later, but he was not using crutches.
If Bynum can't play, Troy Murphy might get the call at center for the Lakers. He started the third quarter Sunday and finished the game with eight points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
The Lakers did not practice Monday.
Bynum has played every game in a season only once in his seven-year career. He missed the first four games this season because of a suspension and appeared in all 49 games after that. He was averaging 18.3 points and 12.1 rebounds before going scoreless Sunday with three rebounds.
Bynum has missed large swaths of time over the years because of injuries to each knee.
The Lakers want him to return soon, obviously. He was an All-Star this season for the first time.
"He's worked hard," Pau Gasol said. "He's healthy [this season] and … he's been just really effective. He's been a force inside."
FINAL TUNEUP
After the Lakers play the underachieving Nets (19-35), seven of their eight games are against teams with playoff hopes.
The Lakers (33-20) have a designated road game Wednesday against the Clippers that determines the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams and the winner of the season series, which the Clippers haven't taken since 1992-93. Then the Lakers play host to Houston, followed by a trip to Phoenix, New Orleans and San Antonio. They return home to play Denver, Dallas and San Antonio.
"We all understand there's now 13 games left for the regular season," Gasol said.
--Mike Bresnahan
