Lakers' Ariza goes out with a broken foot



As if the Los Angeles Lakers needed this to happen.

Forward Trevor Ariza was diagnosed with a fractured bone in his right foot after hurting it Sunday at practice. Ariza will see foot specialist Kenneth Jung today, at which point a timetable for his return will be determined.

It was unclear exactly how Ariza injured the fourth metatarsal in his foot, but he apparently came down on Lamar Odom's foot.

"He got tangled up with Lamar," Coach Phil Jackson said a few minutes after Ariza left practice for X-rays at Centinela Hospital Medical Center.

Ariza became a fixture on the Lakers' second unit after being acquired from Orlando in November. He was averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18 minutes a game.

Ariza, who also started three games, had been an active defender for the Los Angeles Lakers, who like his length and speed.

The Lakers are without Andrew Bynum for at least seven more weeks and Chris Mihm for at least another week, although it will probably be longer than that until he returns.

Denver center Marcus Camby was last season's NBA defensive player of the year, although Jackson said Kwame Brown would not be excluded from the Lakers' offense tonight against the Nuggets.

Camby leads the league with 3.95 blocked shots a game and is second in rebounding with 14.3 a game.

"It's not about his one-on-one defense. It's his team defense that Camby's renowned for," Jackson said. "We're definitely going to go in to Kwame against Camby. His size and his power against him is obviously a strength that we have."

Kwame Brown had seven turnovers Thursday against Phoenix, four in the third quarter as fans began to heavily boo him. He missed numerous shots from close range, including a dunk, two layups and a hook shot. He finished with eight p oints and six rebounds and did not play in the fourth quarter.

Jackson thought the Lakers looked fatigued against Phoenix, so he eased up on their practice routine over the weekend.

The Lakers did not practice Friday, had a brief practice Saturday and a slightly longer one Sunday.

Jackson said he was trying to "get these guys rejuvenated, get their legs live again. That's a big part of it."

TONIGHT

vs. Denver, 7:30, FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570; 1330.

Records -- Lakers 26-12; Nuggets 24-15.

Record vs. Nuggets -- 2-0.

Update -- The Nuggets are rarely at a loss for offense with Allen Iverson (27.1 points a game) and Carmelo Anthony (25.8 points a game). Most teams are better at home than on the road, but the Nuggets are a little more extreme: 17-5 at home, 7-10 on the road. The Lakers have won both their games against the Nuggets this season -- 127-99 at Staples Center and 111-107 at Denver.

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