As All-Star Weekend Approaches…

As the Lakers have arrived at the All-Star break, for most players it will be a time to take a brief breather from the hectic schedule of NBA basketball. For most Laker players, the break will serve as a time to rest, practice and nurse injuries.

Lamar Odom has been battling the flu as of late, as it caused him to miss his first game all season long against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

Devean George is slowly working toward a return to the Laker lineup, but hasn’t been able to get over the hump and feel fully healthy. George currently has experienced a setback, sidelined with tendinitis in his left knee. The timeframe of his return is unknown.

Although many of the players will use the time off to lick the wounds inflicted from a rocky first half to the season, Luke Walton and Kobe Bryant will make the trip to Denver for the weekend’s festivities.

Kobe Bryant, receiving the 7th All-Star selection of his career, will play in Sunday’s All-Star game as he will start in the Western Conference backcourt with Houston’s Tracy McGrady.

Bryant, fresh off of a recent ankle injury, is not expected to play the entire All-Star game and reportedly has requested that Western Conference All-Star head coach Greg Popovich keep his minutes to a minimum in Sunday’s game.

Bryant outlined his plan for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Denver. He was voted by fans as a Western Conference starter but Bryant isn’t looking to play more than a quarter.

“Play 10 minutes, sit my butt down, get ready for the second half of the season,” Bryant said. “I’m going to ask (San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich) to keep it to 10 minutes. Let (Steve) Nash and those guys go out and have fun and play and compete.” (LA Daily News)

Meanwhile, Luke Walton will make his first appearance at the All-Star Weekend. As he will team up with the WNBA’s Lisa Leslie and Laker great Magic Johnson in the Radio Shack Shooting Stars competition.

In last year’s competition held at STAPLES Center, the Laker team emerged victorious from Derek Fisher’s half-court shot just as time expired.

So what will the rest of the team do over their time off?

After the Lakers’ victory over the Utah Jazz, Caron Butler commented on his plans for the All-Star break. “I’m going to actually get some tape of the triangle offense and really perfect my role.”

“I have all my fun in the summer. It’s strictly business right now. I’m a Laker and I want to represent this franchise well, so I going to really focus on my role and what I have to do to make this ballclub better.”

Hopefully the rest of the Lakers will follow Caron Butler’s lead, for they are going to need to do put in some hard work and do a lot of fine-tuning over this period of rest.

The Lakers will face a tough schedule for the remainder of the season, facing the task of playing 18 of the final 32 games on the road. With recent injuries, coaching changes and adjustments to the offense and defense of this team, the Lakers must pick up the slack fairly quickly if they want to remain in the 8th and final playoff spot.

Laker management and fans alike must pray this team will return from the break rejuvenated and elevate their status to a team in playoff form.

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