Tarik Black won’t be rushed back into rotation

Backup center Tarik Black, mostly recovered after suffering a sprained ankle Dec. 5, has been available to the Lakers for a few games.

But not until recently did Coach Luke Walton see that Black was truly comfortable on the court and not impacted by the injury during practice.

It’s part of why Walton has not played Black in the last three games despite activating him.

Another part has to do with the gradual nature of how Walton wants to reintroduce Black, who was an integral part of the Lakers’ second unit before his injury.

“Tarik’s got to be ready,” Walton said. “His opportunity will come again, whether there’s foul trouble or we’re not playing well as a team.

“ He’s going to have his opportunity again. When he gets his opportunity, if he’s ready and he plays the way he was playing earlier in the year, then he’ll probably earn that ... first crack at coming in again.”

Thomas Robinson has earned more playing time in Black’s absence.

He scored a season-high 10 points Tuesday against the Utah Jazz, but his bigger impact has been as a rebounder.

In the four games before Thursday, Robinson had 35 rebounds.Including Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, he has taken down at least 10 rebounds in three of the last five games.

Walton has rewarded him by giving him the playing time he has earned.

Said the coach: “You want everyone on the team knowing that if you come in, put in the work, which he continues to do, and you’re a good teammate, stay positive when you get opportunity to do something, if you’re ready and take advantage of that [you’re rewarded]. … Nothing is set in stone. You earn minutes. You earn playing time. You earn opportunities. That comes from hard work and being ready.”

Etc.

Through the first half of Thursday night’s game, shooting guard Nick Young had made 53% of his shots over a seven-game span. After a subpar game Tuesday against the Jazz, when he missed all four of his three-point attempts, Young found his shooting touch again. He made his first five three-point shots and his first six shots overall, scoring 17 points in 21 minutes through three quarters before going scoreless in the fourth.

Brandon Ingram’s latest endorsement deal is with BiPro, a company that has a line of whey protein isolate products that claim a natural ingredients list. The company is using Ingram’s quest to gain weight as part of its marketing campaign. The 6-foot-9 rookie from Duke, the No. 2 pick in the draft last June, was a thin 190 pounds upon entering the NBA.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli