Blount Injures Eye but Should Be OK

The best run of Corie Blount’s career was temporarily derailed Friday when he got elbowed just under the right eye as Jamal Mashburn of the Heat came down after a layup midway through the fourth quarter, ending the night for the starting power forward after just 28 minutes, seven points and six rebounds.

Going for his third consecutive double-double, and the fifth in six games, he instead got a brief bout with blurry vision and double vision, then precautionary X-rays at Miami Arena. Those came back negative, and his sight returned to normal by the time the Lakers left the building.

“For about five minutes,” Blount said, “I couldn’t even see.”

The irony is that Blount got the starting job largely because his predecessor, Travis Knight, got elbowed near the eye and missed practice time. But Blount said he should be able to take part in the Lakers’ brief workout this evening in Orlando and then play against the Magic on Sunday afternoon.

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Shaquille O’Neal took another step in his rehabilitation this week by beginning agility drills and being allowed to increase his basketball work, although he had been playing some anyway. An evaluation also determined he was on schedule for a return sometime late in the regular season, but the Lakers, citing doctor-patient confidentiality, refused to release details of his comeback from the major knee injury, beyond saying that they are still weeks away from setting a target date for his actual return.

Some people close to O’Neal were saying Thursday night in Orlando that the superstar center had changed his mind and would not attend Sunday’s Laker-Magic game after all. But if that’s the case, it’s news to the Lakers, who still expect him on the bench.

Having watched from the same vantage point since suffering the knee injury Feb. 12, this will be his first road contest. It’s also his first time back in Orlando Arena as a visiting player, in uniform or otherwise.