Van Exel Says Knee ‘Feels Great’

Nick Van Exel fought the good fight. He tried to play through the bothersome clicking in his right knee, before opting for arthroscopic surgery last Thursday. Then he tried to fight the anesthesia.

“I told the doctor I was going to beat him,” Van Exel said Wednesday. “He said, ‘I’m undefeated from this side of the table.’ ”

And he remained as such. Van Exel eventually drifted away, like all the other mortals, had some bone fragments and scar tissue removed, and awoke to a new basketball life. No more clicking.

He started rehabilitation Monday, mostly working the joint with weights and machines. He has already started light running. Wednesday, he shot around for the first time, then was on the bench in street clothes as the Lakers played the Indiana Pacers at the Great Western Forum.

“It feels great,” Van Exel said before the game. “No swelling. No pain. I’ve just been getting rehab and been getting iced two times a day.”

The all-star point guard is expected to miss at least two more weeks, depending on how the workouts go. That doesn’t do much for Van Exel’s hopes of playing next week, a notion even he admits might be overly optimistic, especially since that’s when the Lakers are planning to issue another progress report, not a spot back on the active roster.

Under any timetable, Van Exel said he’s glad he decided to have the surgery now. The option was to wait until summer, but play with constant concern and uncertainty.

“I figured I was already playing with one bad leg,” he said, noting the chronic soreness in the left leg. “I didn’t want to play with two. There’s no telling what could happen down the line.

“You never know what could happen later, three weeks from now. I’m glad I did it, so I can get back out there.”

And once he does?

“I’m not going to worry about the knee. I’m just going to go out and play like it never happened.”