O'Neal Hopes to Return Friday

O’Neal Hopes to Return Friday

By TIM KAWAKAMI

April 11, 2000 12 AM PT

Shaquille O’Neal sat out his second consecutive game on Monday, which gives his sprained left ankle eight full days of rest between his last game-- Wednesday at Golden State--and his scheduled return on Friday against the Sacramento Kings.

“Funny how that works out, isn’t it?” said Coach Phil Jackson, noting the timing of the ankle problem.

The injury, which flared up immediately after the Lakers clinched homecourt advantage in the playoffs, is not considered serious and is unofficially the perfect way for O’Neal to get some rest after logging more than 2,997 minutes this season (averaging 40 minutes).

“[Trainer Gary] Vitti’s doing a great job,” O’Neal said through a Laker spokesman before Monday’s game. “The ankle’s making progress. I hope to be ready on Friday.”

The Lakers, who close the regular season with back-to-back games on Tuesday, April 18, at Dallas and on Wednesday, April 19, in San Antonio, almost certainly will have to open the playoffs on Saturday, April 22, at Staples Center, giving them basically only one full day of practice preparation.

The NHL announced that if the Kings-Detroit Red Wings series goes past five games, Game 6 will be Sunday, April 23, at noon at Staples, which basically removes that date from consideration for a Laker home game against the No. 8- seeded team.

“I think Sunday is obviously better,” Jackson said. “A Thursday practice would not be something that we’d love to have--you have back-to-back games to finish the season [and have to fly back home], you’d certainly like to have a day off before you start practicing.”

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Triple Plays / The Big 3

Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice have been the driving force behind the Lakers’ success. How they fared:

O’NEAL

*--*

Mon. Season DNP Points 29.5 DNP Rebounds 13.6 DNP Assists 3.8

*--*

BRYANT

*--*

Mon. Season 33 Points 22.4 10 Rebounds 6.2 6 Assists 4.8

*--*

RICE