Bryant’s Ankle Feeling Much Better

It wasn’t that long ago when Kobe Bryant cut better than the black Ferrari he carved into the players’ lot at Staples Center on Friday night. But he’s beginning to get the feeling back.

Though Bryant sat out his fifth consecutive game on Friday night because of a strained left ankle, he experienced enough improvement in the previous 24 hours to be hopeful about playing Sunday against the New York Knicks.

“I have a little bounce to my step right now, you know what I mean?” Bryant said. “I feel pretty good.”

Bryant is wearing new, firmer orthotics, which support his ankles and should help prevent similar injuries in the future.

“I really like these,” he said, pressing his foot to the floor. “They make me feel much better.”

He was on the floor during Friday morning’s shoot-around, though he didn’t do much more than rebound teammates’ shots and, in Coach Phil Jackson’s words, “horse around.”

Team officials don’t expect Bryant to return until the upcoming trip, beginning Tuesday night at Salt Lake City.

“I’m not optimistic about a Sunday return,” Jackson said.

Regardless, Bryant continues to appear less encumbered than he had in the games leading to his ankle injury. He seems to smile quicker and laugh more easily.

“I’m OK,” he said. “I got a lot of stress off me.”

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It was Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, remember, who predicted the Lakers were a sprained ankle away from mediocrity.

But with Bryant on the bench and the Mavericks half a game behind the struggling Lakers in the Pacific Division, Cuban passed on the opportunity to revel in the Laker predicament.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” said Cuban, smiling at the reference. “They beat us three games [before Friday’s game]. That’s all I can say. They’ve beat us three games, so I’ve got nothing to gloat about. They beat us three. I have no reason to talk.

“We haven’t made the playoffs yet, so I’m not thrilled with anything yet. When you haven’t made the playoffs for 10 years, you take nothing for granted. Like I told the coaches, ‘Just remember the 1964 Phillies.’ ”

Without Bryant, of course, it left the Lakers with Shaquille O’Neal and “the merry minimums,” the nickname given players three through 12 by Cuban. He smiled again.

“I said what I said,” he said. “I said what I said.”

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Playoff tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today. The tickets will be available at TicketMaster outlets, by telephone (1-800-4NBATIX) or online, at https://www.ticketmaster.com. If not sold out today, tickets will be available Sunday at the Staples Center box office.