Horry’s Status Report Is Not a Step Forward

Power forward Robert Horry, a large part of the Lakers’ postseason psyche and front line, is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the playoff opener for the two-time defending NBA champions.

Doctors on Thursday discovered a hematoma under Horry’s abdominal muscle, which caused enough swelling and discomfort to force him from the floor in consecutive games, Monday against Seattle and the regular-season finale Wednesday against Sacramento. He experienced sharp pain in both instances.

Horry took two hours of treatment Thursday evening and is to take regular therapy on the afflicted area through game-time Sunday, and perhaps a decision on his availability will not be made before then. Rest and anti-inflammatory medication also were prescribed.

Horry was examined Thursday by four doctors at the Kerlan-Jobe/HealthSouth Orthopedic Clinic, including team physician Steve Lombardo. They told Laker officials that an MRI exam revealed a small pool of blood between muscle fibers and the sheath that holds them in Horry’s left abdominal area.

A team official said it was an unusual malady, perhaps caused by a hard fall or jostling typical of an NBA game, and that doctors continued to research its cause, its ramifications on Horry and his ability to play Sunday. The club said Monday that Horry suffered from a stomachache, and Wednesday that he had a strained stomach muscle.

If Horry were forced to miss Game 1, his availability for Game 2 Thursday would be more likely because he would have played only three minutes in 10 days.

Players and team personnel arrived sporadically at HealthSouth Center in El Segundo on a day off for all but the most energetic among them. The coaches studied the Trail Blazers, a team they know well from two games in the last three weeks, and the Lakers will prepare en masse today and Saturday to begin the defense of their championships.

Derek Fisher went to lift weights and shoot jumpers, not to ponder the impact of Horry’s health and the extent to which it would hamper the Lakers in the best-of-five series against the dangerous Trail Blazers.

“We’ll talk about it if that happens,” he said.

Against the Trail Blazers, Fisher said, Horry brings, “the same things he always has. There’s no secret about what he does for us. Hopefully he’ll be OK and ready to play come Sunday.”

In four games against Portland this season, Horry averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 31.5 minutes, five more minutes than his overall season average. He also made 43.8% of his three-point attempts.

It’s too early to worry, Fisher said.

“Until we hear something a bit more concrete, we won’t be concerned,” Fisher said. “We all want him to be healthy no matter what.”

Power forwards Mark Madsen and Slava Medvedenko are young and game, but mostly young, and Coach Phil Jackson rarely plays either in critical times. That makes Samaki Walker, who signed last summer to replace free agent Horace Grant, a pivotal player if Horry misses a game or two, or more, against the Trail Blazers.

The matchup problem will be the talented and volatile Rasheed Wallace, who led the Trail Blazers in scoring and rebounding. He is quick and strong beneath the basket and is dangerous at the three-point arc, versatility that made Horry valuable against him. Jackson believed it too, playing Horry 37 minutes in Sunday’s game in Portland, 18 more than Walker.

“He’s played with pain before,” Rick Fox said. “I’ll think about it after we get to that point. I don’t want to think there’s a chance he doesn’t play. No matter how brave and confident we are, he’s definitely a cog in our machine.”

Walker averaged 6.7 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. He is not the perimeter threat Horry is, but he can make a mid-range jump shot. The larger issue will be on defense, where Walker often gets into early foul trouble because he is aggressive and, according to Fisher, often lacks the name recognition at the Western Conference’s signature position.

“He’s been doing a great job for us on defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, just being physical,” Fisher said of Walker. “He doesn’t get the benefit [of referees’ calls] a lot of times, when he’s playing against the types of guys he competes against as far as foul calls. But he does a great job of going out there and competing no matter what.

“We know that Samaki is going to play hard and he’s going to give us effort, and that’s all you can ask of a guy. And then let everything else work itself out.”