No Pain in Bryant’s Shoulder

Kobe Bryant slept late on Wednesday morning, rolled out of bed and called Laker trainer Gary Vitti with the news.

Unlike the time two months ago when he awoke with pain in his left foot, Bryant arose with no problem in his left shoulder, allowing the Laker organization to exhale, if it hadn’t already after he hit up the Toronto Raptors for 48 points Tuesday night.

Bryant’s series of first-quarter collisions -- one with the floor after a missed layup and one with Toronto center Rafael Araujo -- didn’t cause a hangover effect Wednesday, meaning Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich won’t have to do any further meditating, as he said he did when Bryant left the court for a brief trip to the locker room against the Raptors.

“There was no soreness [Wednesday] morning,” Laker spokesman John Black said. “It was probably just a pulled muscle or tweak of some sort.”

Technically, it was diagnosed as a strained shoulder.

Realistically, it led to a post-game dialogue about Bryant’s playing time, and if there had been too much of it in recent games.

Bryant leads the league with 43.7 minutes per game, almost two minutes more than New Jersey forward Richard Jefferson. Bryant’s slashing, driving style has led to another league-high -- 11.9 free throws per game -- but more minutes mean more drives through the lane and more fouls heading in his direction.

It is a quandary for Tomjanovich, who has to weigh the importance of keeping the Lakers in the game and keeping Bryant physically sound.

“I have so much confidence in the guy, I think he’s Superman,” Tomjanovich said. “He plays point guard, he plays like a two guard, he plays like a power forward. I love that. When I got the job, that’s what I talked about, using him and letting him be creative and all that, but he’s got to get some rest.

“I haven’t been substituting him in the second half and I did [Tuesday] and we talked about it. It didn’t knock [his minutes] down a whole bunch, but we’re going to try to get it down a little bit so he has some gas at the end.”

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Forward Caron Butler spent Christmas at home, an endearing concept for most people on a holiday, but not for those who were supposed to be at work.

Butler, serving a one-game suspension for last Saturday’s game against Miami, returned Tuesday and had 18 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes.

“Being a starter on this ballclub, watching the [Miami] game from afar, knowing what you could contribute during that game, I was just hurt,” Butler said.

“It meant a lot to come back out and get the win and get the love from the crowd.”

Butler played only two minutes in the fourth quarter after getting hit in the abdominal area, but he is not expected to miss Sunday’s game against Denver.

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The Lakers did not practice Wednesday and they will not practice today. “There’s guys that have bumps and bruises and all that and I could overkill it,” Tomjanovich said. “I remember as a player in the course of a year if you could get a couple days off how it rejuvenates your body. We’ll go real hard on Friday and [get] a good one on Saturday.” ... Forward Lamar Odom on Bryant’s injury: “It couldn’t have been that bad. He did have 48. Kobe does not show when he is hurting, and he will not let you know.”