Bryant Might Return on Tuesday

Kobe Bryant’s cut finger is still sore and therefore he will not play today against the Orlando Magic, according to Laker officials.

Bryant, who has said he cut his right index finger in a garage mishap on Jan. 29, still has about 10 stitches in the finger. He is day to day, with Tuesday’s game at Miami still a possibility.

On Saturday morning, 10 days after the incident, Laker medical personnel got its first look at Bryant’s wound and found it healing but not sturdy enough for the rigors of the game. Bryant did not participate in Saturday’s practice, held in the regulation gym at teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s Isleworth estate, though a witness said Bryant ran around a little and shot a lot of left-handed jumpers.

At the end of a week in which he sliced his finger, fell ill, attended court hearings in Eagle, Colo., then apparently became too sick to fly, Bryant appeared thinner Saturday morning as he walked from the lobby of the team hotel to an idling bus. He had arrived Friday afternoon, missing the first four games of the trip.

Surrounded by his security guards, Bryant nodded to reporters as he passed. His finger was wrapped in a light bandage.

“What’s up?” he said. “What’s up? How y’all doing?”

Asked if he’d stop to talk, the pleasantness ended. “No,” he said, firmly.

When Bryant had boarded the bus, his security dashed back to a waiting black SUV, which followed the bus down the driveway and off to O’Neal’s.

Coach Phil Jackson said he spoke briefly with Bryant on Friday in the hotel gym and again in passing Saturday morning as Bryant ate breakfast.

“I wasn’t optimistic after talking to him that he was going to play,” Jackson said. “They haven’t taken the stitches out. That’s basically what he said. So that means there’s still a little time to go to heal up.”

Jackson also said Bryant was feeling better after his illness, what has alternately been called flu and a stomach virus. The club had hoped Bryant would have met it Wednesday in Cleveland, then Thursday in Philadelphia, but granted Bryant more of the flexibility it said it would when the season began.

“I said it was a good idea that he stayed behind and got healthy,” Jackson said. “I asked him if he watched the games, though. He missed one of the games. I think it was Indiana.”

Asked if Bryant gave a reason for missing Thursday’s game, Jackson said, “You mean Philadelphia? No, there was no reason.”

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One team official said Bryant was “on the cusp” of being able to play, and that the Lakers might sooner leave the stitches in if he did, reducing the risk of opening the wound.

For most players, the right index finger is most critical in shooting, both in terms of direction and touch. A lighter, shorter bandage would at least expose Bryant’s fingertip, allowing him a feel for the ball.

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ABC will broadcast today’s game, meaning lead analyst Doc Rivers will be at TD Waterhouse Centre for the first time since being fired as Magic coach.

Also, Horace Grant returns for the first time since being waived by the Magic last season, shortly after his falling-out with Rivers.

Grant and Rivers bumped into each other before the Christmas Day game at Staples Center and even shook hands, but Grant did not leave the impression Saturday that all was forgotten, either with Rivers or the organization. “We spoke,” Grant said, “and that was it.”

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Jackson once called Orlando a “plastic” city, so imagine his feelings about a couple of off days spent here at a hotel outside of town.

“There’s a better choice of towns to have a day off than Orlando,” he said. “As much as the weather is a great thing to have here, we’re out here on an isolated island without any place to go, basically. So it’s kind of unusual. But a lot of the players brought entertainment factors along with them, and their families, and so their kids are waking them up early in the morning to go to the pool.”

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Early in the week, Gary Payton had a talk with O’Neal about keeping his mouth shut and staying in the game. A day later, Payton was ejected nine minutes into the Philadelphia game. Asked if O’Neal had reminded him of their talk, Payton said, “No. But he probably will.” ... Kareem Rush, who sprained his ankle Monday in Indiana and hasn’t played since, practiced Saturday. He is questionable today.... Jamal Sampson, slowly recovering from a sprained ankle, appears most likely to go to the injured list when Bryant comes off.

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TODAY

at Orlando, 9:30 a.m. PST, Ch. 7

Site -- TD Waterhouse Centre.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Lakers 29-18, Magic 13-38.

Record vs. Magic (2002-03) -- 1-1.

Update -- Tracy McGrady, who sat out the Magic’s last two games because of back spasms, said he would play today. McGrady averages 27.1 points but has been unable to make much of the Magic, which has lost five consecutive games. The Magic lost 19 in a row early in the season and so will spend the rest of the season determining the number of Ping-Pong balls it gets.