It’s a Camp for Walking Wounded

The Lakers avoided the injury bug last season, managing to navigate around the sprains, rips and tears that plagued many NBA teams.

Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant sat out only two games, Bryant because of a suspension for elbowing Memphis forward Mike Miller. Of the starters, only Chris Mihm sat out significant time, and he was adequately replaced by Kwame Brown down the stretch.

Then came the off-season, and surgery for Bryant and Mihm, neither of whom have played in the exhibition season. Both are doubtful for games Thursday and Friday at Staples Center. There are only two exhibition games after that.

The laundry list goes on, leading to questions of chemistry and overall team health as time moves closer to the Oct. 31 opener against Phoenix.

Brown has sat out two games because of a sprained right shoulder. Sasha Vujacic sat out two games because of a strained muscle in his left foot. Vladimir Radmanovic has been bothered by a sprained ligament in his right hand and has made only seven of 27 shots (25.9%).

Aaron McKie left Tuesday night’s exhibition in the first quarter because of back spasms and will see a doctor today. Shammond Williams has an abdominal strain and is listed as day to day. Von Wafer has a bruised left heel, hurting his already slim chances of making the team.

And, of course, Coach Phil Jackson has yet to return to full-time status because of hip-replacement surgery the day training camp opened.

Assistant coach Kurt Rambis, a member of four Lakers championship teams as a power forward in the 1980s, couldn’t remember a training camp racked with so many injuries and recovery times.

“Not to the best of my memory, no,” he said. “Any time players are out, they have a period where they’re getting left behind. So the less time they spend on the injured list, the better off it is for them and for us.”

Before Jackson went under the knife, he said he hoped Bryant would return within a week or two. It hasn’t happened. He has taken part in scrimmages, but no games.

“It’s always better for him to play as much as possible,” Rambis said. “The sooner he can get back, the better, but again, it’s going back to the injury. We’re not going to push the injury. We want him to come back healthy and be ready to play, and also in shape and condition to play.”

Bryant will return, eventually, and the Lakers hope the adjustment period is short. After all, 15 of their first 20 games are at Staples Center, and a 16th is a “road” game against the Clippers.

*

The Lakers lost for the second time in three nights in Las Vegas, falling to the Sacramento Kings, 96-91, in a sloppy exhibition at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Jackson did not travel for the trip, but Rambis predicted he would be “red hot” at today’s practice after watching the game on TV.

“Some of it might be contributed to the number of days we spent in Las Vegas,” Rambis said. “I let them know that this is still training camp, it’s still preseason. Guys are still fighting for starting jobs, time, positions on this team, so nothing is solidified for people. For them to take a night off, it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

The Lakers’ younger players struggled throughout.

Devin Green made one of seven shots and J.R. Pinnock made two of seven. Jordan Farmar had five points on two-of-seven shooting and had three assists offset by five turnovers. Andrew Bynum had four points and two turnovers in 15 minutes.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com