Derek Fisher sprained his left elbow during the third quarter of the Lakers game against the Bobcats on Friday. Head coach Phil Jackson didn't think the injury is serious and explained why he sent his point guard to the locker room. "I wanted to get him back and get him icing his arm as soon as possible so that he'll be ready on Sunday," Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com. Fisher has played in 476 consecutive games, which is the longest streak in the NBA. He has not missed a game since April 15, 2005. Steve Blake will probably start at point guard against the Spurs on Sunday if Fisher can't play. UPDATE No. 2: Barnes was hoping to play against Charlotte on Friday, but while warming up before the game he irritated a nerve in his right leg and the decision was made to keep him in the inactive list. "It was weird," Barnes told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "I aggravated a nerve while I was stretching, so it had nothing to do with my knee. My knee is fine. I was just stretching before the game and aggravated a nerve. It kind of made my whole leg hot, then fuzzy, then it sort of hurt." The Lakers medical staff confirmed to Barnes that it was just a nerve issue. He is listed as day-to-day. ---- UPDATE: Matt Barnes went though practice on Thursday and declared himself ready to play on Friday against Charlotte. Head coach Phil Jackson sounded like Barnes will return to the active for the first time in almost two months. "I'm looking forward to him playing Friday, but we'll see," Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "I'm going to hold back and make a positive declaration about that tomorrow. Matt was all right today. We'll obviously check to see how he reacts tomorrow and overnight and we'll make a decision on this, but right now, he's looking pretty good." ---- Matt Barnes, injured on Jan. 7, is with the team on their road trip and says he is ready to play. Barnes had right knee surgery to fix the torn lateral meniscus on Jan. 11. Barnes says the team will decide when he'll return to the active roster. "Progress is very good and now it's really up to [coach] Phil [Jackson]. I've been practicing and rehabbing well," Barnes told ESPN Los Angeles. "I feel good but I don't want to cause any controversy. I want to be here for the long haul and when I'm back I want to make sure I stay back. When they're ready to have me back out there I'll be ready." Barnes' return will give Jackson more options at small forward and power forward, if the head coach goes with a small lineup. Barnes was averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists before the injury.
One more injury update ... According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Lakers rookie Devin Ebanks is out a minimum of three weeks due to a stress fracture of the left tibia. Ebanks had only been getting occasional playing time before this injury and with Matt Barnes set to return Friday night, Ebanks likely won't be much of a factor going forward the rest of the season and into the playoff for the Lakers.
