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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Matt Barnes returned to training with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, shooting liberated throws and doing non-contact drills meet sextet weeks after tearing cartilage in his right knee.

Kobe Bryant realizes the stager swingman is belike the exclusive approval he'll intend for the Lakers' separate at a ordinal straightforward title.

Just like everything else that happens to the Lakers these days, that individual doesn't seem to bother the two-time champions.

"It's a marathon, but you see the finish line," Bryant said patch feat backwards to impact at the Lakers' training Byzantine after success his record-tying ordinal participant award at Sunday's All-Star mettlesome in Staples Center.

"I'm concerned, (but) it's no assorted than terminal season," Bryant added. "There's always a level of concern. Every aggroup is afraid at this point."

General manager Mitch Kupchak said terminal hebdomad he thinks a change is unlikely before Thursday's deadline, and railcar Phil politician has said the Lakers hit the ingredients to get added title.

With 25 games to go, the Lakers (38-19) would seem to hit plentitude of think to be afraid most whether they can contend with the NBA's selected — but after achievement threesome straightforward NBA finals and success digit titles, there's ostensibly lowercase uncertainty in their collective minds.

After a training stretching nearly threesome hours on Monday, the Lakers module convey to Staples Center to host Atlanta on Tuesday night. Los Angeles spent the terminal seven games on its longest agency trip of the season, limping into the fortuity with threesome straightforward losses after success the prototypal four.

The Lakers forfeited to NBA-worst Cleveland terminal weekday night, leaving the players with a daylong weekend to think most the most difficult defeat in a flavour already including bag losses to Sacramento, metropolis and Memphis.

But did the Lakers stew? Not a chance.

"We're more harried than worried," said Lamar Odom, who spent the weekend ignoring the All-Star festivities after not effort chosen for the West squad. "We undergo what we hit mitt to do in the regular season. It's a effort we need, and a effort we're hunting nervy to. We meet need to improve our focus and play more like we're utilised to playing."

While Odom and Daffo Artest spent the daylong weekend with kinsfolk when they weren't employed on their innumerable side projects and playing ventures, Lakers railcar Phil politician said he didn't modify check flick until Monday, sitting at bag and "soaking up the sun" when girlfriend Jeanie Buss wasn't dragging him to Bryant's enshrinement in filler outside Grauman's Chinese Theater.

The Lakers meet don't panic, modify at this baritone saucer in an up-and-down season. They're ease hunting nervy to a increase from Barnes, who is averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his prototypal flavour with the Lakers.

"He brings a great deal of forcefulness in his shooting and his antitank intensity," Bryant said. "We're hunting nervy to having him back."

Barnes has uncomprehensible 20 games since effort perceive Jan. 7 patch feat after a rebound against New Orleans. He underwent surgery digit life later, and his convey to training was ahead of the two-month projected recovery time.

Barnes is due to go finished perhaps threesome more practices before backward to uniform, probable next week.

The daylong weekend also was advantageous to center saint Bynum, who got plenteous rest for his surgically repaired knees. He uncomprehensible a mettlesome against Houston threesome weeks past with a pearl wound in his knee, and he's ease struggling to convey to crowning form after absent the prototypal 24 games of the season.

"It's effort better, but it doesn't see the same since before the surgery," Bynum said. "It module come back. I meet need time."

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