Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Hill all have missed large chunks of the season, and Dwight Howard has struggled to get back to full strength while recovering from offseason back surgery and a nagging torn labrum in his right shoulder. Antawn Jamison will need offseason surgery on his injured right wrist, and Metta World Peace recently came back a month earlier than expected from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee - although he appears to be nowhere close to full strength.

Jodie Meeks, averaging 8 points, will start in Bryant's spot against the Spurs on Sunday. The Lakers won't know until game time whether Nash will return from a right hamstring injury that has kept him out for six games.

The Lakers are likely to rely heavily on their big-man duo of Gasol and Howard, two proven veteran scorers who have worked together splendidly on occasion. During Los Angeles' win over Golden State, Gasol embraced a playmaking role and threw a series of alley-oops to Howard, who addressed the team after practice on Saturday.

(China Daily 04/15/2013 page23)