Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES — This is DJ Mbenga’s chance, and one that might not come again this season if the Lakers’ hopes that Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol can keep their health.

The thing is, Mbenga’s not exactly full strength either.

Mbenga was slowed considerably in training camp with a complicated lower-body and hip problem that limited his practices. He’s still not all the way past that, and Phil Jackson also noted that Mbenga has been fighting knee tendinitis. Mbenga is playing with a sleeve over his right knee.

Jackson said, though, that he has faith in Mbenga’s skills, even though his athleticism isn’t altogether there right now. Jackson laughingly referred to Mbenga’s jump shot as that “Tyrannosaurus Rex shot he has” — even as Jackson praised it as being a good shot.

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