Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES — Luke Walton’s back discomfort was so severe during the six minutes he played in Denver on Friday night that he described it this way: “I was dying.”

Walton was diagnosed Monday with a pinched nerve and will miss at least six weeks. He said it’s a similar issue to what bothered him for a spell during training camp, but that pain subsided and he returned to action. The pain cropped up again about a week ago, and he said he can feel the back muscle grab him just from bending down to tie his shoelaces now.

So Walton will rest for now and make sure he is fully refreshed this time before attempting a comeback. But back pain is a serious problem for an athlete, and Walton hasn’t been the quickest to recover from injuries in the past. So the opportunity is there for guard Shannon Brown foremost, probably, with Kobe Bryant playing more small forward. Phil Jackson said he’d like to get Adam Morrison some minutes, if possible, too.

“Hopefully this will be the end of it,” Walton said.

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