Bryant Still Not Ready

Whatever made Kobe Bryant ill before Monday’s Game 2 was still in his system Wednesday as the Laker All-Star was forced to leave practice early to see one of the team doctors.

John Moe, the team internist, gave Bryant a battery of blood tests looking for a virus or bacterial infection, and according to team spokesman John Black, the results were “in the range of normal.”

Bryant, who will be on antibiotics for about the next 10 days, is listed as day-to-day.

“He got sick two or three times during the course of the day,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant, who did not miss a game because of illness or injury during the regular season. “He got sick during our video session and actually had to sit on the floor a couple of times.”

Bryant, who slept most of Tuesday when the Lakers were given a day off, tried to practice but didn’t last long.

He was seen leaving the team’s El Segundo HealthSouth practice facility nearly an hour before the Lakers completed practice.

“Knowing Kobe, he just probably thought he could just jump right back in,” Jackson said. “Maybe he jumped in too fast with food or something and his system wasn’t quite ready for that. But I don’t think [it’s a serious problem].”

Laker officials still believe that Bryant’s illness is a result of food poisoning, but they are not ruling out a possible bacterial infection. The Lakers have to look only at Charlotte swingman Jamal Mashburn, who had a similar illness at the start of the playoffs, then sat out the Hornets’ entire second-round series against New Jersey.

Not having Bryant participate in practice was somewhat of a shock for his teammates and Jackson, who said he had appeared to be in good shape on the team’s flight home after Monday’s loss at Sacramento.

“His spirits were good and he seemed like he had a lot of energy,” guard Brian Shaw said about Bryant. “He was laughing and joking, playing around with everyone. He was acting like his normal self.”

Bryant’s high energy level on the flight may have been the result of three liters of intravenous fluid he received before Monday’s game.

“He showed up to practice, but you can see that he was still battling the effects of being sick from the other day,” forward Rick Fox said. “It may take him a couple of days to recover, which makes it perfect for us to have three days off [before Friday’s Game 3 at Staples Center].

“I think he tried to eat this morning, which is a good indication because he felt good enough to do so. But he didn’t respond very well to the food. I am not a doctor, but it may have been too early for him.”

Bryant, who scored 30 points in Game 1, played 40 minutes Monday and finished with 22 points.

“He looked pretty good to me,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said after watching tape of Bryant’s Game 2 effort. “I’m sure it was some type of factor for him to have played 40 minutes instead of 45.”

Bryant did look strong at times Monday but, for the most part, he wasn’t the same player who had dominated Game 1. Bryant missed 12 of 21 field-goal attempts and seemed to be a step slow on defense as he struggled to keep up with the Kings’ Bobby Jackson.

Bryant’s illness in Sacramento was blamed on a bacon cheeseburger and slice of cheesecake he ordered late Sunday night from room service. Black said he didn’t know what Bryant ate Tuesday.

Although it’s questionable whether Bryant will be able to practice today, his teammates are confident that he’ll be ready for Friday’s game.

“I’d be concerned if we had to play tonight, or even tomorrow,” Fox said. “I know he’ll be fine by Friday.”

Added Jackson: “I don’t think there’s anything that can deter him from playing.”