SAN ANTONIO – Kobe Bryant is expected to be watching Game 3 from the Los Angeles Lakers' locker room Friday night with his left leg elevated. Point guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake could join him. Injuries have become so bad for the Lakers that Metta World Peace took the early bus to the arena Wednesday so he could get treatment before the training room got packed.

The beaten Lakers are showing heart against the title-contending San Antonio Spurs. But down 2-0 in this best-of-seven first-round series with injuries mounting, just how much fight do these battered Lakers have left?

"We've had a rough year, but we're not going to hang our heads," said Lakers center Dwight Howard, who is dealing with back and shoulder injuries, after a 102-91 loss Wednesday night. "Guys will go down, but we're still a team and still have a great opportunity in front of us. We just can't lose our faith, with guys getting banged up. With guys falling, other guys will step up and play.

"It hurts to see people

Canada is well represented in entertainment, music and, of course, hockey. With teenage hoops sensation Andrew Wiggins leading a wave of young talent from way up north, basketball might soon be a point of pride also.

Andrew Wiggins is proud to represent Canada. (Getty)Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is Canada's most heralded basketball player, with Bill Wennington, Rick Fox and Jamaal Magloire also having solid careers. But in the athletic Wiggins, Canada appears ready to make its mark on some new territory.

Wiggins, 18, is viewed as a superstar-in-the making and is expected to be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2014 NBA draft, as well as the primary building block of Canada's international team.

"Everyone last year was trying to figure out a way to get him next year," a longtime NBA scout and ex-player told Yahoo! Sports. "Teams are plotting and preparing for when he gets out of school. Character. Demeanor. Athleticism. Coachable. He makes the game look like it's insanely too easy. While everyone is sweating, he isn't and he jumps over

SAN ANTONIO – Steve Nash had a painful Monday, the day after he played his first game in almost a month.

Nevertheless, he took part completely in the Los Angeles Lakers' light practice at Texas Military Institute. He said afterward he is dealing with a "fair amount" of discomfort and isn't "moving like normal" as he recovers from hip and hamstring injuries.

Grinning and bearing it, Nash, expects to play in Game 2 of the Lakers' opening round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. 

Steve Nash played 29 minutes on Sunday against the Spurs. (USA Today Sports) "It is what it is," Nash said. "I'm going to have to fight through some soreness, some pain. I'm not going to move as well as I would like, but I have to make the most of it."

The Lakers don't play again until Wednesday, giving Nash valuable time to recover. Coincidentally, the team took a field trip to watch the movie "Pain & Gain" on Monday.

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Nash missed the last eight games of the Lakers' regular season. The 39-year-old also missed 24 games with a

SAN ANTONIO – There were many tweets of frustration, strategy and encouragement from @KobeBryant during the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff series opening loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. This wasn't just any Lakers fan. It was the verified account with 2.2 million followers from the star who is sidelined the rest of the season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

Bryant was rooting hard while offering suggestion after suggestion to his Lakers who couldn't hear his cyber voice as they lost 91-79 in Game 1. But NBA fans on their phones, computers or tablets heard him loud and clear, even though he is watching from afar since he currently can't travel with the team.

When told that Bryant tweeted several times that the Lakers should post more, coach Mike D'Antoni rolled his eyes before saying, "It's great to have that commentary." Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is finding out everyone's a critic, even Kobe Bryant. (AP)

D'Antoni followed up by stating, "He's a fan right now. You guys put a little bit more importance on that kind of fan. But he's a fan. He wants to be

PORTLAND, Ore. – German guard Dennis Schröder told Yahoo! Sports he will enter the NBA draft after his stock rose during practices for the Hoop Summit this week.

Schröder, 20, is a guard on the World Select Team that is playing the USA Junior Select Team on Saturday night at the Rose Garden. He averaged 12 points, 3.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game this season for the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig of the German BBL. The 6-foot-2, 168-pounder is projected to be a late first-round pick after NBA teams have watched him practice this week, league sources said.

The Hoop Summit pits the top American high school seniors versus top international talent. A strong game Saturday could solidify Schröder's draft stock.

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LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant won't be joining the Los Angeles Lakers in the postseason, but there is growing optimism Steve Nash will be on the court as early as Sunday's playoff opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

A strained right hamstring and hip soreness forced Nash to miss the final eight games of the regular season, including Wednesday's 99-95 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets. The win gave the Lakers the Western Conference's No. 7 seed and a first-round matchup with their old rival, the Spurs.

Nash said he had two epidural injections in his lower back on Tuesday, which has begun to alleviate his hamstring pain. The Lakers announced Tuesday an MRI exam confirmed Nash is dealing with “several preexisting issues related to his hip and back, which are causing nerve irritation and contributing to his hamstring pain and weakness.”

Nash and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak both expressed optimism Nash would be able to play on Sunday.

"It really depends on whether the two

LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant was relieved to see the Los Angeles Lakers were still alive in the playoff race despite playing without him on Sunday night, but the bedridden star was far from satisfied.

"Gritty performance. At the doorstep. Gotta kick the door in now and finish the damn thing," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports in an email late Sunday night.

The "damn thing" is a playoff bid, and it's one step closer thanks to a critical 91-86 win over the the San Antonio Spurs in their first game since Bryant was lost for the season having suffered a torn left Achilles' tendon. Dwight Howard shoots past Tim Duncan during the first half. (AP)

The Lakers (44-37) are fighting the Utah Jazz (42-38) for the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. The win over the Spurs goes a long way toward sealing that berth. Now a win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday or a loss by the Utah Jazz in either of their two final games against the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies would mean a playoff trip for the Lakers. The Jazz, however, own the