Forward Peja Stojakovic on Thursday went through his first full practice that involved a full-court, five-on-five scrimmage. Although Hornets coach Byron Scott has ruled out Stojakovic for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday's home game against the Houston Rockets remains a possibility for Stojakovic's return.
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"He looked pretty good,” Scott said. "He's moving well, but you could tell after about two or three times up and down the court that he's fatigued a little bit. Just talking to him, he felt pretty good. He just didn't feel like after a few times up and down the court he could get his shot off.”
Stojakovic, who hasn't played since Nov. 24 because of a back injury that required surgery in December, was unavailable for comment. But Scott said Stojakovic didn't complain of any pain at the end of the near 20-minute scrimmage. Scott said he would still like to see one or two more practices similar to Thursday's before reinserting Stojakovic into the lineup.
"I'll talk to him after practice Saturday, and we'll see how he feels and then we'll go from there,” Scott said. "The good news is that he didn't have any pain. So I think right now the biggest thing is just getting him comfortable again out there so he can feel like he can come out there and contribute to the team.”
Stojakovic teamed with Desmond Mason, Tyson Chandler, Devin Brown and Marc Jackson on the black team. Jannero Pargo, Rasual Butler, Linton Johnson and Cedric Simmons made up the white team. Butler and Johnson were the two primary defenders on Stojakovic, who ran off several screens and often used step back moves to create separation but struggled to get his shots to go down.
•Jackson out for next four: Scott said he doesn't expect Bobby Jackson to play in any of the team's next four games while resting a strained right Achilles. Scott said Jackson will continue to see team trainer Terry Kofler to try and reduce the swelling.
"If we can do that, we'll reevaluate,” Scott said. "But as of right now, like I said to Bobby the other day, ‘You might be out a week.' I don't know. We have to obviously be very cautious and careful with him, because that's nothing to play with. If it pops he could be out all of next year.”
Jackson, who stubbornly shot deep 3-pointers at the end of Thursday's practice despite his foot injury, said he hopes he doesn't miss an extended period of time.
"It's feeling better each day,” Jackson said. "It's been bothering me all season. It's something that you've just got to watch. It was painful in the Boston game, but I still decided to play. I can play with it. It's just the risk of tearing it or it popping.”
•Pargo to get more playing time: With Jackson likely sidelined for at least the next four games, Pargo will receive much more playing time as the backup point guard to Chris Paul. Pargo said he looks at the task as a challenge, one he'll gladly accept.
"It goes back to earlier in the year when I got the opportunity to start and play a lot of big minutes,” Pargo said. "I think it just prepared me for this time now.”
By Darnell Mayberry
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