Lakers coach Phil Jackson said after today's shootaround that Kobe Bryant was still limited by a sprained left ankle.

"He's still a guy who's not 100 percent," Jackson said hours before the Lakers looked to close out the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 of their first-round series.

"I just think it's a matter of where is his physical ability with the ankle. It's not about whether he plays 28 minutes or 38 minutes. That, obviously, it going to put a little more stress on the ankle. I think he can play 40 minutes if he has to."

Dating to his first season with the Lakers in 1999-2000, Phil Jackson is 27-7 in games in which the Lakers have a chance to send their opponent into the offseason. That includes a 4-0 record in 2010, when the Lakers repeated as NBA champions.

Jackson’s unorthodox coaching methods have been a topic of discussion through the years. But one thing is certain, the Lakers under Jackson rarely have slipped when faced with the opportunity to move on in the playoffs or clinch an NBA title.

The only major blip on Jackson’s closeout record occurred in 2006, when the Lakers had a 3-1 first-round playoff series lead over the Phoenix Suns. The Suns, on their way to the Western Conference finals, won three consecutive games to shockingly oust the Lakers from the playoffs.

But during title runs in 2000, 2001 and 2002, the Lakers were 12-2 in closeout games. During the Lakers’ current two-year championship run, they were 8-1 in closeouts.

For his efforts raising awareness and funds for mental-health issues, Ron Artest was named Tuesday as the winner of the 2010-11 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

"I'm not going to tell you there it's up there with the NBA championship, but it's definitely over the Defensive Player of the year award that I got," said Artest, who won that honor for the 2003-04 season. "It's important because there are kids here in America who aren't doing well. I want to see those kids have an opportunity to succeed, whether they're on drugs, are abused or have a lack of confidence, bullied, cyber bullied or have family issues. I'm trying to help out and bring awareness."

The award honors an NBA player or coach who has displayed "outstanding service and dedication to the community" and is determined by the PBWA, a panel of 150 writers who cover the NBA for newspapers, magazines or the Internet on a regular basis.

Chris Paul has averaged 25.5 points, 11.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds against the Lakers, including a 33-point effort in a 109-100 victory in Game 1.

“I just look at it as a great opportunity for us as a team to forget about the regular season and seize the moment,’’ said Paul, who played Sunday night with a jammed left thumb and a cut above his right eye.

“I play with a chip on my shoulder. Regardless, day in and day out. I’m not trying to make a statement. When you get to the playoffs, nobody feels sorry for you. Nobody. They don’t care what’s wrong with your ankle, your knee or anything like that.
“This is what players are made of.’’

According to The Times Picayune, Paul is shooting 11-of-19 (58%) inside the paint, 14-of-23 (61%) from midrange, and 7-of-14 (50%) from beyond the arc through four games of the Hornets’ first round series against the Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has a sprained left ankle and is officially listed as day to day, a team spokesman told reporters on Monday.

"He says he'll play," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant's status for Tuesday's pivotal Game 5 with the Lakers' first-round series tied 2-2. […]

Bryant spent Monday undergoing extensive treatment on the ankle, according to Jackson, including icing, electrostimulation and massage.

Bryant declined to undergo any further examination of the injury through X-rays or an MRI, going against the wishes of the Lakers front office.

"Right now, he's not," Jackson said. "We're trying to convince him that it might be a good idea."

When asked what the Lakers' medical staff thought of Bryant's injury, Jackson said, "He won't let them deal with it."

Hornets coach Montie Williams showed his team a YouTube video phenomenon called “Battle at Kruger” about a wildebeest calf in peril vs. lions — but saved by the wildebeest herd that initially was run off by the lions but hung with it and came back better focused and organized. The wildebeest calf that was about to be devoured is able to escape into the herd, and the lions get chased away.

Hornets coach Monty Williams said lead assistant coach Mike Malone introduced Williams to the footage.

Williams said the point for the Hornets players despite not having the advantage that the lions had: “Don’t give up. The calf lived. It was getting attacked for about three, four or five minutes, and it lived. They just stayed together. The lions obviously had the advantage, but the wildebeests were pretty tough when they’re together.”

With 27 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists, Chris Paul recorded his second career triple-double in the postseason.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Paul joined Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in a playoff game. Robertson accomplished that feat twice, once in 1962 against theDetroit Pistons and again in 1964 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Paul was also a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line, something Robertson did too in that 1964 game when he was 12-12 in free throws.

It's just the sixth triple-double in the postseason against the Lakers in the last 20 seasons.

Derrick Caracter was arrested early Sunday morning in New Orleans after an alleged altercation near the team hotel.

Caracter was charged with battery and has yet to play in the 2011 NBA Playoffs for the Lakers.

The Lakers did not offer contracts next season to four of the five members of its training staff, the first of possibly many cost-cutting moves in the organization as the NBA braces for a possible lockout.

Longtime trainer Gary Vitti, however, will return next season.

The Lakers couldn't guarantee that they would rehire the staff members if a lockout were to end earlier than expected.

Other Lakers employees could ultimately be affected by the lockout, including those in ticket sales, business operations and scouting.

Kobe Bryant rolled his left ankle late in the Lakers' 93-88 loss to the Hornets in Game 4 of their first-round series on Sunday, according to an ESPN.com report.

"It's sore," Bryant said, conducting his postgame interview in the training room area of the visitor's locker room at New Orleans Arena rather than at the podium for the televised press conference. "It just rolled over. It's been weeks since I hurt it last and when it happens, when you roll your ankle once, it's easy to go and it just went."

He expects to play in Tuesday's pivotal Game 5 as the series heads back to Staples Center tied 2-2.

"I should play," Bryant said. "It's going to take a lot to stop me from playing.