Otis Smith will travel to Los Angeles on Tuesday to meet with Dwight Howard.

Howard has been in Los Angeles while recovering from his surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back.

"The intent is to check in, see how he's doing, both from his rehab as well as his spirits, to see him in-person," Magic CEO Alex Martins.

Smith will spend approximately 24 hours in Los Angeles before returning to Orlando for Game 3.

"They're all my kids," Smith said of his players. "I've got one of them that's not with the team, that you want to have with the team that's injured, that's down. So you've got to go see him. You've got to pep him up a little bit and tell him he's doing the right thing by his body.

"He can't travel and he can't do much," Smith added. "His doctor's orders and pretty much our orders are to get his back right. He can't do anything for anybody at this point in time, so he has to get right."

Amar'e Stoudemire cut his hand after punching the glass enclosing a fire extinguisher following the Knicks' Game 2 loss to the Heat.

Stoudemire needed stitches on the hand to close the cut and there was a great deal of blood on the scene.

New York trails Miami 0-2 in the first round series.

"I am so mad at myself right now," wrote Stoudemire on Tuesday evening on his Twitter feed. "I want to apologize to the fans and my team. Not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start."

David Stern disputed the growing speculation that the NBA's lockout-shortened season have contributed to major injuries.

"I don't think it's related at all. Zero," Stern said.

Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert tore their ACL on Saturday in non-contact injuries, while Dwight Howard had season-ending back surgery this month.

"When anything happens, that's going to happen," Stern said of people trying to find a cause-and-effect relationship. "But I was just reading something from a doctor who said that he just doesn't believe it. There's no evidence that the wear and tear ... and on Derrick it's kind of interesting, it was horrible to watch, but he was out. He missed 27 games earlier this year, so he only played in 40 of those games that we had in this quote condensed schedule. So what's your suggestion?"

Rose came into the season missing just five games in his NBA career, but suffered various injuries throughout the year.

"When you think about it, that's the only thing that changed," Rose said about the schedule recently. "The way I work out is usually the same, even though I ran more than I usually did in the past. But I really don't know what to blame it on. Where they're just like freak accident, freak injuries, where it's just happening."

The NBA's medical consultant doesn't believe the compressed schedule is related to the injuries.

"There is no evidence that wear and tear, or that kind of issue, playing too much, really has any correlation with ACL injuries in any sport that we've ever studied," Altchek said Sunday. "In fact, I think if you're tired [from a condensed schedule], you're a lot less likely to tear your ACL because you're not going to be as explosive."

Derrick Rose attended Chicago's practice on Monday, less than 48 hours after tearing his ACL.

"We want him be around," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "As much time as he needs is fine. I don’t think he’ll be able to travel with us. But he’ll be around. And he wants to be around. He’s anxious to get around his teammates. That’s the way Derrick is. He doesn’t look back. He looks ahead. That’s a great way to be."

A specific medical plan for when Rose undergoes surgery is still being formulated.

"He's got to wait because they're strengthening the quad and all that," Thibodeau said. "It will probably be clearer by the end of the week."

Caron Butler suffered a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter of last night’s 99-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in game one of their first round playoff series.

Butler underwent an x-ray at the arena during the game which confirmed the injury.

Tyson Chandler is feeling significantly better on Monday and will play in Game 2, according to a source.

Chandler played in Game 1 amid flu symptoms, but his fever is now down.

Jeremy Lin reported that he took “a step back’’ Sunday when his knee didn’t react well to his extensive pregame workout on Saturday.

Lin is not considering returning for Game 2 on Monday, or Game 3 in New York on Thursday.

“I’ll see how I feel at the end of the week,’’ he said. “But I don’t want to make a promise.’’

Lin hasn't taken contact since the injury and only run a few times.

Caron Butler fractured his left hand during the third quarter of the Clippers' Game 1 win over Memphis.

Butler's status for the remainder of the playoffs has not been determined.

The Bulls have yet to release official information on a timetable for Derrick Rose's surgery and rehabilitation plans after tearing his ACL on Saturday.

A safe estimated return from an ACL injury is six to nine months.

Rose's surgery is likely to be postponed two to three weeks in order to allow the initial swelling to subside, according to someone familiar with the injury.

Ray Allen will require offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle.

“I know it’s weak, but I still have pain in it,’’ said Allen. “It feels better. If I could, I would get surgery tomorrow. If it was the beginning of the season, I would have surgery.

“It’s just inevitable, talking to a couple of different doctors.”

Allen underwent the same procedure in 2007 before joining the Celtics.