The Lakers hopes for a four game sweep and thus avoiding conflicts with Kobe Bryant's court hearing dates were thrown out the window after Game 3.  

The Lakers will now be without their star for two of the teams off days leading up to Game 5 in L.A. on Wednesday night, with Kobe scheduled to appear in court on on April 26-28.  Bryant will likely arrive at Staples Center in time for the start just as he did in during the regular season.

"This is not the norm," Rick Fox said. "And outside of what we've dealt with in the regular season, we've been able to adjust and bring him up to par with what it is in terms of practice we've done, what it is in terms of a game plan. We're going to communicate. Maybe the best thing we can do is film practice and send it out to him so he can look at it between games, so at least he knows what he's doing."

There is a chance Bryant will not arrive in Los Angeles in time for the game. Karl Malone said the Lakers are aware of the possibility and they will deal with that if it happens.

"We can't worry about that," Malone said. "We're professional athletes whether Kobe is here or Kobe is not. The main percent of people in sports have a built-in excuse already, and I don't like those. So if Kobe is available, he is. If he's not, we have to step up and get the job done and not start building in an excuse already before the game is even played because you see that too much in sports already."