Lakers' center Chris Mihm is coming off his first starting assignment in 20 months, Andrew Bynum is trying to shake off a subpar shooting night Tuesday against New Orleans, and Kwame Brown is not expected to play tonight against Minnesota because of bursitis in his right heel.

Mihm had eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 17 minutes against New Orleans, which is probably good enough to earn another start. He had not started since severely spraining his right ankle in March 2006. He missed last season after undergoing two ankle surgeries.

"I was real pleased with Chris," Coach Phil Jackson said. "He's kind of broken through, I think. This start helped him - second half, he came out and gave us a real nice lift and we got off to a jump. He played well."

Bynum, on the other hand, struggled with his jump hook and was short on other shots against New Orleans, making four of 10 on the night.