Peep Show

Minnesota Timberwolves: There are sprained ankles and then there are sprained ankles. And then there is Troy Hudson's sprained ankle. "I've never seen an ankle like that," Wolves assistant coach Sidney Lowe said in the Star Tribune. "Most people twist it on one side. His was bruised and swollen on both sides. It's unfair to say he's been out this long with 'just a sprain.' It's not that simple." So far, it's kept him of the floor for nearly three months and three dozen games. "That's probably going to be there all year," Troy said as he looked at his blackened foot. "Even after the pain goes. Over the course of a workout, it tends to go down, but then it swells back up."

New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets may have lost two games in a row but not the confidence of their coach. "You might say we've had our confidence shaken somewhat," Tim Floyd said in the Times-Picayune. "Our job is to heal it, mainly by doing a better job on the defensive end, also by doing a better job of getting the ball inside, with the pass, with dribble penetration. Am I confident? Yes. Why? Because of the character our guys have shown with their attitude, with their approach. I feel we were successful in establishing a kind of identity, sharing the basketball and playing tough on the defensive end. Now the challenge is to sustain it the rest of the way." And he can't wait until Jamal Mashburn returns, which may be at the end of this month. "All I can tell you about Mash," Floyd said, "is I've never seen anyone, with my own eyes, work any harder than he did during the offseason. While Baron was getting himself in great shape out in California, Mash was here working every day. I'm sure that's what made his injury after only a few practices so tough on him."

Los Angeles Lakers: And then there was one Hall of Famer . . . "I've just got to go out there and try to get everybody involved, sort of the way I've been playing and just try to help all the other guys out on the floor," Gary Payton said in the L.A. Times after injuries to Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant. "I think all I've got to do is be myself, just come out there and play, help guys out, help them along in the game. Don't be on people. We've got to pat and encourage people. So if we encourage a lot of these guys and get them to playing the way they should play, we should be fine." And he could care less if that means shooting 5-for-22 again like he did against the Cavs as long as the Lakers win. "That is nothing," he said. "We've got to win. I don't care about me being successful. I've been successful all my career. I don't need to be successful. I want & us to win basketball games. So it was nothing. It was an off night. I don't care about that, as long as we got the win&. We're fine. I'm fine."

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