Hamblen sees more time for Walton, By Ross Siler , Staff Writer
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On his first official day as Lakers interim coach, Frank Hamblen pulled Luke Walton aside at practice and said he would try to find more minutes for the second-year forward Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.
Sure enough, Walton played a season-high 30 minutes off the bench, the kind of playing time that was all but unimaginable before Rudy Tomjanovich's abrupt resignation this week due to health concerns.
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While Tomjanovich knew Walton only as one of five small forwards on his roster, sitting him in more than one-third of the games he coached, Hamblen was an assistant to Phil Jackson during Walton's promising rookie season.
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"I think because of my injuries I really haven't been able to show what I can do besides in practice,' Walton said. "So I think it's definitely a help that Frank has seen me before. He's seen that I can do things to help the team win.' 
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Walton was unable to crack Tomjanovich's rotation after he sprained his left ankle in training camp and missed five exhibition games. Even as he scored a career- high 19 points Jan. 25 against Seattle, Walton suffered another setback when he sprained his right ankle.
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"I know Luke and he was hurt a lot,' Hamblen said. "He's not going to play 30 minutes a night, certainly. But he is a good basketball player. He'll see some minutes.'
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Walton, who will be a restricted free agent at season's end, admitted that his window of opportunity is small, with Devean George hoping to come off the injured list in the coming weeks and Kobe Bryant set to return from a sprained ankle later this month.
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Against the Spurs, Walton totaled five points, six rebounds and six assists while playing good defense against Brent Barry and Manu Ginobili. During one second- quarter stretch, Walton slipped a pass to Brian Grant for a layup and blocked Malik Rose from behind.
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No NBA team has more road games still to play than the Lakers, who will finish the season with 24 of 38 games away from Staples Center. No team is in a more precarious position, either, sitting eighth in the Western Conference standings.
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By what was Tomjanovich's favorite measure of success home losses and road victories the Lakers are three games under .500 and need to make up ground beginning this week on a five-game trip.
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"We just need to understand that we've dropped some games here at home,' center Chris Mihm said. "It's crucial for us. We need to dig down, this team needs to come together, and we need to pick up victories on this road trip and the other ones coming up.'
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The Lakers will leave today for Houston, with the eight-day trip continuing to Atlanta, New Jersey, Detroit and Cleveland. Bryant will travel with the team to receive treatment on his ankle and hopes to return at some point.
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"It's a challenge and a good one,' Bryant said. "We look forward to it. That's where you bond, on the road. For us being a young team, if you want to get over that hump and get to the next level, we're going to have to go through those challenges and win some of them.'
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Bryant might want to skip the Cleveland game regardless. He has suffered a sprained shoulder and severely sprained ankle in two of three games against the Cavaliers since LeBron James came into the league.
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"I'm due to have a healthy game against Cleveland,' Bryant said.
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The Lakers did not contact Jackson about their coaching vacancy Friday and might not do so until Jackson returns from his vacation to Australia and New Zealand later this month. Jackson is expected to sit out this season before deciding on his future.
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After a wire service story about Bryant's declining jersey sales made national headlines last month, the NBA released data Friday showing Bryant's No. 8 ranked sixth in sales for the holiday season at the NBA Store in New York and on NBA.com .