EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Time and time again over the last several seasons coaches and players on the Los Angeles Lakers have said that their team's biggest strength is its size and length.
They showed it again Tuesday against the Utah Jazz as Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who both banged up their right knees in Sunday's 95-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets, played.
"[Gasol] came in this morning and was feeling fine and ready to go," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Gasol underwent an MRI on Monday afternoon that showed he had a bone bruise in the knee after falling to the floor from a foul by Denver's Nene.
"Obviously we'll watch it closely but he says he feels OK," said Jackson.
Lamar Odom fell into Bynum's surgically-repaired right knee, but the sixth-year center said the brace he was wearing protected it and he would also play.
As a bit of insurance, the Lakers recalled rookie forward Derrick Caracter from the Bakersfield Jam, their D-League affiliate.
He averaged 8.7 points, six rebounds and 20 minutes in three games with the Jam. Jackson said Caracter will return to Bakersfield later this week for the D-League playoffs.
"In these three games he's played, he's been in foul trouble in all three of them. ... He needs to get back to playing in rhythm with the game so he can play on the floor," Jackson said.
Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.