Link:There are games that don't get any easier to watch and questions that don't get any easier to answer for Lakers center Chris Mihm, now two weeks into his recovery from Nov. 14 surgery on his right ankle.
For the time being, Mihm must keep the ankle completely immobilized, a prognosis he can be forgiven for thinking applies to his basketball career as well. He will spend time in a walking boot after that and is not expected to play at all this season.
With a set of oversized crutches supporting his 7-foot frame, Mihm stopped by the Lakers' practice facility Wednesday. His two-year run as the team's starting center has ended, his hopes for a breakthrough season have been dashed.
"There was no thought in my mind that there was going to be anything that could keep me out of playing with this team and being part of the Lakers this year," Mihm said.
Mihm originally suffered a severe sprain of the ankle in the final minute of the Lakers' March 12 game against Seattle. He underwent surgery July 26 to clean up scar tissue in the ankle in the hopes of making it back for the season opener.
But Mihm's recovery stalled - he described it as being in "limbo" and said he couldn't go out to dinner without being in pain - and he underwent a second surgery this month to repair tendon and ligament damage as well as re-align his heel.
The timetable for a full recovery is six to eight months.
Mihm is holding out hope that he could play if the Lakers advance deep in the playoffs.
