LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum will be out of action for at least a week after suffering a strained Achilles tendon, the team said on Saturday.
The injury occurred during the third quarter of the Lakers' 104-96 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and a scan on Saturday revealed the extent of the injury.
"It's not a torn Achilles," Phil Jackson said on the team's website (http://www.nba.com/lakers). "We just hope that the time is not extended.
"He's a very optimistic young man, so (his reaction) wasn't that bad. I was pleased with that."
Bynum, who averages 15 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, will not play for at least a week when he will be re-evaluated.
He will miss Saturday's game against Washington, games at San Antonio on Wednesday and Oklahoma City on Friday and is also likely to miss the March 27 game at Houston, the Lakers said.
Jackson said Lamar Odom would start for Bynum and that forward Pau Gasol would play as the team's center.
The NBA champion Lakers have won five successive games and already qualified for the playoffs.
They lead the Western Conference with a 51-18 record.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg in Washington, editing by Greg Stutchbury)
