Matt Barnes Practices, Hopes to Play Against Charlotte

Finally healthy enough to fully participate in practice, Matt Barnes could make his return tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats. Good news for the Lakers who need all the help they can get against the team they just can’t seem to beat.

Having been cleared by the medical staff, the decision to play Barnes now lies in the hands of Phil Jackson. Barnes has been campaigning to play for over a week now and PJ seems likely to give him a few minutes of burn in the very near future.

"“Matt was all right today. We’ll obviously check and see how he reacts tomorrow and overnight. That kind of stuff. That’s when we’ll make a decision on this. Right now he’s looking pretty good. I’m looking forward to him playing Friday, but we’ll see.”"

The next two contests are big ones for the Lake Show. Charlotte tonight and the Spurs on Sunday make for a couple of pivotal moments as the team heads down the home stretch.

Getting Barnes back in the mix and up to speed is essential as the playoff positioning push begins.

The Lakers could have certainly used the services of Barnes last time they tangled with Charlotte. The Bobcats have plenty of perimeter talent that terrorized the Lakers during that embarrassing 20-point defeat.

Even if Matt isn’t given the green light tonight his return is eminent. Though it would be wise if Jackson gets Barnes back on the court sooner than later. But hey, it’s his team and just my opinion. Either way, we’re only days if not hours away from seeing Matt Barnes make his return. Good news for the Lakers but perhaps bad news for Devin Ebanks would could be deactivated or headed back to the D-League.