LOS ANGELES _ At first Josh Hart played coy.
"I don't even know; I wish I did," he said when asked which player he collided with to fracture his hand last week.
Someone asked if he'd watched video from practice to reveal the culprit.
"I didn't even look at the video," he said. "I'm not, I mean, I don't even think there was a video because we were on the road. I don't even know."
He didn't pause, before adding: "Gary Payton."
Hart held a lighthearted news conference Monday morning, speaking for the first time since breaking his hand _ apparently in a collision with Payton, the son of the former NBA star, who's on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers. Hart had surgery Friday to repair the fracture on the fourth metacarpal bone of his left hand. He wore what appeared to be a hybrid between a cast and a brace, and took some shots on the Lakers' practice court.
"I'm just trying not to think too much of it," Hart said. "It's not a serious injury; it could've been worse. I just try to look to the bright side of things. Right now we're on a five-game winning streak. I'm looking at that, watching how these guys are playing. That's always something great to see. Obviously it was a downer at first, but that's part of the game."
Hart is facing about a four-to-six-week recovery.
The timing is what stung most for Hart. The rookie had started 10 games in a row when it happened, part of the Lakers' best lineup when they were without point guard Lonzo Ball. During that time Hart, a 6-foot-5 guard, reached double figures in points and rebounds four times.
"Last month and a half have been more comfortable and Luke (Walton) gave me more minutes, gave me a little bit of a bigger role, so that was nice," Hart said. "It's a bummer that it happened now, but like I said, just a part of the game."
