Lakers coach Phil Jackson reportedly has said Bryant will play in all of L.A.'s preseason games despite Bryant's busy schedule that included a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.

Williams and fellow Jazz Olympians Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko all are expected to play tonight. Williams said he plans to play most or all of the first and third quarters, which is typical for an early October preseason game.

ALUMNI UPDATE: According to Monday's Dallas Morning News, "Keith McLeod's right hamstring problem is more than a nagging injury, and the Mavericks are watching it closely."

The ex-Jazz point guard had been expected to back up Jason Kidd at the point in Dallas.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told the Morning News it may be 2 to 3 weeks before McLeod, who played for him in Indiana, is "back up to speed."

ALUMNI UPDATE II: Ex-Jazz forward and NBA journeyman Michael Ruffin is "the only veteran frontcourt player at (Chicago Bulls) training camp" according to the Chicago Tribune, but he's currently out with a sprained ankle.

HMMM: According to a short NBA-column note over the weekend by Marc Spears of the Boston Globe, an unidentified "NBA source said the consensus among the league's referees is that the player and coach who use the most choice words during games are Boston's Kevin Garnett and Utah's Jerry Sloan. The source also said the referees take into account that it's just part of their intense makeup and they have learned not to take it personally."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com