On Monday, Chase Budinger was not worried about a sprained left ankle suffered in the fourth quarter against the Jazz. By Tuesday, however, it was sore enough that he could not guess whether he will be available to play tonight against the Lakers.

Budinger still did not seem overly concerned but said he is “day-by-day.”

“A little stiff, a little sore,” Budinger said. “It shouldn’t be something that will linger. I think in a couple days I’ll be better. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”

If he cannot play, Rockets coach Rick Adelman is not sure how he will adjust his rotation, but with the Lakers using a big frontcourt, he could use Carl Landry at small forward.

“(Budinger) was terrific,” Adelman said. “He really ignited us in the fourth quarter, making shots and getting out and running the court. I don’t have a lot of options if he can’t go. We’ve only got Kyle (Lowry) and Jermaine (Taylor) on the bench. They’re small guys. We could throw Carl at the three-spot some. He hasn’t done it much.”