EL SEGUNDO — The process of recovery is slow, often frustrating work.

On Friday, Kyle Kuzma was able to play his first, full-contact four-on-four scrimmage in more than two months. The session was all in half court and lasted 12 minutes at most.

Two days later, it was the same scenario, just 25 minutes. And that’s the pattern it’s been throughout his rehab from a left ankle stress reaction — sometimes with steps forward, but sometimes just staying in place. Kuzma knew it would take some time to heal, but sometimes not knowing how long it will take can be a bit exasperating.

“Honestly I don’t even know my timeline,” he told reporters Sunday morning at his first media scrum since media day. “It’s just kinda working off the progressions. Go 25 minutes a day, if I feel good tomorrow, then it’s the next thing.”

The Lakers could sorely use Kuzma, a 6-foot-8 scoring wing who averaged 18.7 ppg last season. He plays at a position where the team has shallow depth, and his offensive game could bring a big boost when Anthony Davis or LeBron James are sitting.

Kuzma feels that urgency, too, but he’s become comfortable over the last few months trying to take his time. He could miss a few more games, but he also feels secure that when he returns, he’ll have a clear-cut role with the Lakers.

“I’m anxious, but at the same time it’s not really frustrating because I know my time’s gonna come when it comes,” he said. “Kind of just taking a control-what-you-can-control mindset going after it.”

Both Kuzma and Rajon Rondo, who coach Frank Vogel said would miss a third straight game against the Hornets, are holes in the rotation. Kuzma has been out since August, and it’s been hard for the medical staff to predict how his injury will respond.

“You treat it either with rest or however they’re treating it in the treating room and you see how he responds,” he said. “Some injuries respond quicker than others, but this one is a little bit of a wild card from the standpoint of not knowing exactly what the timeline’s going to look like.”

Kuzma said the bone in his ankle was stressed from overuse. The most effective treatment, rest, sometimes feels like not doing much at all. But Kuzma’s reached a point where the progression can be more readily seen.

Kuzma said there hasn’t been any scares or setbacks with his injury so far, even if the progression hasn’t gone as quickly as he’d like. He’s soothed by the feeling that he’ll be on the court soon enough.

“I get super excited, because I know all the work that I put in this summer, and I feel like what this team needs is exactly what I worked on this summer,” he said. “It’s gonna be a surprise to a lot of people.”

AD could close at center often

The Lakers made a much-discussed shakeup at halftime against the Utah Jazz on Friday, sliding Anthony Davis over to center to help secure the first win of the season.

Davis has made plain that his preference is to play power forward, but Frank Vogel also showed he won’t hesitate to use Davis at the 5-spot if he feels like it will win the game. And there’s a good chance that Davis could play a lot of center in late minutes this season.

“It’s something that we definitely are going to build in, all throughout the preseason we always built in at least a small stretch of the game where he plays 5,” Vogel said. “I envision us closing a lot of games that way, so I don’t want to get to finish line having not seen that at all and gotten familiar with how it’s different for our team.”

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Lakers get a boost early from Dwight Howard, who makes most of rare start Vogel has emphasized that the lineup could be one the Lakers turn to in the postseason, and he is tempted to play it more because it can be “lethal.” But he’s also keen to keep Davis healthy and avoid the bruising that comes with going toe-to-toe with the league’s biggest post players.

At the same time, even Davis understands how his talents work well at center. Asked about his five blocks against the Jazz, he said the shift to the 5 was the main factor in his lockdown defense at the rim.

“Being at the 5 the second half of the game a couple days ago, it kept me in the paint a lot on Rudy (Gobert) which meant anytime anybody was able to drive to the basket I was able to get a contest and ultimately block the shot,” he said. “I think the more shots I can block, the less attempts they can get at the rim, the more possessions we get to have and the more we can get out and run, the easier the game is going to be for everyone.”

Briefly

Rajon Rondo underwent a precautionary MRI on Saturday that confirmed the point guard had a strained right calf. While he was listed as out for his third straight game Sunday night, he is still considered day-to-day by the team. Rondo was seen after Sunday’s shootaround practicing ball-handling with assistant coach Phil Handy.