Kobe Bryant practiced on Saturday and is getting closer to making his season debut.

Bryant has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, but a return on Friday against the Sacramento Kings is possible.

Bryant is coming back from a torn Achilles.

Tobias Harris has been limited to just one game this season due to a high ankle sprain. Harris suffered a setback and has undergone an MRI and received a second medical opinion.

“High-ankle sprains take time, and everybody’s healing timeline is different,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said Saturday. “And, right now, Tobias is working through that and trying to figure [that] out. When he feels his ankle is right, he’ll be ready to play. So, our stance right now is to be pre-cautious and make sure that we don’t rush him back.”

Harris has played well for the Orlando Magic since a trade last season.

Jeremy Lin will be out two weeks with a grade one knee sprain.

The Houston Rockets will reevaluate Lin at that point to determine if he can return.

Lin collided with Paul Millsap on Wednesday.

Brandon Rush could return to the Utah Jazz lineup on Friday.

Rush initially returned from major knee surgery on Nov. 5, but decided that he wasn't ready.

Rush practiced without limitations on Wednesday.

Chris Paul suffered a strained right hamstring in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers' win over the New York Knicks on wednesday.

Paul went into the locker room and didn't return to the game.

"I told Doc (Rivers), 'If you need me, I can go,'" Paul said. "It's a little tight, but I'll be all right. I'll be ready Friday." 

"I know my body well enough now to where if I feel something , I look over at our trainer and I was like, 'Get me out for a second. Let me see what's going on,'" Paul said.

Kobe Bryant said on Tuesday that he's farther from a return than he has let on in recent weeks, such as saying he could return before November ends.

"Probably weeks [away]," Bryant said of his return to the Los Angeles Lakers' lineup.

Bryant tore his Achilles tendon in April.

Bryant signed a two-year extension with the Lakers on Monday.

Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a stress injury to his proximal right fibula.

The Washington Wizards will be without Beal for the next two weeks and then be re-evaluated. The injury was diagnosed by team doctors following an MRI exam on Monday after Beal experienced soreness in his right leg. 

Beal has appeared in all 13 games for the Wizards this season, averaging 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 40.2 minutes. He missed the final eight games of last season due to a stress injury to his distal right fibula.

Derrick Rose is out for the rest of the 13-14 NBA season after undergoing surgery to repair the torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Rose and the Chicago Bulls are taking the more cautious approach to repair the knee.

Rose missed the entire 12-13 season recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

Mark Cuban has advocated for an in-depth study of human growth hormone (HGH) and shared his idea and hope in the NBA's Board of Governors meeting in October.

Cuban believes a more informed decision should be made about whether HGH is able to fasten a player's recovery from injury or whether it belongs on the list of banned substances.

"The issue isn't whether I think it should be used," Cuban wrote in an email. "The issue is that it has not been approved for such use. And one of the reasons it hasn't been approved is that there have not been studies done to prove the benefits of prescribing HGH for athletic rehabilitation or any injury rehabilitation that I'm aware of. The product has such a huge (public) stigma that no one wants to be associated with it."

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency's web site, HGH is illegal to use for anti-aging, improved athletic performance and bodybuilding. The World Anti-Doping Agency also has HGH on its list of prohibited substances. The NBA also is sensitive to the ethical part of the discussion.

"I believe that professional sports leagues should work together and fund studies to determine the efficacy of HGH for rehabbing an injury," Cuban said. "Working together could lead us from the path of demonizing HGH and even testosterone towards a complete understanding. It could allow us to make a data based decision rather than the emotional decision we are currently making. And if it can help athletes recover more quickly, maybe we can extend careers and have healthier happier players and fans."

Otto Porter is doing more activities in his recovery from a left hip flexor, but the rookie forward still has an uncertain return status.

"I think each day he's getting closer," Randy Wittman said. "Now, when is that day going to be that he steps on the practice court, I still don't know. But he's doing more and more stuff individually."

Wittman and the Washington Wizards are still awaiting clearance for Porter.

"That's in somebody else's hands before the OK is given," Wittman said regarding Porter's return. "I think it's getting closer as I said last night with Chris [Singleton]. I think Chris' may be a little farther along than Otto, even. Hopefully we can get those two guys on the practice floor. It's going to take a little time. They've missed about three months of not doing a whole lot."

Porter has missed time in his first season with the Wizards ever since suffering the hip injury early in training camp.