Kobe Bryant did an incredible job of getting the Lakers to the 8th seed in the Western Conference when no one thought he could do it, but then he suffered a severely sprained ankle during the Lakers game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The Lakers currently have a one game lead over the Utah Jazz for the eighth spot with the Dallas Mavericks slowly creeping up so they’ll need some offensive help if the Mamba doesn’t return to 100% soon. Read more after the jump.
The offensive help could come from Lakers skilled big man Pau Gasol who went out with a foot injury early last month. He was said to be out for six to eight weeks but could return as early as Monday and even given a starting spot.
According to Kevin Ding of the OC Register:
D’Antoni suggested Pau Gasol will return from foot injury Monday at Phoenix. D’Antoni intends to start and finish with Pau, sooner or later.
And according to the Los Angeles Daily News:
“He’s going to be a starter at some point and is going to be a big part of what we do,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll work from there. Whether it’s the first day, fifth day or 10th day, I don’t know. It depends on his conditioning and how everything is going. But we will work that in where he starts.”
As Gasol exited the arena following his workout, a reporter told him of D’Antoni’s plan.
“Really?” Gasol said with his eyebrows raised. “That’s news. Big news!”
While it is great news that Gasol is returning to provide offensive help, there are concerns of whether or not he’ll fit in with the team. Before he went out with injury, there were numerous issues between him and coach Mike D’Antoni as you can see by his surprised reply to getting a starting spot. He was having trouble fitting in D’Antoni’s system and was benched often, sometimes sitting out the entire fourth quarter. The team has gone 11-6 since he’s been gone and of course that’ll lead to questions of whether or not the team is better without him, especially since trade rumors have been following him since last year. Gasol seems cheery and optimistic so hopefully it works out well for the team.
