The Spanish power forward who missed the last two weeks of game action to nurse tendinitis in both of his knees, seems all set to make a comeback…..
Pau Gasol has had a rough ride so far in the season. With the Los Angeles Lakers failing to make a decent start, Gasol has been under the scope right from the get go. That pretty much affected his performance – 12.6 points and
8.8 rebounds, with points being career low by far.
Things came to a head under head Mike D’Antoni, who twice benched the forward late in the games, the first time such a thing, happened to Gasol in his entire career. The player responded by revealing that his lack of intensity
has a lot to do with tendinitis in both of his knees. He was consequently sidelined and nearly two weeks later, the Spaniard feels that he is on a verge of comeback.
"It's been two weeks, it's been a while. I miss playing and I miss being out there and competing with my team," Gasol said. "My knees are not in pain as they were. So if there's no need to miss another game, I won't miss another
game."
The Lakers, winners of the last two games, will take on the lowly Charlotte Bobcats next, and the game can allow a smooth transition for Gasol, who feels that the layoff has done him a lot good.
"It helped quite a bit. Not just the rest but the work that we did strengthening everything around it to make sure they don't have to take as much load," Gasol said. "I can move around the court much better. I can push off from
my legs and my knees much better, much stronger, without pain, so that's quite an improvement."
With Steve Nash also expected to return by the end of this month, the coming few months will be pivotal for Gasol’s future at the Hollywood franchise. The absence of Nash has so far prevented the Lakers hierarchy from making a
decision on Gasol, who has only been a shadow of the player he was once was, when the Lakers reached the NBA Finals on three consecutive attempts, winning twice.
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