Gasol injury: expects to play thursday, will be a starter

[vinnycorleone]

http://thelakersnation.com/blog/2009/11 ... hamstring/

Lakers forward Pau Gasol underwent a sonogram that showed a possible tear in his right hamstring, and he is not expected to play on the team’s upcoming two-game road trip, the team said.

This is not good.

[izzatizzy]

that's fine. better now that later. 2-days ain't that bad.

[AceFresh]

As long as management isn't trying to facade Pau's injury with misleading details, I'm not concerned.

[DubaLakers]

There goes my sole prognostication.

[kevin_405]

Is a torn hamstring a minor injury and is it self healing like the MCL ..

[The Skyhook]

This is why I along with many other fans felt so strongly opposed to Pau playing in Europe over the summer. I know he has a ton of nation pride but after the Finals he should have put the basketball down for at least 2 months and rested. Now the Lakers are dealing with this. But remember how stacked this team is. They were holding their own with Kobe and Bynum before we got Gasol and now with Kobe/Bynum/Artest/Odom (who I feel has improved and is more consistent) I expect them to hold their own without a problem. Even if Gasol returns after the All Star Game we will still be in the running for a repeat. I want Gasol to return not just being capable of playing but being able to play at the same level he did for us in 2009. Management better not push his return.

How long does an injury like this take to get back? Whatever the time is, better now then later.

Imagine if we didn't resign LO? This was a main reason why fans wanted to resign LO in the first place. Of course everyone thought that LO would be insurance for Bynum and not Gasol but it happens. I'm glad that LO is here.

[That Nicka]

Like izzatizzy said, better now than later. As long as he's healthy during the playoffs we'll be fine.. We're good enough to hold the fort down until he returns.

[Danny Darko]

well better now than later, but it's reported to be a 6 week injury... that is the same as a broken arm. Drew's gonna have to be good now and not later, but then again, he was all the way up to us needing to get Pau due to Drew's injury.

Our bench is lacking with LO on the starting 5, though.

[Slava]

Thank God & Dr. Buss for opening the wallets and signing up Lamar.

[dingclancy]

Short of calling the Lakers medical staff incompetent, I do not understand why it took this long to take a sonogram. If I were the med staff, I would have done all the test way back in the preseason.

From what I understood, Gasol sat out preseason games as a precautionary measure, but the injury has not responded well to rest and skipping games, so all they did was what? they just waited a little longer before figuring out there is something wrong! Why not just get a sonogram at the first sign of trouble?

Someone did not do their homework.

[izzatizzy]

@ dingclancy - Pau's a tough dude. He did play in the euro league so didn't have much of a break away from basketball. Gary Vitti has been with us since the Showtime era. Players DO get injured whether we like it or not.

@ theskyhook - The report didn't really specify the condition of Pau's hamstring. I'm guessing its a 2nd degree strain since its only for 6 weeks. Not too bad, he doesn't have to go through rehab or anything. Just some well deserved rest.

I guess this could also be a 'blessing in disguise' for Pau and us fans for him to get his 6-weeks well deserved rest and for RonRon to step up his game a little bit. We don't really have much important match-ups within the next 6-weeks except for the game against the Nuggets next Friday.

[snaquille oatmeal]

thanks Kobe for calling out management to get a deep team...oh wait! his leaderehip sucks, nevermind.

[The Skyhook]

Speaking of blessing in disguises. I'm not trying to be funny here in anyway but to Bynum this is almost like a blessing in disguise. He wants to be an All Star and if Pau is going to be out for some time he better take advantage of that. One can only hope that he takes Pau being out as motivation to carry some extra load on his shoulders. With Gasol out Drew's number will look very good if he can work his ass off.

[JustBlaze]

I hope they don't rush him back. He needs the rest after the last couple years and with our home-heavy schedule and talent we won't be screwed without him.

[Anklebreaker702]

This is why he sould have taken the summer off! There was nothing at stake there!

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Get Well Pau, as long as it takes.

[Patterns]

It really doesn't matter how long he's out. As long as we can get him back 100%, I am happy.

[TonyMontana]

thanks Kobe for calling out management to get a deep team...oh wait! his leaderehip sucks, nevermind.

NO ISH.............. Everybodies post is basically money. I mean I agree with everyone on here specially I think he should've taken a break in the summer. His obligation should be the Lakers not his national team. Well like everyone said its better now than later when we are deep in the season. At least now he gets to rest and come back fresh.

[supaflash]

Blessing in disguise imo

Sucks, but its non threatening and better now. Let Pau get his body some rest and let it heal fully so he doesn't pull a Joe Alexander (look it up if you don't know) trying to rush this injury can be disastrous.

We are about the big picture here, might cost us some seeding (although I don't see why we can't keep in the hunt without him) but we know we can win on the road when necessary. We have an easy sched with a lot of home games early so rest him as long as needed.

Force these f'n bench nubs to step up and start playing some ball, get AB on the all star team so he'll be a beast with confidence.

[Johnny Firpo]

This is why he sould have taken the summer off! There was nothing at stake there!

You mean besides finally winning the European Championships? Gasol is a proud guy, he wanted to win it just as much as winning an NBA ring, maybe even more, as Spain lost their last 5 (!) EC finals, two with Gasol in their lineup. He was never gonna miss that thing.