Today's Game Discussion [12/04/12]

[Ender]

Minnesota 7-8 (Road: 3-5) 7:00 pm EST
Philadelphia 10-7 (Home: 6-4) FSN, CSP

Miami 12-3 (Road: 4-3) 7:00 pm EST
Washington 1-13 (Home: 1-6) SUN, CSMA

Oklahoma City 14-4 (Road: 5-2) 7:30 pm EST
Brooklyn 11-5 (Home: 7-1) FSOK, YES, NBATV

Indiana 8-9 (Road: 4-7) 8:00 pm EST
Chicago 8-7 (Home: 5-4) FSIN, WGN

LA Lakers 8-9 (Road: 1-4) 8:00 pm EST
Houston 8-8 (Home: 6-3) TWSN, CSH

Phoenix 7-11 (Road: 2-8) 8:00 pm EST
Memphis 12-3 (Home: 8-1) FSAZ, SPSO

[Floods]

Only 3 more weeks till Thanksgiving!

[Jace]

I'm gonna stuff my face.

[Marcus13]

OKC-BK on NBATV should be fun

[Cajon]

Wolves @ Sixers
Heat @ Wizards
Thunder @ Nets
Lakers @ Rockets
Suns @ Grizzlies
Pacers @ Bulls

[Basel]

Gasol out tonight with tendinitis in both knees. Jamison will start.

Morris has also been taken out of the starting lineup and Duhon will start.

[Bogg]

Watch LA go whatever-and-0 while Gasol sits.

[Cajon]

Originally Posted by Basel

Gasol out tonight with tendinitis in both knees. Jamison will start.

Morris has also been taken out of the starting lineup and Duhon will start.

Yep...

Two new starters for the Lakers tonight vs Houston: Jamison for Pau at the four (out with tendinitis) and Duhon for Morris at the point

-Dave McMenamin



...and why Sacre was recalled too.

Lakers recall Robert Sacre from D-Fenders http://t.co/uJxLwBqX

-Mark Medina

[Cajon]

Originally Posted by Bogg

Watch LA go whatever-and-0 while Gasol sits.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if it happens.

[R-Star]

Their plan to fix Pau is to sit him?

The guy isn't injured. Now you're just giving him excuses.

[Basel]

And now they're saying he's out indefinitely but that no trade talks are in the works.

[R-Star]

Out indefinitely? I mean the guy doesn't look hurt out there, he looks like he has before in the playoffs where he just hits a hard cold streak. If anything he should be seeing a shrink right now.

[Cajon]

Originally Posted by Basel

And now they're saying he's out indefinitely but that no trade talks are in the works.

New story: Pau Gasol to sit indefinitely to rest his knees; no trade is in the works according to league sources http://t.co/XV0hblk8

-Dave McMenamin

[King Sancho Fantastic]

Lakers F Pau Gasol out Tuesday

HOUSTON -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol will not play Tuesday against the Houston Rockets because of tendinitis in both knees.

"The biggest thing with him was that he was playing hurt and in this league you just can't do that," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I just didn't think he was running fluidly."

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D'Antoni said Gasol made the decision to rest after consulting with the coaching and training staff. There is no set timetable for how long Gasol will sit out. Antawn Jamison will start in his place.

"We got to get him healthy," D'Antoni said. "Whatever it takes -- one game, two games, 10 games -- I don't know. It's day to day but he's got to be healthy. It wasn't fair (to him). He's trying to battle through some stuff and in this league, you just can't do that."

Gasol is sitting not because a trade involving the former four-time All-Star is in the works, according to multiple league sources. However, a source told ESPNLosAngeles.com that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has recently spoken to Gasol's representatives and the gist of the conversation was that if Gasol is unable to adjust to D'Antoni's system, the team will have no choice but to search for possible trade scenarios.

Their game against the Rockets is the start of a particularly tough stretch for the Lakers -- eight of their next 10 are on the road. L.A. is 1-4 away from Staples Center this sason.

The Lakers called up rookie big man Robert Sacre from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, Monday as big-man insurance for their bench. Forward Jordan Hill, who was a DNP-CD in the Lakers' last game, could also find minutes in the rotation.

"Somebody's woe is somebody's gain and they got to take advantage of it," D'Antoni said.

Following Sunday's loss to the Orlando Magic, Kobe Bryant was critical of Gasol, who has questioned his role in the Lakers' offense. Gasol watched the final minutes of the fourth quarter from the bench Sunday.

"Put your big-boy pants on," Bryant said after the loss dropped the team's record to 8-9. "Just adjust. Just adjust. You can't whine about it. You can't complain about it."

Gasol was subbed out with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Lakers up 84-83. Orlando outscored L.A. 30-19 the rest of the way. Gasol ended his night with 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists and a block in 29 minutes.

Bryant said he could relate to Gasol's struggles, telling reporters after Tuesday's shootaround that he had to make a similar decision to sit out late last season when tenosynovitis in his left shin caused him to miss seven games.
"We talked about it a little bit," Bryant said. "It's difficult for him, obviously, because he doesn't have the explosiveness that he had, so a lot of it I'm assuming has to do with his being injured physically and not being able to get up and down the court and perform at a high level, which could lead to some frustration. I dealt with it with the shin. You're kind of out there playing around and playing and you kind of wind up being a little bit of a shell of yourself because of your physical limitations."

Added Dwight Howard: "You always want to try to play and give a great effort every night and do the best you can, but sometimes you get scrutinized when you don't perform as well as everybody wants you to. Sometimes they may not realize that we may be injured. People expect ... when we get on the floor to be 100 percent every night. I think it's a tough situation for Pau, but he has to realize we all got his back."

Gasol, a 12-year veteran, is averaging 12.6 points and 42 percent shooting, both career lows, and 8.8 rebounds per game.

"I hope I can be back soon!" Gasol said on Twitter.

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?...ity=losangeles

[R-Star]

"Play better or we'll trade you!"

What better way to motivate a mentally weak player like Pau.