After being sidelined for over a month, Pau Gasol is finally ready to get back on the court for the Lakers. At team practice on Thursday, Gasol told reporters he expects to play on Friday when the Lakers face the Washington Wizards at Staples Center.
According to Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters, Gasol will indeed take the court Friday, but don’t expect to see him out there for an extended period of time.
Pau says he expects to play tomorrow, limited minutes
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 21, 2013
Coach Mike D’Antoni also is anticipating Gasol’s return, but he isn’t sure whether or not he’ll be in the starting lineup quite yet.
D’Antoni expects Pau to play tomorrow unless he has pain tom., but hasn’t decided if he’s going to start him, says Blake is good to go.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 21, 2013
One question that has arisen concerning Pau’s return to the floor is his conditioning. With the injured foot he hasn’t been able to work out in the manner he’s accustomed to, so it might take several weeks of NBA action to get Gasol back into game-shape. Laker fans are hoping this means Gasol will be back to form by the time the postseason starts next month.
Los Angeles will host the Wizards on Friday night at 7:30 PST.