Pau Gasol will not play tonight against the Rockets. He has tendinitis in both knees, and it is rumored that Antawn Jamison will start at center, followed by Robert Sacre as bench support. One thing is for sure; with Sacre on the court, the Lakers should have at least one player with high energy tonight, an upgrade from a lackluster roster against the Magic.
The news of Pau tonight comes with one major problem; Pau Gasol could potentially be out much longer than one game with his knee condition. He is listed right now as day to day. For Gasol, he needs all the playing time he can get. Right now, the big man is admittedly having difficulty with D’Antoni’s coaching system, and if he is out much longer with an injury, expect more trade rumors. Many more.
Pau Gasol has been in the news especially these last few days, between Kobe’s comments after the Magic game and his injury news today. Lakers Nation decided to poll on Facebook about whether or not the Lakers can still win with Pau Gasol. A majority of you said Yes. Check out the rest of the poll results here.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni has decided to switch-up the point guard position by naming veteran Chris Duhon the starter, instead of Darius Morris. This will be the first start for Duhon as a Laker in the regular season. Duhon has come off the bench in 13 of the 17 games played for the Lakers this season. Morris has started 10 out of 15 games.
The Lakers set off on a three-game road trip starting with the Houston Rockets tonight followed by the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. The road trip will wrap up with Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Lakers are coming off a loss, giving up 40 points in the fourth quarter to the Orlando Magic and losing 113-103. Tonight will be an interesting showdown between Harden and Kobe, as well as an experiment with the bench seeing as Nash, Blake, and Gasol are out. For more on the pre-game report, check out Max Piner’s post here.
Houston Rockets (8-8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (8-9)
5:00 PM PST, December 4, 2012 Toyota Center, Houston, TX
CA TV: TWC Sports Network
Pacers Projected Starting Line-up
PG: Jeremy Lin SG: James Harden SF Chandler Parsons: PF: Patrick Patterson C: Omer Asik
Key Reserves: G Toney Douglas, F Marcus Morris , G Carlos Delfino
Lakers Nation News
Rockets Open to Using “Hack-a-Dwight” in Tuesday’s Game
Lakers News: Pau Gasol Out Indefinitely With Knee Tendinitis
Lakers News: Pau Gasol Out Vs. Rockets Due to Tendinitis In Knees
Lakers vs. Rockets Pre-Game Report: Team Looks for Second Road Victory
Poll Results: Can Lakers Still Win With Pau Gasol?
Lakers News: Chris Duhon To Start Over Darius Morris Vs. Rockets
Lakers News
Beast or Burden: Missing the Essentials [Silver Screen and Roll]
Trading Pau Gasol? Is it Possible? And to Who? [Silver Screen and Roll]
Gasol Will Sit With Knee Tendonitis [Silver Screen and Roll]
Preview and Chat: The Houston Rockets [Forum Blue and Gold]
Pau Gasol’s Knee Tendinitis to Sideline Him for Lakers-Rockets Game [Inside the Lakers]
Lakers Need a High Quality Back-Up [LA Times]
L.A. Might Have An Energy Crisis [Daily News]
Lakers Should Look At The D-League For PG Help [Ridiculous Upside]
Player Capsule (Plus): Kobe Bryant and the Memories of Man [Gothic Ginobli]
Lakers Bring Back Sacre, Serenity on Bench [SB Nation]
Adventures in Lineup Misadventures [Hardwood Paroxysm]
Concerns Mount for Lakers With Loss of Blake for 6-8 Weeks [OC Register]
Can Steve Nash Save the Lakers From Themselves? [Lakers Blog]
Rockets-Lakers Game Preview [The Dream Shake]
Report Says Steve Nash is Embroiled in a Custody Battle [LA Times]
Kobe Bryant Takes Questions [Lakers Blog]
Lakers F Pau Gasol out Tuesday [ESPN]
Player Capsules 2012, #319-321: Mike Dunleavy, Rip Hamilton, Kobe Bryant [Gothic Ginobli]
Chris Duhon to Start at Point Guard in Lakers-Rockets Game [Inside the Lakers]
Steve Blake’s Extended Absence Points Out Lakers’ Lack of Depth [LA Times]
NBA News
Denver Nuggets Coach George Karl Hit Hard by Rick Majerus’ death [ESPN]
Jacque Vaughn’s Tabula Rasa [Hardwood Paroxysm]
NBA Basketball Power Rankings – National Basketball Association [ESPN]
Stern vs Popovich: Little White Lies and a League of Stars[ Gothic Ginobli]
He Got Game [SLAM]
Anderson Varejao Deserves To Make The NBA All-Star Game [Dime Magazine]
Brooklyn Nets’ Brook Lopez Day to Day as MRI on Foot Negative [ESPN]
Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Hornets [SI.com]
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte Bobcats [SI.com]
Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors [SI.com]
Power Rankings: Quiet Week Holds Pacers in Polls [Indy Cornrows]
The 14 Strangest Fines, Ejections & Suspensions In NBA History [Dime Magazine]
Rehabbing Derrick Rose of Chicago Bulls Starts Running in Spurts Again [ESPN]
