It’s been some time since the Lakers have felt in the groove of things, and after last night’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers can finally regain that winning team confidence again (although the Lakers are still three games under the .500 mark).
Here’s your updates from today’s practice:
1 . Nash participated in a full practice today
With the focus mostly being on whether Pau Gasol would play in tomorrow night’s matchup against the Charlotte Bobcats, we were pleasantly surprised to see an active Steve Nash shooting around at practice today. The veteran point guard has not played a game since his initial injury on October 31st, and you could hear his excitement about wanting to get back on the floor.
“It’s starting to get exciting cause I’m able to do some things. The majority of the last six weeks I’ve been pretty inactive.
Even more discouraging have been the recent findings about his running inabilities. However, Nash talked about his improvements in this area after practice today.
“I’ve been able to do some jogging, then running and some one on one.”
Plus, even though the Lakers did not participate in full-court contact drills today, Nash did participate in a full practice and is hoping to return by Christmas.
“Hopefully I can play by Christmas…We’ll see how it responds this week. Today we didn’t do any 5-on-5 or contact.”
2. Pau Gasol practiced today and is hopeful for tomorrow night’s game
With Pau Gasol not having practiced in the past two weeks due to his ailing knee tendinitis, it was great to see the upbeat and optimistic Spaniard. With intense therapy coupled with strength and conditioning exercises for the areas that surround his knees, Gasol is officially listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s matchup against the Charlotte Bobcats.
“I’m happy with the practice that I did today and how I felt…We’ll see how I feel tomorrow and decide then.”
Pau Gasol has clearly been missed, as the Lakers lost five of the first six games they played without him. But, as Gasol noted after practice today, players successfully stepped up in his absence. Gasol said he was especially impressed with the adjustment of Metta World Peace and his success in the post.
Next Page: D’Antoni on Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant
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Practice Report: Check out what Steve Nash and Pau Gasol had to say about their injuries below!
httpvhd://youtu.be/wGear2tHuYI
Next Page: D’Antoni on Gasol’s touches in the post and Bryant’s hefty playing time
