Despite rumors to the contrary, the injured Pau Gasol will still be in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers when he returns...at least, for the time being.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that Gasol, a four-time All-Star forward with the Lakers, is going to stay as a starter as part of an experiment by head coach Mike D'Antoni.
The newly hired coach wants to see how Gasol and injured superstar point guard Steve Nash play together on the court at the same time before he considers making any changes in the Lakers lineup--specifically, any scenario that involves having Gasol play as a reserve.
"I'm not going to mess with Pau," D'Antoni said Sunday, alluding the possibility of bringing the four-time All-Star off the bench. "He's too important to the team and he's earned it and he's too good of a player to even go there yet. That would be a last-resort kind of [thing], desperate."
However, D'Antoni remained cautious about making any guarantees one way or the other.
"If you lose, then you always try something," D'Antoni said. "So I don't want to ever say, 'No, I'm not going to do that.' But at the same time, I don't have any intentions to do it. I don't think we should do it."
A career 18.5-point scorer, Gasol is having his worst statistical scoring year this season, scoring only 12.6 points on 42 percent shooting, the worst of his 12-year career in both categories. His struggles have led D'Antoni to bench him for two games before his left knee tendonitis sidelined Gasol for the last four games.
Gasol will be re-evaluated this week prior to the Lakers starting a four-game road trip, beginning Tuesday in Cleveland.
When is Steve Nash returning?
The return of Nash, the two-time NBA MVP who signed with Los Angeles during the summer, has been highly anticipated since he went down in the second game of the 2012-13 campaign with a fractured fibula in his left leg.
However, it is doubtful that he will return during the upcoming road trip.
"Steve probably won't play this trip," D'Antoni told reporters before the Lakers' 117-110 loss to Utah on Sunday. "I'm always hoping maybe, but that's me, that's not probably going to happen."
According to ESPN Los Angeles, Nash spent Sunday's shootaround working out with Lakers strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco.
While the eight-time All-Star has been involved with shooting and dribbling drills, he hasn't tried sprinting and hard cuts with his recovering left leg.
"He's ramping it up," D'Antoni said of Nash. "He's even sweating over there, so that's good. I think he's getting there. He just does not want to take any steps back. He wants to be 100 percent, which I want him to be too. It's just too important to the team to get him (before) he feels great."
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