The Los Angeles Lakers met for Monday’s practice, and even before the doors opened, the latest injury updates were coming fast and hard.
Lakers PR announced that Pau Gasol, who did not return for the second half of Sunday’s win over the Orlando Magic, had suffered vertigo and had been released from the hospital in the morning. Gasol underwent an MRI on his head, and everything came back normal.
Gasol was scheduled to be examined on Tuesday, but he was considered doubtful for Tuesday night's home game against the New York Knicks. If Gasol does not start, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed that Chris Kaman would get the starting nod.
Kaman, who recently sat out a game due to a foot issue, last played four minutes against the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 28. Enter Tuesday, he has failed to step onto the court for the Lakers’ last 10 games.
In other injury news, Xavier Henry was examined by Dr. Steven Shin on Monday, and the doctor confirmed that the athletic guard had a torn ligament in his left wrist, similar to the injury Antawn Jamison played with for a significant part of last season.
“I thought he was probable tomorrow. He said no, he’s not probable; he’s playing,” D’Antoni said about Henry's desire to play through the pain.
When reporters caught up with Henry, he echoes the same sentiment.
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“I was going to play anyways; that didn’t matter. But the good news is, it’s (torn),” Henry’s idea of good news may differ from how most people think. “So I feel like, with that mindset, I can’t do too much worse to it. So now, it’s just go out there and be myself.”
Henry confirmed that he will require surgery, but his mind was focused on the remainder of the season.
“Yea, I don’t even think about it right now,” Henry said about off-season surgery. “I just know I can play, so I’m going to go play.”
Asked when and how the injury causes pain, Henry said the pain was constant regardless of what he was doing, so exasperating the issue was not a concern.
“I could care less. I do more damage to myself than they do to me,” Henry joked when told opponents may target his weakness. “I’m not changing anything. I might try to fall a little less.”
Finally, D’Antoni offered an update on Steve Nash.
“Steve Nash is day-to-day--actually, hour-to-hour,” the Lakers’ coach joked. “We’ll check and see tomorrow, but probably ‘doubtful’ at this time just to be cautious. But I’ll check with him.”
Asked what all Nash was able to do at Monday’s practice, D’Antoni stated, “He worked out on his own.”
The other news of the day was Nick Young’s house getting robbed of nearly $100K in jewelry, luggage, shoes and a laptop. Fortunately for the Lakers, Young was not home and did not sustain any physical injuries due to the break-in.
