The injury woes continue for the Los Angeles Lakers with Pau Gasol ruled out a fifth straight game due to a concussion according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com via Twitter:
Pau Gasol will not play tomorrow (concussion). It will be his 5th game missed w/ the head injury. He’s missed 12 of LA’s 37 games so far
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 14, 2013
Although Gasol will miss the matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, the Lakers were able to get Dwight Howard back on the floor on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Howard showed no ill-effects of the partially torn labrum in his right shoulder in the win over the Cavs putting up solid numbers in his return with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
With Jordan Hill officially out for the season due to hip surgery and Gasol still recovering from the concussion suffered in the loss to the Denver Nuggets last week, the Lakers’ coaching staff has turned to up-and-comer Earl Clark to help fill the void left in the frontcourt.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old forward has been impressive over the last three games averaging 15.0 points, 10.6 rebounds in a little over 33 minutes per game.
Head coach Mike D’Antoni has already said that even when Gasol returns that Clark will continue to have a bigger role off the bench. Many have started to argue the fact that Clark deserves to be a starter and Gasol should come off the bench at the center position.