After being without Pau Gasol for Saturday night’s loss against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers center is back in action for tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns, according to ESPNLA’s Dave McMenamamin:
Pau will play. Shawne Williams back to the starting lineup too over Jordan Hill
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 23, 2013
Gasol, who had an upper-respiratory infection, was out at shootaround this morning. In other Lakers starting lineup news, Jordan Hill will also move to the bench in place of power forward Shawne Williams, who also started in the Lakers loss to the Phoenix Suns on December 10, marking the 13th Lakers starting lineup this season.
Tonight’s starting lineup will also feature Jodie Meeks, Wesley Johnson and Xavier Henry, according to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News:
Starting lineup: Pau, Williams, Meeks, Henry, Johnson
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 23, 2013
Xavier Henry will once again be handling the ball for the Lakers with Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Kobe Bryant all out due to injury, his third consecutive game starting at the point. His first was an exciting victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, possibly the Lakers most exhilarating game of the year. His second was a bit of the opposite, as the Lakers fell hard to the Golden State Warriors and the Lakers lack of a true point guard really showed.
The Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns tonight, 6 p.m. PST, a team that could easily be one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season, hoping to redeem themselves from their loss in their last meeting.
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