Pau Gasol To Play Tonight Against Charlotte With No Restrictions

Well, it seems like our favorite seven-foot Spaniard is ready to go. Mike Trudell from Lakers.com and TWC SportsNet says it’s time to put on some big boy pants. Man, I already hate myself for saying that. Here’s the report.

Mike D’Antoni says @paugasol will start tonight. He responded well to practice yesterday. LAL were 3-5 w/out Gasol.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 18, 2012

There are no restrictions for @paugasol tonight. He said he’s feeling good, has the explosion he lacked early in season back.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 18, 2012

As mentioned earlier, the Lakers went 3-5 without him. It was reported a couple of days ago that it was only a matter of time before he made his return (even though he said that he was “questionable” for Tuesday night’s game). Now he’s ready to go against the Bobcats tonight. No restrictions. He’ll probably play his usual 35-40 minutes today unless the Lakers are winning by 100 at the end of the third quarter.

Kobe said in his interview with Stephen A. Smith that Gasol should be in his sweet spots when he returns. We shall see about that but I’m more curious of how Gasol plays once Steve Nash returns, whether it’s Saturday or Christmas. Gasol didn’t exactly play so hot before he decided to sit games down because of tendinitis on both knees. Gasol is only averaging 12.6 points and 8.8 boards this season. While his rebounding is in line with his career numbers, his scoring and shooting from the field (.420) are not. Hopefully, he only goes upwards from here.

The Lakers did go 3-5 without him but they weren’t much better with Gasol, going 8-9 with him. L.A. is currently at 11-14 and looking for their third consecutive victory.