Missing Gasol, Lakers Prepare For Rockets

The Lakers continue their road trip in Houston against the sizzling Rockets, as they will be out Pau Gasol, who injured his left ankle in Friday night’s loss in New Orleans.

Kobe Bryant, LAL SG

X-rays were negative, but Gasol is likely to miss the remainder of the Lakers 4-game road trip. “Obviously, we can’t run as many low-post opportunities as we had when Pau was here,” Kobe Bryant said after practice on Saturday. “We’ve got to change it up.”

“At least we had a chance to practice without him,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said upon Gasol’s injury. Pau has averaged roughly 19 points and 8 rebounds since coming to the Lakers in February.

Along putting together the 2nd longest winning streak in NBA history, the Rockets have leaped through the Western Conference playoff picture, putting themselves in a virtual tie with none other than the Los Angeles Lakers for the first seed.

“This is a team that plays really hard,” Kobe Bryant said. “They do a lot of the hustle plays, do a lot of the dirty work. That’s something we have to learn how to do in terms of winning the hustle points, taking charges and things that don’t show up in the box score.”

The Lakers are coming off a loss to the Hornets - only their 3rd in 17 games. Kobe Bryant scored 36 points and had 9 dimes, but the Lakers shot 38 percent from the field.

“We knock a couple of those shots down and now their defense has some decisions to make,” Bryant said after Friday night’s game. “We missed a lot of shots. We had some open opportunities. We just didn’t make them, but we have great shooters on this team and I have no doubt that we’ll bounce back.”

The Lakers have split their 2 previous meetings with Houston this season, each team winning on the road in a nail-biter.

This will be a good test for us,” Rockets All-Star Tracy McGrady said. “This is one of the better teams in the West, who everybody’s thinking is going to win a championship. Let’s see how good we really are.”

Ronny Turiaf is expected to start in place of Pau Gasol.

Rockets Starting 5:

Injury Report:

Steve Francis: Torn Quadricep - Out
Carl Landry: Sore Right Knee - Out
Yao Ming: Fractured Left Foot - Out

Lakers Starting 5:

Injury Report:
Trevor Ariza: Broken Foot - Out
Andrew Bynum: Left Patella Subluxation - Out
Chris Mihm: Right Ankle Bursitis - Out
Pau Gasol: Left Ankle Sprain - Out