Notebook
Center finally out of walking boot
» Pau Gasol a step closer to return from broken foot.
Pau Gasol is finally free of the walking boot he’s been forced to wear on his injured left foot for most of the past four weeks.
“Just another step in the right direction,” the 38-yearold Spurs center said.
Friday’s game against the Lakers was the 17th in a row Gasol has missed.
The 18th-year pro said Tuesday was the last day he wore the boot. He was free of it for a brief period in late November before it returned after further testing determined he had a stress fracture rather than the original diagnosis of left foot soreness.
Throughout it all, Gasol has been at peace.
“You always have aches and pains, but you hope that those aches and pains aren’t serious or very damaging or could lead to a bad injury, so you just play through them,” Gasol said. “But when they increase or become worse in a way, you have to pay attention to them, and that’s what we did.”
To stay fit, Gasol said he’s been biking with his arms and lifting weights.
“You do everything you can to keep in good shape, and I am,” he said. “I’m probably in better shape now physically than I have been because I lift every other day. But I wish I could be out on the floor helping my teammates, especially at the time they are struggling. It seems like my playing contribution could be helpful.”
In the nine games he played before the injury sidelined him, Gasol was averaging 6.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 block over 17.4 minutes.
“The players on the second unit miss him,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said last month. “They had a lot of movement around him. He’s a good passer and can find them. Him not being there has really affected that second group.”
Popovich also has said the Spurs miss Gasol’s locker room presence.
“I appreciate that,” Gasol said. “I can’t wait to be around the locker room and practices and games and everything, and I can contribute in every way I can.”
Familiar foe: Popovich isn’t a fan of facing an opponent in consecutive games during the regular season.
The Lakers defeated the Spurs 121-113 on Wednesday night.
“I hate it,” Popovich said. “It’s too playoffy. It’s too early for that kind of stuff. You want to play everybody.”
Lakers coach Luke Walton offered a different take.
“I think it’s a good experience for us, especially some of our younger players,” he said. “You really get to know a team and they really get to know you, and they know everything you are doing. It’s a good experience, (although) I think it’s always tough to play the same team twice, and then if you win the first game, bring that same energy.”
Like Walton, Spurs guard Bryn Forbes called it a good experience for younger players.
“I’ve only been in two playoffs, so I kind of like it,” he said. “And if you lose the first game, it adds a little more incentive. You see them immediately, it’s like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ (Losing to them) is still fresh.”
The Spurs get to do it all over again when they play at Denver on Dec. 26 two days after they host the Nuggets.
Don’t sleep on the Spurs: The Spurs entered Friday’s contest three games under .500 and in 14th place in the West, but Walton said it’s way too early to count them out.
“It’s a little strange (to see the Spurs with a losing record), but it’s a little early, and I don’t look at San Antonio like that,” Walton said. “To me, they are going to be in this insane Western race all year long with every other team in the West. They are a couple of games under right now, but you know Pop and you know his teams. They are going to be right there at the end.”