Pau Gasol let his tempt flair up a bit over the weekend. The center has been carrying the Los Angeles Lakers on his back with the absence of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash and it has not been enough to keep the team from tanking in the Western Conference. Following a loss to the Orlando Magic, Gasol called out his teammates for the lack of production.
The Lakers currently own the second-worst record in the Western Conference. Only the Utah Jazz are playing worse right now. The team has lost four-straight games while taking defeats in their last 16 of 19 games. Gasol is not pleased.
"We are who we are right now," Gasol said, via ESPN.com. "Some nights are better than others but, bottom line, when you lose against the worst teams in the league, you got to ask yourself why and, kind of, what does that make you? It just seems we can't seem lock up consistently. We do it for spurts. Now every team in the league knows the Lakers are not very good defensively, to say the least."
Gasol is right about consistency. Right now, the Lakers are plagued with injury issues. Along with Bryant and Nash being out, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry have all missed time. That continues to put the team in a big whole as they have allowed opponents to average more than 100 points in their last 11 games.
Bryant caught wind of Gasol's little tantrum and supported the center speaking out on the team's latest struggles. According to Los Angeles Times beat writer Mike Bresnahan, Bryant gave Gasol a lot of credit for caring about the team. He notes that the center's post-game rant was the most irritated he has ever seen his teammate and that something really needs to be done to get players back on track to winning games.
Is there relief in sight? The Lakers hope that begins with the return of Nash next week. The point guard has been out since November with nerve irritation. He has only played six games this season while he attempts to recover from a leg injury suffered last season. His return to the court would certainly help gain a spark offensively considering the Lakers have five injured point guards this season. Henry and Farmar are working their way back as well so wins could be on the way for the Lakers.
