The plan was for Marc Gasol to stay ready; the Lakers were going to eventually need him. Eventually, it turned out, was a much shorter time than planned.
After recent free-agent acquisition Andre Drummond lost a toenail in his debut on Wednesday, Gasol had to quickly get warm and play in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ loss to Milwaukee.
“That’s hard to do, to sit there for three quarters without getting in,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before the game against Sacramento on Friday. “And then take your warmups, get loose and get in there and play as well as he did. That’s extremely hard to do, so just a credit to his professionalism and what kind of player he is.”
With Drummond still out, Gasol started against the Kings, making two of four shots in the Lakers’ 115-94 win. Gasol finished with five points, nine rebounds and six assists Friday in Sacramento.
