Pau Gasol playing through knee tendinitis

Pau Gasol has had an up and down season for the Los Angeles Lakers in a year that was supposed to be a breeze for the big man in the Princeton offense. It was going to be perfect. Send him to the elbow to facilitate the offense, and profit. However, with the firing of Mike Brown, and the hiring of Mike D'Antoni, the questions surrounding Pau and if he "fits" resurfaced before the big man even played a game under D'Antoni. After logging 28 minutes in a blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks, Pau revealed to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times that he has been playing through a nagging injury.

He also had a revelation after the game. He has been battling knee tendinitis for over a month.

"It's something that has been lingering since this preseason. I've been dealing with it the best I can," he said. - L.A. Times

Knee tendinitis is fairly common and shouldn't be anything that forces Gasol away from the court, but it's worth keeping an eye on, especially in back to back games where he's logging 38+ minutes. His age, plus the tendinitis, the elbow bursitis, and playing extensive minutes all chip away from Gasol's effectiveness. All the more reason for D'Antoni to continue to establish Antawn Jamison at the power forward position.