Pau Gasol

Below are five things to watch in the Lakers-Warriors preseason game 7 p.m. Sunday at Save Mart Center in Fresno (assuming you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, of course).  1. How much will Kobe Bryant play? No need to worry Laker fans. Bryant's sore right foot prompted him to sit out two practices Friday, but Lakers Coach Mike Brown said he had no limitations in Saturday's session. Still, with this being the preseason, that may give Brown reason to be extra cautious. It's important that Bryant plays just so he establishes some feel for how he moves off the ball while Steve Nash runs the offense against an actual defense.

Things to watch when the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets Saturday night at Staples Center. The Lakers and Nuggets are tied, 3-3. The winner faces Oklahoma City on Monday in the Western Conference semifinals. 1. The outcome will have a significant affect on the Lakers' off-season plans. Magic Johnson raised the ante just a little by saying a Game 7 loss would spur the Lakers to fire Coach Mike Brown after just his first season. Whether that actually happens? Who knows. But consider that Brown, who is making $4.5 million a season, has two more guaranteed years left on his contract followed by a team option.

  Below are some things to take away from the Lakers' 113-96 Game 6 loss Thursday to the Denver Nuggets: 1. The Lakers should feel embarassed. I'll break down in more detail in the items below, but the score should speak for itself. For the second consecutive game, the Lakers lacked energy, focus and any consistent production outside of Kobe Bryant in a closeout game. The Lakers still have a chance to secure this first-round series with a victory in Game 7, which is taking place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Staples Center, but with how well they played at the beginning of the series, it should've never gotten to this point.

The rationale for the Lakers essentially trading Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard remains simple. "We got the best," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said this offseason. But there's also another issue. The Lakers may have had a healthy Bynum, but they rid themselves the risk in absorbing another one of his long-term injuries. To do so, the Lakers took the short-term hit that they may play without Howard to open the season as he rehabs his surgically repaired back. Considering he's only missed seven games in his eight-year career prior to his back injury last March, it's understandable the Lakers expect this won't be a long-term issue.

That was a waste of a season. Now what? The Lakers' headaches won't get any smaller after a first-round sweep by San Antonio. Will Dwight Howard stay or go as a free agent this summer? If he remains, will Pau Gasol be traded or waived via the amnesty provision? What about Coach Mike D'Antoni, who still has two more years and $8 million on his contract? And a host of lesser players whose contracts expire in June? General Manager Mitch Kupchak will be a busy man, though it won't start for a while.

Pau Gasol will undergo a minimally invasive procedure Thursday to try to combat tendinitis in his knees. Gasol sat out eight Lakers games this season because of tendon soreness in both knees. The procedure is called Fasciotomy and Surgical Tenotomy (FAST) and is an effort to eliminate scar tissue by inserting into each knee a probe that emits ultrasonic energy. Healthy tendon tissue is not disturbed in the procedure. A timetable will be released Thursday for Gasol, who has one more season and $19.3 million remaining on his contract.

Perhaps the key question this year for the Lakers is whether or not Pau Gasol can fit into Coach Mike D'Antoni's system and play alongside fellow big man Dwight Howard. Gasol's best years were alongside Lamar Odom but Gasol has gradually been pushed further and further from the basket with the emergence of Andrew Bynum (and now Howard). In the Lakers' 118-115 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, the first game under D'Antoni with Steve Nash in the lineup, the team went often to Gasol in the high post.  The forward/center would watch for cutting players, looking first for the pass and then the shot (six assists total)

Amid economic uncertainty and a more restrictive labor deal, one thing remains unchanged. NBA superstars still make a ton of money. According to Hoopsworld , Kobe Bryant's $27.8 million salary in the 2012-13 season will make him the highest paid NBA player. So too do the players behind him, including Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki ($20.9 million), New York forward Carmelo Anthony ($20.4 million) and New York forward Amare Stoudemire ($19.9 million). The Lakers will also pay top dollar to other players next season, including Dwight Howard ($19.5 million)

There's unanimity within the Lakers. Kobe Bryant and General Manager Mitch Kupchak both want Dwight Howard to return. There's also a problem within the Lakers: Howard isn't so sure. He declined to reveal which way he was leaning after his one-year run with the Lakers. "I'm going to take my time, get away from the game, my phones and everything and just clear my head," Howard said Tuesday in an end-of-season interview at the team's practice facility. "I'll do what's going to be best for myself, what's going to make me happy.

Pau Gasol was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis on Thursday, according to a team release. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of a tendon within the sole of the foot. It's a relatively common injury that can be resolved with treatment and orthotics (customized shoe inserts). Gasol's right foot was examined by Dr. Kenneth Jung via MRI. The Lakers list their forward/center as probable against the Portland Trail Blazers. Recently Richard Hamilton of the Chicago Bulls tore his plantar fascia, which has him still sidelined now for almost a month.