Last night, I think I may have had several heart attacks simultaneosly when I heard a report that Pau Gasol might be out until Christmas according to Phil Jackson.  The team’s off to a great start without Pau, and there’s no doubt that they can still contend in the West without him, but the thought of not having Pau until Christmas is one that can stir even the most confident Laker fan into a panic.  What if he comes back with Andrew Bynum syndrome?  Will playing half of the season be enough to get him in shape for the playoffs? Does this mean there’s no parade next year?

These worries were put to rest today, when Phil Jackson retracted his statements, saying that he was only joking.  What is of concern is the perplexing circumstances of Pau’s injury:

“Yeah, because with most hamstrings you see bleeding or bruises or holes in the hamstring,” says Jackson in an article on ESPN.com, “His has been one of those things [that] wasn’t a big concern to us, but has turned into a month-long injury.”  Sounds like a job for CSI.

The Lakers have rolled to a 6-1 start (and a 5 game winning streak) without Pau, second best in the West behind division rivals, the Phoenix Suns, who they hope to beat tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Related topics: If the Lakers were Rappers (from LA Weekly: West Coast Sound)