LOS ANGELES -- Lakers center Pau Gasol said he will have an MRI exam on his injured right groin Saturday and wasn't sure about his availability to play on the team's three-game trip next week.
"I don't know," Gasol said Friday night, when asked whether he thought this injury would keep him from playing. "I'm getting an MRI tomorrow so we'll see what it is because there's something going on. I reaggravated it, and that's not good for anyone."
Gasol has been dealing with a sore toe and groin for the past week. He suspects the groin injury was caused by the adjustments he has been trying to make to play with the toe injury.
"I'm playing with a tape job that might have caused some issues with loads," he said. "So one thing is leading to the next one. I'm trying to play through it and I've been playing through it, trying to do my very best because I don't like to let my team down when things are not going the right way."
The Lakers lost 110-100 to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night at Staples Center to fall to 16-31 on the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, their 3-12 mark in January is the first time since February 1964 the Lakers have lost 12 games in a calendar month.
Gasol, who had 24 points and nine rebounds in the loss to Charlotte, saw his streak of five consecutive games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds come to an end. He sat out practice earlier in the week because of the groin injury but said it felt better going into Friday's game after two days of rest and rehabilitation work.
"We tried hard to make it feel better and calm it down," he said. "But once the game started and I did certain moves, I reaggravated it, and we'll see what the MRI says."
