Pau Gasol never won a playoff game in six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.

By sitting out his first chance to play against his former team on Friday at Staples Center, Gasol hopes he’ll be of more help to the Los Angeles Lakers as this year’s playoffs get closer.

Gasol is expected to miss his eighth straight game Friday because of a sprained left ankle. He said before the Lakers’ 108-95 loss to Charlotte on Wednesday that he aggravated the injury earlier in the week and he didn’t expect to play until next week. - Yahoo Sports

• Los Angeles (46-21) at Utah (45-24)
• Charlotte (25-45) at Los Angeles (49-22)
• Preview: Los Angeles (37-17) at Los Angeles (19-33)
• Golden State (42-26) at Los Angeles (48-21)
• Los Angeles (20-39) at Los Angeles (43-18)