Laker News: Latest Updates on Injured Bigs

The dramatic saga of the Los Angeles Lakers' centers continues this week, as Dwight Howard finds himself upset with the Lakers—as shocking as that seems—and Pau Gasol joins him on the bench.

Howard has been out since January 6 with what was originally classified as a "torn labrum" by LA. His timetable for a return was the ever daunting "indefinitely."

But it was reported Tuesday by ESPN LA that Howard's injury might not be that bad.

Howard himself was quoted as saying, "I don't know what story came out and said I tore my labrum," and went on to say that his labrum was just separated from the bone, and not torn.

Both sound bad, but the separation is much less severe than a tear.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Howard was unhappy with the way the Lakers presented the injury, making things seem worse than they really were.

As tweeted by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register, the new classification of Howard's injury means Superman could be back within a week.

It's just another part of the failed Howard experiment that—whether the Lakers like or not—might not end until he's traded away.

In other Laker news, looks like Pau Gasol will be riding things out with Howard on the bench for a while.

As reported Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times, Gasol has a confirmed concussion and will miss at least back-to-back games against the Rockets and Spurs.

Gasol originally suffered the concussion in Sunday's loss to Denver after a run-in with Nuggets center JaVale McGee.

While most concussions last a few days or a couple of weeks, they can last much longer. And with NBA policies, Gasol will have to be fully cleared before returning to the court.

Even though Gasol has struggled this season, the injury certainly sets the Lakers back. Now without Howard, Gasol and Jordan Hill (hip), LA will turn to Antwan Jamison and Robert Sacre to secure its frontcourt.

But seeing how the Lakers have played so poorly together, this could actually be an improvement.