OKLAHOMA CITY -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol did not participate in the team's shootaround Friday and did not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder as he continues to sit out with tendinitis in both knees.
"He's not ready yet," said Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni. "He's getting better. Just like (Steve) Nash, I don't know what that means. Maybe (Gasol will return) Sunday, Monday or next week. I don't know. As soon as he gets able to play, then he'll go. That can be any day."
The Lakers are listing Gasol's status as day to day.
Gasol has already missed two games for the Lakers after deciding that the persistent pain he was experiencing in his knees since training camp needed to be addressed.
"There's been improvement, but again, I don't want to come back and then three days after coming back be in the same spot that I was before I stopped," Gasol said after the Lakers' 103-87 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. "That would be not very smart."
The Thunder eliminated the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals last season, but Gasol said the rivalry would not affect his decision to play.
"I think it's too early to think that," Gasol said Wednesday. "But it's a good team, a very good team, a team that we all would like to play and beat."
Gasol, a 12-year veteran, is averaging 12.6 points per game on 42 percent shooting, both career lows, along with 8.8 rebounds.
He has spent the week strengthening his gluteal and quadriceps muscles to alleviate the pressure on the patellar tendons in his knees as well as going through ice treatment and taking pain medication.
"We're trying to do what we can to try and get me healthy as soon as possible," Gasol said.
The Lakers return home to play the Utah Jazz on Sunday before heading back on the road for a four-game trip through Cleveland, New York, Washington and Philadelphia next week.