<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's usually fitting when the Grizzlies follow Pau Gasol's lead. That is, under normal circumstances. Lately, though, keeping up with Gasol has gone a bit far figuratively with several players missing practice and preseason game time because of injury. Injuries made it so only nine players dressed for the Grizzlies' preseason loss Monday against Chicago. But here's a bit of good karma: Gasol is recovering nicely. The 7-foot Spaniard continues to make steady progress about a month following surgery that repaired a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. Gasol hasn't begun a full rehabilitation program. He's slowly added to a light routine that began with nothing more than riding a stationary bike. Now, Gasol uses weightlifting -- leg extensions, curls and presses -- to keep his left leg strong. He recently began swimming. X-rays taken Tuesday allowed Gasol to remain upbeat because the results revealed that his foot is healing as well as could be expected. "I'm always hopeful that the X-rays will tell me some more good stuff," Gasol said. "Hopefully, they'll allow me to do more things. Right now, it looks good and we're moving forward." Griz coach Mike Fratello is on the verge of watching Stromile Swift's preseason debut and welcoming back Jake Tsakalidis, Rudy Gay and possibly Brian Cardinal to the rotation Friday against Miami. </div> Source
