Pau and Farmar

[kop5789]

Honestly, the problem with Gasol seems to be a lot more than mental. In fact, his line would have been even worse if he didn't make some pretty tight jumpers and fades. The only two plays that he didn't execute correctly was the strong layup and the dunk that got blocked by AK. The former he outguessed himself expecting contact, the latter, well, he simply needed to go up harder, or maybe quicker(it seems that when the refs allow things to get physical, then you need to have that extra oomph to even finish just a layup, of course, as we can see with that layup where he missed everything, you have to be careful about going up "too strong" as well, so yeah, it can be a little tricky.)

It seems to me that Boozer is just one of those guys that matches up well with him. He's a little too strong for Gasol to back him down, and a little too "wide" or "low" for Gasol to drive on(though it doesn't help that the refs let Boozer get away with a ton.) But then, shouldn't this mean that Gasol should be able to shoot over him? Makes no sense that Gasol would have this much trouble creating against someone like Boozer. Regardless of whatever the case, Gasol still has to try hard to "keep up" with Boozer(only because Boozer gets so much love from the refs.)

[kray28]

Back on the topic of premature panic, everyone should lurk on over to LG to see some real panic. That place is a piece of work sometimes. They are putting CL to shame.

Haha....some of it tongue in cheek (There's even a "Trade Gasol" thread).
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Basketball isn't part of life, it is life.

- Kobe Bryant

[kop5789]

[lakerholic]

If either of them bothered to show up on the defensive side of the ball, we wouldn't need this thread. If the team decided to play a lick of D tonight, we'd be up 3-0

Note the wonderful D displayed by the entire team in this picture:


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[halekulani]

farmar is playing horribly
i don't know what happened to that kid.

[A Rush]

Gasol is not a C nor is he a physical player. He NEEDS a center like Bynum to be most effective.

Pau having to play out of position and his softness as an anchor is one of the main reasons why Laker IMO can't and won't win the ring this year. You just don't win with anchors like Gasol.

[A Rush]

As for Farmar, the kid's overrated by some. I certainly see no greatness in him and he should IMO be traded away in the summer in a package for a more complimentary role player. Jordan needs a more freestyle offensive system and he will never be any kind of answer on D for us. So for the lakers to really make the next step forward, trading away guys like farmar for more toughness and D is essential.

[HisAirness24]

I'm telling you, it's Pau's HAIR. I feel ever since he cuts it short, he plays soft, but when it's long, he looks tough looking, almost intidimating, and plays awesome.



Maybe it's just me.
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[Chicano]

^ No no not at all, as cheesy as that sounds, I wholeheartedly agree.
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THE RAIDERS

[iberian_oso]

[TheGoat]

The way Pau is playing this post-season, isn't a new thing. He struggled to create his own offense against Denver and he has continued to struggle against Utah. When he catches the ball and tries to score he is a turnover waiting to happen(Kwame Brown like). I don't know what the hell happened to his game because he didn't have this problem in the regular season. We got Pau so he could take pressure off of Kobe as another guy who can create his own shot when the game gets tough,but he has become inept at this. The only thing Pau has success at is Lay ups/Dunks created for him by other players.We won't win the Title if his 1 on 1 game is non-existent. We have NO Low POST Option . I recall during a timeout in Gm3 Phil looking at Pau and repeatedly saying "What the F*** is wrong with you?". This was after Pau was just giving Utah the ball like it had no value to him.


Farmar is just a disaster right now. Last season he hit the wall 2/4 of the season. This year he lasted until the 3/4 mark before his game faded. Farmar has talent and I still think he will be good,but WTF is up with him and his wall hitting? How long will he last next season before ultimately going into a slump that he has proven to be incapable of recovering from? What the hell happened to his 3pt shot and his ability to finish at the hoop?
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"After slamming in an alley-oop as the Suns center(Amare Stoudemire) clung helplessly to his arm, Bynum hopped around like he was on a pogo stick, grinning and nodding in a 'Who’s the man-child now?' sort of way" -Chris Broussard of espn.

[netlordr23]

That is what Pau has been accustomed since coming to the Lakers. Getting easy baskets. He will improve.

[Pig Miller]

[BB]

Did Farmar played any better than Smush since the All Star Break? I don't think he did.

[CarolinaLakerFan]

If we bring in a young, talented PG this offseason, I bet Farmar will get his [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.] in gear. Right now, I really hate watching him play. It's almost Smush-like. Pau will have a chip on his shoulder and play much better in Game 4. Book it.
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Magic Johnson: The most complete player in NBA history!

[A. Benbow]

C´mon! How many of Gasol´s 3rd game points have been easy baskets. I remember an outside shot, a counter after the steal just like a SF, and some buckets after offensive rebound. And of course, many calls that he should have got, playoffs or not. The problem with todays game for Gasol have been the referees. It´s not normal that with the hard defense of Utahs big guys he hadn´t gone to the free shoot line.

In fact, from the hustle viewpoint, I think this have been one of his better performances since he is a Laker. Most of Boozer´s and Okur´s long shots were well contested, and he didn´t get pushed so much in the rebounds. I think that we can not ask him much more with these referees.


PD: I hope you understand my point. English is not my mother languaje, and it is much easier write some jokes than share tecnical thoughts about a game (which I think is hard even in your mother languaje).

[SignPippenNow]

Waaaah Waaah cry me a river. Gripe about Gasol. The great Andrew Bynum had 8 point and 10 rebounds against Utah who beat the crap out of the Lakers without Boozer or Okur. The great Andrew Bynum, LA's savior, stunk it up as bad as Gasol did last night twice against Boston. He disappeared both Boston games. The Lakers lost a road game last night. Big deal.

[LakerzDQ]

[Coville]

[Blahdeh Deebatz]

Pau and Farmar were killing me during Game 3. I was shouting at my TV screen in a way that I haven't since the days of Kwame Brown.

Pau's 1-on-1 post-up skills were exposed against Okur/Boozer. Pau just couldn't handle the physicality. It was kind of like watching Luke Walton post up a taller player... not pretty. The Lakers need to make Pau a passer and not a scorer out of the post during this series - they need to cut to the basket and get open. The Lakers' best post-up options in this series are Kobe and Lamar.

Farmar is just stinking it up. We should sit him down more and give Sasha more minutes until Farmar's game comes back.

[UKUGA]

Personally, I thought the Lakers ignored Gasol too much in the 4th quarter.

Feed him no matter what. He demands attention.

Expect this to be a point of emphasis in game 4.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=280509026
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During the Lakers-Pistons telecast on 1/31/08, the Pistons announcer said that Jim Cleamons told him that the Lakers HOPED to have Andrew Bynum back by April 1.


"The Lakers need more fans like you!"
- Gary Vitti, to me, in a Cleveland restaurant

[Extremo]

Don´t give up on Pau Gasol that easily.
Game 4 will be ours.

[TXLAKERFAN]

[MC]

Gasol is not an issue, period, he just had a poor game mostly due to the team running away from the offense (aka Farmar came in the game and quickened the pace by quick shots and pushing the ball) and the struggles of the perimeter shooters to take advantage of space afforded to them. If the shots go down the space opens up for Gasol to operate and makes it difficult for the Jazz to play physical and double, if they don't the lane gets clogged and the Jazz can really body up Gasol and limit his effectiveness as a scorer.

Farmar is not playing well and has a difficult match up skill set wise to boot in Williams. The Jazz got the perfect storm last night and delivered their best punch on a night our guards got in foul trouble. The second fisher steps off the court and Farmar is put on Williams the jazz go on mini runs exposing our defensive rotations because of how quickly Williams is getting up on our bigs. Farmar just is not a physical defender which is needed to match Williams physicality which he absolutely needs to be successful. Williams generally enjoys the upper body strength advantage over most PGs but not with Fisher. That's right up Fisher's alley and is actually a really good match up for him. Williams has absolutely struggles with a more physical Fisher bodying him up.

The Lakers simply need to adjust the rotation when Fisher steps out of the game and Williams is still out their playing, ESPECIALLY if Fisher has slowed him down early. Instead of going with the quicker, lighter Farmar I would use length and size and make Williams get hot from the perimeter. With length and size it would take away Williams physicality while limiting the space afforded to penetrate and dish OR score. The length could play a tad off making the paint look more crowded while still having the ability to get a hand in the face and challenge jump shots. Penetration hurt us in game 3 more than anything else and gave the Jazz renewed confidence and energy on the defensive end. I expect Phil to make some slight tweaks on where and when help comes and how they play Williams when Fisher is out of the game. I don't expect extended minutes by Farmar on Williams although Jackson can be very stubborn at times when it comes to adjusting rotations and minutes.

[scissors]

it seems like the whole team is playin soft. they don't have that physical mentality game they had against denver. everyone is going up with a soft lay up rather than trying to dunk it.

[lakerfan2]

[Darth Bynumite]

[hollywood swinger]

calm down folks, jazz will not win another game this season.
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the posting artist formally known as west-magic-kobe

[4Rings]

Pau had one bad game....relax! Would you rather have Kwa-may Brown out there?
Pau will never be a physical type of player.....his strengths are his length and passing. He will get it together.

Farmar, however, is somebody I am upset with. I know he is inexperienced, but geez, get it together already!
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If we are all thinking alike, then nobody is thinking!

[A_V_R]

I agree that Pau needs to step it up.

But I also think that Lamar needs to take more than 3 shots. I am a Lamar supporter and 3 shots isnt going to get it done on the road.
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