Pau Thread: Surgery a success; now rehab & rest for 12 weeks

lakersin4 · by **lakersin4** on Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:04 pm

We really need him or Kobe back.. Dwight carrying the offensive load just doesn't work & Jamison/Meeks/Ron are too streaky. I don't think we lose that Phx game if either Kobe or Pau played.

JSM · by **JSM** on Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:36 pm

Kamenetzky Brothers
Pau Gasol puts his current pain level at a "3 or 4" on a scale of 1-10.
It's not a given Pau Gasol will be available for Friday's game against the Wizards, but he's certainly moving in the right direction. Wednesday, he participated in a 4-on-4 full-court scrimmage, a big step in the recovery process. 5-on-5 still awaits, along with whatever potential effects from more intense workouts, but for the time being, so far so good.

Still, should Gasol take the court this weekend, the odds favor him negotiating some degree of discomfort. Asked today to rate the pain on a scale of 1-10, the forward gave it a "3 or 4."

  “It’s manageable right now," said Gasol. "Still, when you come off an injury like that, as painful as it was when it happened, you’re still little bit of concerned because you still feel something. But as you feel more comfortable and that pain does not increase and hopefully decreases, you feel better about it and you’ll be able to push through it more.

“I feel good. I still feel a little bit of soreness, but I think it’s part of the process. It’s just a matter of feeling confident to be more explosive and make more aggressive moves off it. So that’s going to be also a mental thing.” 

KareemTheGreat33 · by **KareemTheGreat33** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:26 am

You suck Gasol

Chopper · by **Chopper** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:53 am

Wait, so he's mentally waiting for the confidence to be more explosive and aggressive before he plays?

Isn't that what Laker fans have been waiting for for years from him :man9:

therealdeal · by **therealdeal** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:57 am

He'll be alright. It's a process, but the guy is coming back at his earliest schedule. We should be applauding him for his effort right now. Even though he might not be a Laker for long, he's putting it all out there for us.

Lakerjones · by **Lakerjones** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:04 am

therealdeal wrote:He'll be alright. It's a process, but the guy is coming back at his earliest schedule. We should be applauding him for his effort right now. Even though he might not be a Laker for long, he's putting it all out there for us.

^^ Agreed. Through thick and thin he's always been the consummate professional for us. I have been critical of him but I have never understood the hate he garners here. My frustration with him was with his inexplicable drop-off for us after the back to back championship. Maybe he was just burnt out? He's never been the same, but the hate he was receiving here this year while playing hurt was unwarranted in my opinion. His whinyness about being benched was annoying, but as a premiere big in the league, NBA and international champion, and number two guy to Kobe Bryant, to be relegated to backing up Earl Clark must have hurt. D' Antoni was a straight up A hole about it, too.

therealdeal · by **therealdeal** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:08 am

Lakerjones wrote:
therealdeal wrote:He'll be alright. It's a process, but the guy is coming back at his earliest schedule. We should be applauding him for his effort right now. Even though he might not be a Laker for long, he's putting it all out there for us.

^^ Agreed. Through thick and thin he's always been the consummate professional for us. I have been critical of him but I have never understood the hate he garners here. My frustration with him was with his inexplicable drop-off for us after the back to back championship. Maybe he was just burnt out? He's never been the same, but the hate he was receiving here this year while playing hurt was unwarranted in my opinion. His whinyness about being benched was annoying, but as a premiere big in the league, NBA and international champion, and number two guy to Kobe Bryant, to be relegated to backing up Earl Clark must have hurt. D' Antoni was a straight up A hole about it, too.

Yeah I'm not sure why D'Antoni was being such a d*** to him. :man10:

Pau the person is someone I've been proud of since day one as a Laker. I didn't know much about him in Memphis, but he came here and I immediately appreciated the kind of person that he is. He's a professional. He's a giver. He's a great guy. If this was the NFL and he could restructure his contract in some way to help us keep him and give us the flexibility we need, I'd be ecstatic.

But at 19 million I think his days here are numbered. Hopefully in those days he can give us everything he's got left and we can try to heat up at the right time and make a run at this thing.

Lakerjones · by **Lakerjones** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:14 am

^^ Agreed all the way with all points. You couldn't ask for a better person than Pau off the court. The guy is the best. His charity and humanitarian work is top notch. He's a great guy. But you are right - $19 million I think is too much of a luxury, literally with the luxury tax, to have next year. He's the one chip (although maybe MWP, too) who could get us some younger talent in return this offseason, and he's the obvious guy on the bubble since D' Antoni doesn't know what the hell to do with him and all of our efforts are going to be to lock down D12. But, that's in the offseason. We'll see what happens but I'm looking forward to him getting back on the court as soon as possible.

therealdeal · by **therealdeal** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:19 am

Having him further stabilize that second unit is having me really hungry to see him on the floor. I can't wait to see if/when he comes back whether or not he can really just give us that dynamic. With him on the floor with that second unit, there's a legitimate option to go to when Blake can't quite do it or when Clark and Jamison and Meeks aren't hitting well from outside.

karacha · by **karacha** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:15 pm

I can't wait to see the team at full strength, finally. Well, not quite. Hill is missing, but if we do something in the first round... he might be back.

But I think Pau will help our bench tremendously. He can play at the position where he is currently doing well, and he can get all the touches he needs.

Center Court · by **Center Court** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:22 pm

karacha wrote:I can't wait to see the team at full strength, finally. Well, not quite. Hill is missing, but if we do something in the first round... he might be back.

But I think Pau will help our bench tremendously. He can play at the position where he is currently doing well, and he can get all the touches he needs.

I can't wait to see a unit with

Pau
Jamison
Kobe
Blake
Nash

dwighthowardsdad · by **dwighthowardsdad** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:02 pm

Mike Trudell ‏@LakersReporter 35m
Pau Gasol said he expects to play tomorrow vs WAS, after missing the last 6 weeks w/a plantar fascia tear.

Mike Trudell ‏@LakersReporter 35m
Gasol still feels some pain in the foot, but it's manageable. His conditioning is "not good," but only way to get there is to play.

Rooscooter · by **Rooscooter** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:17 pm

Pau's about average for today's NBA player IMO..... we Laker fans have a dramatically different view of playing with pain after 17 years of watching Kobe. He is the one outside the norm not Gasol.

Has anyone stopped to think that Gasol's presence might bring the return of the issue we last saw when he was on the floor? He's the odd man out IMO and I actually think we might have a better shot at finishing in the playoff picture with him on the sidelines or in a dramatically reduced role over having him play 30 minutes a night.

gcclaker · by **gcclaker** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:25 pm

Talk of Gasol anchoring the second unit? Didn't D'Antoni recently state about inserting him in the starting line-up? I prefer the former as opposed to the latter so it doesn't clog up the middle for Howard and further hamper our transition defense as bad as it is. It gives him more opportunities as others have noted. All moot UNLESS he asserts himself of course.

therealdeal · by **therealdeal** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:30 pm

I believe he said he'll get back into the starting lineup eventually. I don't mind it as long as the team plays inside out... which I don't trust.

I'd rather he come off the bench and play a lot of minutes. Earl gives us more versatility in the starting lineup.

jOeyB7000 · by **jOeyB7000** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:34 pm

Rooscooter wrote:
Has anyone stopped to think that Gasol's presence might bring the return of the issue we last saw when he was on the floor? He's the odd man out IMO and I actually think we might have a better shot at finishing in the playoff picture with him on the sidelines or in a dramatically reduced role over having him play 30 minutes a night.

Roos I'm usually a fan of your posts, but I disagree with this 100%.

I'm sure you wouldn't want to move forward here with Clark/MWP/Jamison getting all the back up C minutes.

Gasol really can't be any worse than them, and he gives us the added benefit of being able to run the offense through him in the high or low post instead of just having our wings chucking up 3s like there's no tomorrow.

Now this is assuming he continues to come off the bench when he gets back. Seeing as Antoni has no clue how to use Gasol, one can safely assume that Gasol will continue to come off the bench. He'll most likely be the first big off the bench and anchor the second unit from the end of the 1st period when Howard takes his usal rest to a couple of minutes into the 2nd period.

I firmly believe Gasol's crappy play earlier this season was a combination of Mike Brown's system, Mike Brown's all day practices which caused his tendonitis, confusion when Brown was fired and Pringles was hired, and most importantly Antoni having no clue how to integrate Gasol into his offense. I mean he wanted Gasol to chuck 3's ffs.

Gasol was not the only one of our players that struggled.. Meeks, jamison, d12, Nash have also struggled. If gasol gets healthy, I believe he will be a tremendous asset that will pay dividends for us if he can be put into a position where he can succeed(ie not out on the perimeter chucking 3s so that Howard can have space for his "post moves" down low).

Rooscooter · by **Rooscooter** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:27 pm

jOeyB7000 wrote:
Rooscooter wrote:
Has anyone stopped to think that Gasol's presence might bring the return of the issue we last saw when he was on the floor? He's the odd man out IMO and I actually think we might have a better shot at finishing in the playoff picture with him on the sidelines or in a dramatically reduced role over having him play 30 minutes a night.

Roos I'm usually a fan of your posts, but I disagree with this 100%.

I'm sure you wouldn't want to move forward here with Clark/MWP/Jamison getting all the back up C minutes.

Gasol really can't be any worse than them, and he gives us the added benefit of being able to run the offense through him in the high or low post instead of just having our wings chucking up 3s like there's no tomorrow.

Now this is assuming he continues to come off the bench when he gets back. Seeing as Antoni has no clue how to use Gasol, one can safely assume that Gasol will continue to come off the bench. He'll most likely be the first big off the bench and anchor the second unit from the end of the 1st period when Howard takes his usal rest to a couple of minutes into the 2nd period.

I firmly believe Gasol's crappy play earlier this season was a combination of Mike Brown's system, Mike Brown's all day practices which caused his tendonitis, confusion when Brown was fired and Pringles was hired, and most importantly Antoni having no clue how to integrate Gasol into his offense. I mean he wanted Gasol to chuck 3's ffs.

Gasol was not the only one of our players that struggled.. Meeks, jamison, d12, Nash have also struggled. If gasol gets healthy, I believe he will be a tremendous asset that will pay dividends for us if he can be put into a position where he can succeed(ie not out on the perimeter chucking 3s so that Howard can have space for his "post moves" down low).

Thanks...... and we see things differently..... :man10:

We see different Gasols I guess. I don't think you can attribute his dramatic drop off in production, strength and willingness to go inside/be physical on Mike Brown's system or a foot injury. Those things pre-date Mike Brown by a year or two.

He's not even close to the Pau of 2010 much less the 2009 version. You can't expect anything close to that from him anymore IMO.

My fear, as Real noted, is that he's dropped back into the starting lineup to keep his fragile mental condition in tact with no regard for the chemistry we've built while he's been out. My thoughts are that we've shown improvement because we don't have another player that NEEDS touches out there with our starters. Clark is the modern day Rambis. Dirty work, defense and toughness. Pau is none of that anymore. He's a 7'1" point guard wanna-be playing PF.

I'm not sure "Anchoring" the second unit is something he'd be good at either. He's not an "anchor" on either end. That's never been what he's been about. He's not strong willed enough to dominate the ball and that's what's needed to lead our second unit. He'll pass to the first open man from the post..... even if it's MWP. He's got an advantage most of the time in the post and yet his first thought is pass when he gets the ball down there. We need a scorer's mentality off the bench to really provide the rest Kobe and Howard need.

Finally, a balanced team doesn't just consist of top names and great players at all positions. You need the lunch bucket guys like Clark and MWP to balance out the guys that HAVE TO HAVE the ball. Putting another one of those guys in there can upset our fragile balance IMO.

I could be wrong and Pau comes back in 2009 form.... It's seems extremely remote but stranger things have happened.

Punk-101 · by **Punk-101** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:47 pm

^^

I'm not going to get my hopes up that he'll be anything special. Just be a better backup center than Jamison or Clark.

Jazzygirl205 · by **Jazzygirl205** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:48 pm

Yeah we need Pau, his presence in the inside will do wonders especially if or when we make the playoffs.

jOeyB7000 · by **jOeyB7000** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:56 pm

^^ Roos, I just feel like a lot of Pau's crappy play this season has been due to injury. Before this season, his play was also affected by Bynum's emergence. He had to play out of his comfort zone to allow Bynum the space he needed to operate. The playoffs where PJ smacked him on the chest, that I have no excuse or explanation for.

I hold out hope that Pau can pull it together because of the level he played at for the Spanish national team over the summer. He was absolutely beasting out there.

Can I at least get you to agree with me that having Pau as the back up C is better than Clark/Jamison/MWP ? :man1:

Chillbongo · by **Chillbongo** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:02 pm

jOeyB7000 wrote:Gasol was not the only one of our players that struggled.. Meeks, jamison, d12, Nash have also struggled. If gasol gets healthy, I believe he will be a tremendous asset that will pay dividends for us if he can be put into a position where he can succeed(ie not out on the perimeter chucking 3s so that Howard can have space for his "post moves" down low).

I see it the same. If healthy, can be a tremendous boost.

While I agree with what Roo said about needing a scorer off the bench, etc. we don't really have that. So given what we have, Pau is a fantastic option. Sure he's pass first, but a lot of times those passes lead to easy buckets. And he's not a PG , he's operating out of the post. Shaq made passes like that a lot but Gasol has better vision and like you said, has more of a passer's mentality.

For defensive purposes I think we need to still Run Clark around 30 minutes a game, but Gasol is a fantastic option of the bench and can boost this team offensively. Defensively, if he's playing more minutes at C we can at least expect him to hold his man down in the post. As an anchor, he is questionable but we have Dwight for that. He struggled defending 4's when he was on the floor with Dwight. Lets keep him at the 5 and not have him chasing slashers as much.

tigerjeterkobe · by **tigerjeterkobe** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:24 pm

Punk-101 wrote:^^

I'm not going to get my hopes up that he'll be anything special. Just be a better backup center than Jamison or Clark.

This.

noobiew · by **noobiew** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:41 pm

Center Court wrote:
karacha wrote:I can't wait to see the team at full strength, finally. Well, not quite. Hill is missing, but if we do something in the first round... he might be back.

But I think Pau will help our bench tremendously. He can play at the position where he is currently doing well, and he can get all the touches he needs.

I can't wait to see a unit with

Pau
Jamison
Kobe
Blake
Nash

No our DPOY Center in the lineup? Pau best serve and most effective way to help this team is as a sixth man role off the bench for us.

hustle71 · by **hustle71** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:04 pm

Pau was playing great when he got hurt. No reason to expect him to not get back to that level after a couple weeks of conditioning. Having Pau back will be huge.

Rooscooter · by **Rooscooter** on Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:13 pm

jOeyB7000 wrote:^^ Roos, I just feel like a lot of Pau's crappy play this season has been due to injury. Before this season, his play was also affected by Bynum's emergence. He had to play out of his comfort zone to allow Bynum the space he needed to operate. The playoffs where PJ smacked him on the chest, that I have no excuse or explanation for.

I hold out hope that Pau can pull it together because of the level he played at for the Spanish national team over the summer. He was absolutely beasting out there.

Can I at least get you to agree with me that having Pau as the back up C is better than Clark/Jamison/MWP ?

He's a great back up point guard wannabe playing center...... how's that? :man10:

I don't diminish what Pau has done one bit but the reality of age is...... well.... real. He's probably logged more competitive basketball minutes since 2001 than Kobe with all of his international play. He's never been one to strength train and has relied on god given talent for the most part. I see his decline as less the effect of someone else or injuries and more of a natural progression. The injuries are the result of age and milage and yes they affect his play.

I hope when he comes back he will give us 12 to 18 minutes off the bench as Howard's primary back-up..... but that's not what's going to happen I'm afraid. He will do that for a game or two and they he will go back into the starting line up. I hope that doesn't upset the chemistry we've built since he got injured.

Pau Thread: Surgery a success; now rehab & rest for 12 weeks

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: Active list but not suited up 2nite (325)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: 4on4 full court drill, pain 4-10 (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

Re: Pau Discussion: Expects to Play Tomorrow (327)

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