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

therealdeal wrote:....

I've been so down on Pau lately that I've been loathe to give him credit, but ever since he's moved to the bench he's been GREAT. If he can continue playing this way off the bench, I'll more than welcome him as our 6th man.

He's got his attitude back, his swagger, his confidence. It's like being moved to the bench somehow knocked him in the head and he remembered that he's a great player and a hall of famer.

It's the one really, really good move that I'll credit D' Antoni with. Once we saw Clark excelling with the first unit for those few games that Pau was out with the concussion, you could see it was the right move. Even Mychal Thompson was totally on board for having him come off the bench.

It's been nothing short of great for him and for the team. The limited minutes is helping his health, and it's also making him focus and become more effective in the shorter time he's out on the court. And I agree realdeal, it's seemed to spark some of that competitive fire in him again, which we'd almost forgotten about.

You have to give Pau credit for accepting the role, even though he was reluctant. Without getting deep into it with everyone here, I've never bought into the "Pau is a cancer" talk. He's not. If he were, you'd know about it. He's not a jerk. He's not an a-hole. He's not a problem guy in the locker room. He's the opposite. He's a peacemaker for the most part. Does he get whiny? Hell yes. Has he wimped out over the past couple years when we needed him? Unfortunately yes. But I can't hate the guy and I don't think he's the kind of problem people have been saying he is here at CL.

That said, I do agree with KB24 - next year he's going to be too expensive, period, for what he brings. Right now though I'm back to not wanting to trade him. He's being the soldier and coming off the bench like the coach wants. And it's working. So I think we should ride it out until he's expiring.

He looks much better coming off the bench. Good job, MDA! And good job Pau for being a true professional.

outside of his FT shooting today, he was solid...keep it up

Ice-Fire wrote:I never understood the need to trade Gasol for Gay/Smith/Iggy and the likes, Clark looks like a Rudy G Clone to me with less offensive explosiveness and Smith is a chucker, IT would be travesty if we trade Gasol for either of those players when we have 2 players in Peace/Clark who play like them with less expensive contracts.

People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

Great game, Pau!!!

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:

Ice-Fire wrote:I never understood the need to trade Gasol for Gay/Smith/Iggy and the likes, Clark looks like a Rudy G Clone to me with less offensive explosiveness and Smith is a chucker, IT would be travesty if we trade Gasol for either of those players when we have 2 players in Peace/Clark who play like them with less expensive contracts.

People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

not to mention it looks like we're finally seeing some some semblances of chemistry out there. no need to muck it up by throwing someone new into the system. time will tell though, unfortunately time isn't exactly on our side either.

His big-boy pants were on the bench. That was the problem all along.

I understand Pau's not all too happy about coming off the bench, but if I recall neither was Lamar and that ended up in two championships and some of the best basketball we've seen. Hopefully Pau comes to enjoy his new role as he's already playing like a 6th man. Keep it up Pau!

Punk-101 wrote:His big-boy pants were on the bench. That was the problem all along.

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:

Ice-Fire wrote:I never understood the need to trade Gasol for Gay/Smith/Iggy and the likes, Clark looks like a Rudy G Clone to me with less offensive explosiveness and Smith is a chucker, IT would be travesty if we trade Gasol for either of those players when we have 2 players in Peace/Clark who play like them with less expensive contracts.

People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

I disagree that people are obsessed with scoring, people want him traded because his defense has been horrible this season and his effort overall has been terrible. Like the Memphis game, he had like 25-27 points, but hia defense was bad, and his rebound numbers were low, and that was with Dwight out. He's looking better right now, but he was allowing layup after layup when Dwight was out all season, so I won't be saying he's completely back and worth keeping as a 19 million dollar bench player. If a player or players can be had for him to improve the team I still do it while his value is back up.

He's been playing great. We still need to trade him.

Pau is nicely raising his trade value right now...it's great to see

Lakerjones wrote:

therealdeal wrote:....

I've been so down on Pau lately that I've been loathe to give him credit, but ever since he's moved to the bench he's been GREAT. If he can continue playing this way off the bench, I'll more than welcome him as our 6th man.

He's got his attitude back, his swagger, his confidence. It's like being moved to the bench somehow knocked him in the head and he remembered that he's a great player and a hall of famer.

It's the one really, really good move that I'll credit D' Antoni with. Once we saw Clark excelling with the first unit for those few games that Pau was out with the concussion, you could see it was the right move. Even Mychal Thompson was totally on board for having him come off the bench.

It's been nothing short of great for him and for the team. The limited minutes is helping his health, and it's also making him focus and become more effective in the shorter time he's out on the court. And I agree realdeal, it's seemed to spark some of that competitive fire in him again, which we'd almost forgotten about.

You have to give Pau credit for accepting the role, even though he was reluctant. Without getting deep into it with everyone here, I've never bought into the "Pau is a cancer" talk. He's not. If he were, you'd know about it. He's not a jerk. He's not an a-hole. He's not a problem guy in the locker room. He's the opposite. He's a peacemaker for the most part. Does he get whiny? Hell yes. Has he wimped out over the past couple years when we needed him? Unfortunately yes. But I can't hate the guy and I don't think he's the kind of problem people have been saying he is here at CL.

That said, I do agree with KB24 - next year he's going to be too expensive, period, for what he brings. Right now though I'm back to not wanting to trade him. He's being the soldier and coming off the bench like the coach wants. And it's working. So I think we should ride it out until he's expiring.

When I insinuated he was a cancer, I meant more that his situation was quickly becoming toxic. Everything he was saying revolved around touches and revolved around how he was being misused and whatnot. He himself isn't a bad guy or a locker room idiot, he's just a sensitive guy and he's been showing it the wrong way.

I appreciate that he's sucking it up and coming off the bench. That really makes the difference right now from the team. I hope that he's got his mojo back for sure and that he continues to be willing to play a bench role.

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

Yeah, problem is... I have seen some fans point out that Pekovic is better then Gasol... Pekovic does not know how to Impact a game while Gasol with his passing does.

Well, let's see if he keeps this up consistently. We have 4 easy games up ahead. Steamroll them.

Pau plays like this and I love him for helping us get another ring.

puffyusaf#2 wrote:Pau plays like this and I love him for helping us get another ring.

Hells yes I love him in the high post playing mixed minutes with the starters and taking his opportunities to create plays.

He really has been considerably better on both ends of the floor which really goes to show you how good of a team we can be-EVEN on a night where were not hitting any of our shots-if we play collective, active defense. That is what has been missing this season and why we have been dismally bad.

Weezy wrote:

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:

Ice-Fire wrote:I never understood the need to trade Gasol for Gay/Smith/Iggy and the likes, Clark looks like a Rudy G Clone to me with less offensive explosiveness and Smith is a chucker, IT would be travesty if we trade Gasol for either of those players when we have 2 players in Peace/Clark who play like them with less expensive contracts.

People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

I disagree that people are obsessed with scoring, people want him traded because his defense has been horrible this season and his effort overall has been terrible. Like the Memphis game, he had like 25-27 points, but hia defense was bad, and his rebound numbers were low, and that was with Dwight out. He's looking better right now, but he was allowing layup after layup when Dwight was out all season, so I won't be saying he's completely back and worth keeping as a 19 million dollar bench player. If a player or players can be had for him to improve the team I still do it while his value is back up.

Then why do people want Rudy Gay? He doesn't give us anything except scoring at an inefficient rate. Josh Smith is another inefficient chucker. I would never trade Pau for someone like that.

if we could still get a nice package together for pau, i'd do it. however, i love the way he's been playing. he's been taking it to the basket, he hasn't been hesitating and he's much more active on the boards.

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:

Weezy wrote:

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:

Ice-Fire wrote:I never understood the need to trade Gasol for Gay/Smith/Iggy and the likes, Clark looks like a Rudy G Clone to me with less offensive explosiveness and Smith is a chucker, IT would be travesty if we trade Gasol for either of those players when we have 2 players in Peace/Clark who play like them with less expensive contracts.

People are too obsessed with scoring. If Pau was continuing to be worthless I could see the argument but he has played his best basketball of the season ever since he got moved to backup C. Trading him would be a really stupid thing to do right now considering we don't even have Hill as a backup anymore.

I disagree that people are obsessed with scoring, people want him traded because his defense has been horrible this season and his effort overall has been terrible. Like the Memphis game, he had like 25-27 points, but hia defense was bad, and his rebound numbers were low, and that was with Dwight out. He's looking better right now, but he was allowing layup after layup when Dwight was out all season, so I won't be saying he's completely back and worth keeping as a 19 million dollar bench player. If a player or players can be had for him to improve the team I still do it while his value is back up.

Then why do people want Rudy Gay? He doesn't give us anything except scoring at an inefficient rate. Josh Smith is another inefficient chucker. I would never trade Pau for someone like that.

I would guess that it's because Gay is relatively young and athletic and can create his own offense, things we lack. He doesn't bring great D, but neither does Pau so we're not losing any. As far as Gay being inefficient at scoring, true, but that doesn't mean he would be here, I think it's worth a shot. As for Josh Smith, I don't want him either.

Oh man, I've been saying move him to the bench since the start of the season. He was a terrific mismatch for other teams at the 4 when he first got here, but given the state of his knees it's easier for him to hang around the rim both offensively and defensively, sort of how Duncan and Garnett both transitioned to the 5 after spending the early majority of their careers at the 4. It was always a matter of Gasol being willing, and given what a team player he's always been I never understood why he wasn't asked to come off the bench sooner. Dude always had it in him to be our Nu-Skool McAdoo.

^ Where the hell have you been?

therealdeal wrote:^ Where the hell have you been?

Lurking and reading d00m post after d00m post.

When Pau plays like this, it's hard to say trade him. But the 1st half of the season was a good preview of the decline to come. We're going to have to let him go in the offseason at the latest.

bruddahmanmatt wrote:

therealdeal wrote:^ Where the hell have you been?

Lurking and reading d00m post after d00m post.

Well you could have been helping with some of these posts.