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

thisbjgz wrote:I don't understand. Yes he's a huge reason why we won those 2 chips...yes you were a huge #2 for us..from 2008-2010..now? You have lost that fire and you are no longer the 2nd best player on the team...does it make you any worst? no..he should feel flattered because we ALL believe that he's the most lethal player coming off the bench now by far. (maybe other than Crawford/Manu)..plus the fact he's STILL going to finish games and play close to starter minutes anyway..so what the !@@! is the fuss Pau? Shut up about it already.

^^ You've got to be fair about this though. If you read the first line of the article posted, this was a response to a direct question about the subject. What do you expect him to say? "Hell, yeah, I want to continue to come off the bench permanently"? I don't think any starter in the league would respond that way.

It's not as if Pau is holding a press conference to say, "I shouldn't come off the bench." He's just saying he doesn't want to do it permanently, but he'll do it for now for the sake of what is good for the team. He's doing his job.

I don't think the future bodes well for the two parties but for now this is a great solution and he's going with it.

good job Pau...now that we finally have some momentum and some kind of harmony, you yap about being on the bench again


yea we know you're not happy but if you're willing to suck it up like you say, then STFU and ride it out

pound4pound1 wrote:good job Pau...now that we finally have some momentum and some kind of harmony, you yap about being on the bench again


yea we know you're not happy but if you're willing to suck it up like you say, then STFU and ride it out

Again, pound, I don't totally disagree but this was a response to a direct question from the media. They are the ones stirring the pot on this. He didn't go over and say this to some reporter, they asked him about the reduced role and he commented. It's not a big deal. It doesn't matter what he says anyway, what matters is that he's doing the job and he's produced thus far. If he starts actually stinking in this role, we've got a real issue.

Lakerjones wrote:

pound4pound1 wrote:good job Pau...now that we finally have some momentum and some kind of harmony, you yap about being on the bench again


yea we know you're not happy but if you're willing to suck it up like you say, then STFU and ride it out

Again, pound, I don't totally disagree but this was a response to a direct question from the media. They are the ones stirring the pot on this. He didn't go over and say this to some reporter, they asked him about the reduced role and he commented. It's not a big deal. It doesn't matter what he says anyway, what matters is that he's doing the job and he's produced thus far. If he starts actually stinking in this role, we've got a real issue.

i hear ya, LJ...but coming off the biggest win of the season and finally having some kind of cohesion and chemistry, the last thing i want to hear is people 'unhappy'...they've all been 'unhappy' at some point this year and now that there's something to be happy about, here comes Pau

and i understand that it's a response to a direct question but besides Kobe, Pau is probably one of the most media savvy players in that locker room...if Pau wanted to give a vanilla template response, he easily could have deflected these types of questions...we've been listening to Pau talk to the media for years now...he knows how to get around questions...just when you start to like Pau again, he opens his mouth about minutes

^ It's not about minutes, it's about starting. He can't really complain about minutes because he's playing a ton of them. It's just the arbitrary title of "starting".

I know it's easy for us to say "shut up!" and I agree that he should. But I suppose it does take a measure of humility to take that role after so long of being the "man" on teams. Hell, I understood Lamar when he went through it and at Lamar's peak he was never in the same talks as a guy like Pau on the block.

Pau needs to understand though that it's just a totally arbitrary figure. It's just another word. If we win a Championship with him off the bench, does that make him any less valuable? No. It just means he was better suited for that.

only part I dont like is him saying as long as we're winning.....so does that mean he'll cry/moan more about not starting if we dont win?

khmrP wrote:only part I dont like is him saying as long as we're winning.....so does that mean he'll cry/moan more about not starting if we dont win?

I don't mind that. It's the attitude I have about life in general. If I'm going to do something I'm uncomfortable with, then I had better see the positive results we expect. If it's NOT positive, then why am I making myself uncomfortable?

therealdeal wrote:^ It's not about minutes, it's about starting. He can't really complain about minutes because he's playing a ton of them. It's just the arbitrary title of "starting".

I know it's easy for us to say "shut up!" and I agree that he should. But I suppose it does take a measure of humility to take that role after so long of being the "man" on teams. Hell, I understood Lamar when he went through it and at Lamar's peak he was never in the same talks as a guy like Pau on the block.

Pau needs to understand though that it's just a totally arbitrary figure. It's just another word. If we win a Championship with him off the bench, does that make him any less valuable? No. It just means he was better suited for that.

someone needs to have Ginobili call Pau...someone with more titles and humility but knows full well what his value is

pound4pound1 wrote:

therealdeal wrote:^ It's not about minutes, it's about starting. He can't really complain about minutes because he's playing a ton of them. It's just the arbitrary title of "starting".

I know it's easy for us to say "shut up!" and I agree that he should. But I suppose it does take a measure of humility to take that role after so long of being the "man" on teams. Hell, I understood Lamar when he went through it and at Lamar's peak he was never in the same talks as a guy like Pau on the block.

Pau needs to understand though that it's just a totally arbitrary figure. It's just another word. If we win a Championship with him off the bench, does that make him any less valuable? No. It just means he was better suited for that.

someone needs to have Ginobili call Pau...someone with more titles and humility but knows full well what his value is

Or hell call Lamar. They won a title together! Pau should seriously take a step back and re-evaluate this concept of him not staying on the bench. If that' something he's definitely not comfortable with, he's going to bring back a whole lot of youth and depth this summer as an expiring contract.

therealdeal wrote:

pound4pound1 wrote:

therealdeal wrote:^ It's not about minutes, it's about starting. He can't really complain about minutes because he's playing a ton of them. It's just the arbitrary title of "starting".

I know it's easy for us to say "shut up!" and I agree that he should. But I suppose it does take a measure of humility to take that role after so long of being the "man" on teams. Hell, I understood Lamar when he went through it and at Lamar's peak he was never in the same talks as a guy like Pau on the block.

Pau needs to understand though that it's just a totally arbitrary figure. It's just another word. If we win a Championship with him off the bench, does that make him any less valuable? No. It just means he was better suited for that.

someone needs to have Ginobili call Pau...someone with more titles and humility but knows full well what his value is

Or hell call Lamar. They won a title together! Pau should seriously take a step back and re-evaluate this concept of him not staying on the bench. If that' something he's definitely not comfortable with, he's going to bring back a whole lot of youth and depth this summer as an expiring contract.

right?

and honestly, i love having that kind of ammo off the bench...its not a complete drop off when Dwight takes a breather..it just gives us a better balance

Gasol's ego is having a difficult time coming to grips that his skill, mobility and overall play has slipped. He can't bounce back quickly from injuries due to age and mileage. Totally respect The Spaniard for what he has brought to the organization but if his minutes aren't curtailed drastically, he finishes the game and is relied upon during crunch time, I don't understand what his displeasure is all about? The "star" starter comment really does not sit well with me as a fan. If he were an Abdul-Jabbar, Malone or a Duncan then yes I would agree BUT he isn't.

I think Pau is going to be here for the rest of the year.

Our defense is much better with Clark playing alongside Howard. And now Pau seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder and he's contributing off the bench.

Slow the pace, play good defense, have Pau contribute off the bench, and this team can go all the way.

Pau off the bench has helped our team defense, our team offense, & has also ressurected him individually. I don't see why he keeps complaining about coming off the bench when he's finishing games. Maybe he would rather start & run out of gas to not finish a game on the court.

What's the point of saying he's not happy about it but he doesn't want to be selfish & complain, he's already complaining by saying he's not happy about it on every single damn interview.

His play as of late is awesome but his complaining is getting annoying...

pound4pound1 wrote:and honestly, i love having that kind of ammo off the bench...its not a complete drop off when Dwight takes a breather..it just gives us a better balance

If we had something close to that type of "ammo" at the 1 -- we would be almost impossible to beat. Nash does OK, obviously, but after him... I don't even want to think about it.

Also, unless we get an offer that's too good to refuse, we shouldn't trade Pau this season because of Dwight. Dude gets into foul trouble and could get suspended a game if he commits another flagrant foul. We need Pau on the team to be the backup C.

If we still had Jordan Hill, then I would say trade Pau if we got a good offer.

I think for a more respected coach, Gasol might not have said the things he said regarding being on the bench. It was interesting to hear from one of the Spurs games that people (including Ginobli himself) wondered why he was on the bench and Ginobli even asked Popovich about it - questions like "I'm on the bench, did I do something wrong?" The explanation was that they simply needed him on the bench and that was the best way he could help the team.

He's played with and knows that Lamar accepted it even though Lamar started all these years also, he needs to accept it himself and understand that him on the bench now helps the team more than it hurts (as it seems).

Here is the log from tonight.

New Orleans (Jan. 29, 2013)

I guess he didn't take well being benched at the end of the game. He wasn't even celebrating at the end. I'm smelling trouble here.

Ariza68 wrote:I guess he didn't take well being benched at the end of the game. He wasn't even celebrating at the end. I'm smelling trouble here.

I noticed this too. He was the only one not standing up on the bench and when Nash hit the big 3 he was just clapping slightly.

I don't know... he should just continue being the professional and give his best. He did not score much, but passed extremely well and even played some nice defense out there.

I thought he should have been playing more at the end.

But Jamison did pull through in the clutch, so can't really complain. Besides the free throws, I thought he had a pretty solid all around game.

Pau didn't put up huge stats, 7/7/7, but I thought he had a really good game. As soon as he and Kobe went out we gave up our lead in the 2nd I believe, when they came back the passing improved immediately and the lead increased. 7 assists for Pau, good effort on defense and boarding, even if tipping it to other guys, cannot complain.

Battle Tested20 wrote:

Ariza68 wrote:I guess he didn't take well being benched at the end of the game. He wasn't even celebrating at the end. I'm smelling trouble here.

I noticed this too. He was the only one not standing up on the bench and when Nash hit the big 3 he was just clapping slightly.

I saw no reason in this game for him being benched at the end of the game. He was +21, by far the best on the team while all the starters finished in negative. I think D'Antoni doesn't know a damn about personnel management.

^^^MDA's dumb personnel management netted us a key stop on Ryan Anderson and the layup to seal the game. Pretty stupid if you ask me.

Doc Brown wrote:^^^MDA's dumb personnel management netted us a key stop on Ryan Anderson and the layup to seal the game. Pretty stupid if you ask me.

I don't think that a more or less lucky outcome of a game, when you're risking the stability and cohesion of the group, is a good personnel management. But, hey, I hated MDA's system and moustache in New York and I hate his system and moustache in LA so maybe it's a kind of personal phobia.