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

Kobe and Ariza did very well in the end, but Pau also was quite clucth. When Kobe was in the bench in 4ht quarter he assumed all responsibility

Start of 4th Quarter

10:49 Gasol Rebound (Off:1 Def:7)
09:13 Gasol Dunk Shot: Made (14 PTS)
08:54 Gasol Rebound (Off:1 Def:8)
08:41 Gasol Free Throw 1 of 2 (15 PTS)
08:41 Gasol Free Throw 2 of 2 (16 PTS)
08:17 Gasol Rebound (Off:1 Def:9)
07:39 Gasol Block Andersen (1 BLK)
07:58 Gasol Layup Shot: Missed Block: Andersen (3 BLK)
04:34 Gasol Turnaround Fade Away shot: Made (18 PTS)
03:49 Gasol Turnaround Fade Away shot: Made (20 PTS)
00:55 Gasol Rebound (Off:1 Def:10)

On the opposite side
10:50 Kleiza Jump Shot: Missed
09:59 Andersen Layup Shot: Missed
08:54 Nene Jump Hook Shot: Missed
08:54 Nene Foul : Personal (5 PF)
08:41 Andersen Foul : Shooting (2 PF)
08:18 K. Martin Layup Shot: Missed
07:39 Andersen Layup Shot: Missed Block: Gasol (1 BLK)
06:34 K. Martin Dunk Shot: Made (4 PTS)
05:59 K. Martin Tip Shot: Made (6 PTS)
04:14 Anthony Jump Shot: Missed
01:46 K. Martin Foul : Loose Ball (5 PF)

4 rebounds, 8 points, 1 block and good defense in the last quarter

Series against Denver

41 mins
.626 FG
17.8 points
13 rebounds
2 rebounds
2.8 assists

Pau playing high quality basketball in both sides of the court tonight. Good one Pau !

I appreciate you Pau!

He's huge, no question. An amazing player, and his D on Howard is better then anyone had expected.

thank you gasol!!

THANK YOU PAU FOR STEPPING UP!

And-one play was HUGE.

Nuff Respect!

Lots of players contributed tonight but Gasol deserves some recognition.

I love this team.

pau is mr. consistent/clutch. WE LOVE YOU PAU.

Weezy wrote:I'm EXTREMELY impressed with Gasol's defense on Howard, he's contesting and blocking shots, poking at the ball, wrestling with him and denying the ball, it's amazing. Where is that tough, physical defense the rest of the time, if he can do that to Howard he can do it to anyone?

my guess is stamina,

notice he was having a so-so game on the offense end and my guess is he was using all his energy in trying to stop Howard.

Gasol: 10 double double's in last 11 playoff games.

I'm impressed with Pau's D as well but its not the first time. If I recall, he's had some reasonable success guarding Dwight in the past. Maybe not prior to this season, but if my memory serves me correctly, he usually does pretty well against him.

For the second straight game he started out slow but finished strong. Ultimately it's most important to finish strong. He has done this so far and is outplaying Dwight.

Weezy wrote:Where is that tough, physical defense the rest of the time, if he can do that to Howard he can do it to anyone?

like "if kobe can score 60 on a game, why doesnt he do it every night?"

amazing some people keep asking more of a guy whos giving a double-double nightly with 50+ percentage shooting. And he's a natural power forward. He's playing as a center against those guys of denver and again against howard. Ppl forget that, pau is a power forward, its like asking Nowitzki, also a 7 footer, to play center and perform against the elite centers

Refs gave very little love to Pau (and Bynum) tonight. They coddle Howard all the time. I'm afraid of what will happen in Orlando.

Pau is doing what he feels is needed to win. Outstanding defense and clutch plays.
Keep it up Pau, you deserve a ring!

Weezy wrote:

nf3 wrote:

Weezy wrote:Where is that tough, physical defense the rest of the time, if he can do that to Howard he can do it to anyone?

like "if kobe can score 60 on a game, why doesnt he do it every night?"

amazing some people keep asking more of a guy whos giving a double-double nightly with 50+ percentage shooting. And he's a natural power forward. He's playing as a center against those guys of denver and again against howard. Ppl forget that, pau is a power forward, its like asking Nowitzki, also a 7 footer, to play center and perform against the elite centers

I'm not trying to knock Gasol, it was simply a question. I don't expect Finals intensity defense every night, nobody does that, but I'm just surprised that he can play this good on d and rarely does. A lot of the time when he's in the middle it's a layup drill for the other team, and yeah I know it's not all on him, but he has a lot of weak contests at the rim. Now he's playing tough and strong and I don't see why he can't do that more of the time is all, just an observation. I don't think asking a guy to play on both sides of the floor is too much, a lot of guys do it, but I love Pau so I'm certainly not trying to knock him.

what i mean is Gasol is not an athlete like the stamina, explosive types that thrill around the nba boards. Everybody sees that, and everybody gets pissed each time gasol seems to not try hard enough, or jump like three consecutive efforts, or... you know. I guess a frail built seven footer can get out of gas easily, even with years of gruelling training. He's simply not a natural born jumper. Its a pain to see him compete and get punches against those spring-like buldozers, and playing like 40+ minutes a game. So, I consider he puts enough effort.... you get a semi-center, ocassional blocker, great passer and scorer, some rebounds (helped with height).... he'll wont be a shaq, a duncan, a Garnett.... nor will he jump to another level after seven years in the NBA. But lord is he reliable at what he does, night after night.

nf3 wrote:

Weezy wrote:

nf3 wrote:Where is that tough, physical defense the rest of the time, if he can do that to Howard he can do it to anyone?

I'm not trying to knock Gasol, it was simply a question. I don't expect Finals intensity defense every night, nobody does that, but I'm just surprised that he can play this good on d and rarely does. A lot of the time when he's in the middle it's a layup drill for the other team, and yeah I know it's not all on him, but he has a lot of weak contests at the rim. Now he's playing tough and strong and I don't see why he can't do that more of the time is all, just an observation. I don't think asking a guy to play on both sides of the floor is too much, a lot of guys do it, but I love Pau so I'm certainly not trying to knock him.

what i mean is Gasol is not an athlete like the stamina, explosive types that thrill around the nba boards. Everybody sees that, and everybody gets pissed each time gasol seems to not try hard enough, or jump like three consecutive efforts, or... you know. I guess a frail built seven footer can get out of gas easily, even with years of gruelling training. He's simply not a natural born jumper. Its a pain to see him compete and get punches against those spring-like buldozers, and playing like 40+ minutes a game. So, I consider he puts enough effort.... you get a semi-center, ocassional blocker, great passer and scorer, some rebounds (helped with height).... he'll wont be a shaq, a duncan, a Garnett.... nor will he jump to another level after seven years in the NBA. But lord is he reliable at what he does, night after night.

I find it pretty amusing..So the lakers made the finals two consecutive years with an average semi-center who gets some rebounds and occasionally blocks shots...You guys are so funny...

Scoring 9 of the 13 points in OT? Did a very good job in playing Howard in the post where he is clearly overmatched? Had that one block on the Orlando center that was clearly NOT a foul? Sinking his free throws in the 14 straight makes by the squad? The key for Gasol is that Bynum is able to play so that he has enough reserve down the line. What also helps him is Odom coming to play every possession all game long.

Pau has done great work on Howard. I was concerned before the series because Dwight was beasting against Cleveland but Pau along with Bynum and the help D has kept Howard contained. Plus he has provided us with scoring as necessary.

Props to Pau. Just imagine if that trade never happened where we'd be right now.

Pau was awesome in the OT...

I appreciate Pau!!