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

LooN3y wrote:MDA, has 2 of the best 7 footers in the league, and doesnt want to utilize them to their full potential.

His system is "have two forwards run routes in transition and give full control to your PG; have the forwards space the floor with 3pt shooting, and have the PG and PF/C run reams of PnRs."

That's his system. There isn't a ton of off-ball movement, not a great deal of off-ball screening. It's heavily reliant upon early offense out of man-advantage transition sets and in the secondary break before the defense settles. Other than that, it's just PnR PnR PnR, and it is heavily reliant upon a strong playmaking 1. He's not a heavy Xs and Os guy, so he doesn't extract a great deal of value if he's running with limited talent at the 1 and a shooting 4. He's allergic to post-ups.

Think Don Nelson, only stupider. Don Nelson was, once upon a time, a good coach who eventually became allergic to conventional basketball, developed a hatred for post play and big men in general, and got addicted to small ball and up-tempo basketball. Mike D is essentially his moronic cousin.

The Rock wrote:How about Pau show that he can post up when hes the only big man on the court and then we can determine whether he can post up with Dwight on the floor or not? Listen when you're not doing the easier tasks well you're not gonna get your way when there are more important pieces on the floor.

Pau had trouble scoring in the post when Lamar was around in 2011. Pau was effective from time to time last year with Bynum around but again when he was the primary C with the 2nd unit didnt play well, hes having the same issues now. hes the common factor. How many more adjustments needs to be made for this guy? 3 diferent head coaches, 3 different frontcourt teammates and yet hes still struggling, hes the problem

There was plenty of evidence from the 2011 playoffs alone to see even when hes posted up as a primary scoring option he cant be relied on. Its time for him to stick to doing what he does best these days...rebound, shoot free throws and pass because right now you're getting WIDE OPEN 10 to 12 foot looks and you cant even convert them and you cant even post up when you're with the 2nd unit. There are opportunities for you to be effective and play to your strengths and you're not doing that

bystander wrote:Pau is gone, we all know that. The day D'Antoni was hired it was clear he was trade chip for the team. It's now a matter of time. Mitch want him to play with Nash before trade him but the "coach" has no interest of making it work instead of trading him for players for his system.

Greatest of All Time wrote:A description of Pringles' offense:

His system is "have two forwards run routes in transition and give full control to your PG; have the forwards space the floor with 3pt shooting, and have the PG and PF/C run reams of PnRs."

That's his system. There isn't a ton of off-ball movement, not a great deal of off-ball screening. It's heavily reliant upon early offense out of man-advantage transition sets and in the secondary break before the defense settles. Other than that, it's just PnR PnR PnR, and it is heavily reliant upon a strong playmaking 1. He's not a heavy Xs and Os guy, so he doesn't extract a great deal of value if he's running with limited talent at the 1 and a shooting 4. He's allergic to post-ups.

Think Don Nelson, only stupider. Don Nelson was, once upon a time, a good coach who eventually became allergic to conventional basketball, developed a hatred for post play and big men in general, and got addicted to small ball and up-tempo basketball. Mike D is essentially his moronic cousin.

So they basically jack up all those 3s because they literally have no other option besides a pick and roll or Kobe iso. They have to try to score BEFORE the defense sets up which results in all this chucking and long rebounds and crappy transition defense.

I've done my fair share of Pau bashing but this offense is a complete joke. Jimbo Buss is a clown for hiring this clown and I fear the good Dr. Buss has officially gone senile for approving it.

The Rock wrote:

bystander wrote:Pau is gone, we all know that. The day D'Antoni was hired it was clear he was trade chip for the team. It's now a matter of time. Mitch want him to play with Nash before trade him but the "coach" has no interest of making it work instead of trading him for players for his system.

How about making himself untradeable? He has trade rumors circulating last year too after the David Stern veto and it affected play, Kobe had to step up for him. Look there are ways he can contribute here to help us win if hes not doign that he's got to go. From 2011 playoffs onwards he hasn't done an adequate job of helping us win. HE knows what the deal is, if you win in LA you're praised if not you're shipped out. Either he can help solve the team's problems by playing to his strengths or he'll get traded for someone who will

bystander wrote:

The Rock wrote:

bystander wrote:Pau is gone, we all know that. The day D'Antoni was hired it was clear he was trade chip for the team. It's now a matter of time. Mitch want him to play with Nash before trade him but the "coach" has no interest of making it work instead of trading him for players for his system.

How about making himself untradeable? He has trade rumors circulating last year too after the David Stern veto and it affected play, Kobe had to step up for him. Look there are ways he can contribute here to help us win if hes not doign that he's got to go. From 2011 playoffs onwards he hasn't done an adequate job of helping us win. HE knows what the deal is, if you win in LA you're praised if not you're shipped out. Either he can help solve the team's problems by playing to his strengths or he'll get traded for someone who will

Nice try. Keep going on your new target. Last year it was Bynum this year is Pau. Good for you.

FWIW last year there wasn't just rumors of him after the veto, he was in fact traded and still he gave it all he had in that time.

The rest of your post is pointless. No matter what, Pau is still at worst top-5 (top 10 if you're full of hate) PF of the game and he is what he is in the paint. Asking a 32 proven all star to change his game is stupid. He tried with Brown without complaing because Mike Brown is many things, but not an arrogant prick like other coaches.

kenzo wrote:If Mitch is forced to do that, he should quit and not be associated with BS like that.

khmrP wrote:if thats how Pringles wants to utilize Pau (shooting corner 3's) he has to be moved, simple as that. Doesn't appear Antoni wants to adjust anything for anyone on this team.

Lakerjones wrote:

khmrP wrote:if thats how Pringles wants to utilize Pau (shooting corner 3's) he has to be moved, simple as that. Doesn't appear Antoni wants to adjust anything for anyone on this team.

^^ Yeah, it's annoying. My take is if Antoni wants to utilize Pau like that then ANTONI should be moved, simple as that. If you can't figure out how to make this lineup work as constituted you should be booted just like Mike Brown. Until Antoni starts winning like Bernie did he falls into the Mike Brown category to me. All the things he's saying and threatening to do right now are beginning to really irritate me.

Why not just let Nash run the offense with the guys you have before messing around with everyone's position and recreating the wheel. I hate the kind of confusion, dysfunction and second guessing he's bringing right now. Just simplify this crap. You have four Hall of Fame players as your starters. Play them together with Ron, still one of the best defenders in the league. You have a bench full of capable role players: Duhon, Meeks, Jamison and Hill. Let them play their roles off the bench. Utilize what was given to you in a rational manner. Screw your "system." Just let the players do their thing and make sensible substitutions and limit your starters' minutes. This isn't rocket science.

Pau Gasol and Mike D'Antoni met Wednesday night to hammer out some obvious differences since D'Antoni took over as the Lakers' coach, The Times has learned.

Gasol said he wanted the ball in the post instead of on the perimeter and also asked to play in crunch time, among the topics discussed with D'Antoni at a Manhattan Beach restaurant.

"It was to make sure we're in the same boat," Gasol said in a quiet moment Thursday after the Lakers' practice. "We're trying to reach the same goal. Let's communicate. Hopefully, we can meet halfway on some points."

D'Antoni told Gasol he would no longer be benched in crucial situations, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Gasol has been benched three times in the fourth quarter since D'Antoni was hired, including the last 2 minutes 36 seconds of the Lakers 101-100 victory Tuesday over Charlotte. It was Gasol's first game after sitting out eight in a row because of tendinitis in his knees.

He sat out the entire fourth quarter Nov. 23 against Memphis and the last 6:07 of a Dec. 2 game against Orlando.

Gasol hopes D'Antoni can fiddle with his push-the-pace offense to accommodate the four-time All-Star, who wants to stay with the Lakers despite trade possibilities clinging to him since last December.

So he told D'Antoni to trust him with the ball, alluding to his past success of two NBA championships and two trips to the Olympic gold-medal game.

D'Antoni was the initiator of the meeting, suggesting they get dinner, something he would do with players individually from time to time. Was he making sure he wasn't "losing" Gasol?

"I didn't think I was," D'Antoni told The Times. "But I wanted to make sure he knew what my vision was for him and the team and see if that's all good. Then we'll tweak it or not tweak it.

"I thought he was great and gave me a lot of insight into a lot of things. It was more of a feeling-out process and what makes him feel comfortable. He's a very intelligent basketball player. Why wouldn't I get his opinion about a lot of things?"

Gasol's numbers have dipped significantly this season. He is averaging 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds, and shooting only 41.3%.

Gasol didn't talk about increased touches with D'Antoni but, rather, specific places he wanted the ball. He doesn't feel comfortable with it so far from the basket, the norm for him in D'Antoni's offense.

"We didn't even really talk about [number of] touches because I don't believe in that," D'Antoni said. "But I believe in him being involved."

D'Antoni has tried to figure out how to incorporate Gasol and Dwight Howard in an offense that features a lot of Kobe Bryant shots. D'Antoni's latest attempt was to play Gasol and Howard together for only 4:04 in the second half of Tuesday's game.

Gasol, 32, makes $19 million this season and has one more year on his contract for $19.3 million.

Nash scrimmages

Reporters were allowed into Thursday's practice in just enough time to see Steve Nash drop off a pass to Metta World Peace for a fastbreak layup.

Nash scrimmaged for the first time since missing 24 games because of a small fracture in his left leg.

"He wasn't huffing and puffing that much," D'Antoni said.

Nash said he might play Saturday against Golden State but a Christmas Day return against New York was more likely.

"Obviously, I'm not in great condition after being pretty inactive for seven weeks. But that's just a harsh reality," Nash said.