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

It's amazing Pau, in spite of his world competition and NBA resume seems so much like a player trying to find his confidence again. But he is and if he does he's a very valuable player for us. I suspect a lot of the time he is hampered by physical issues (such as the knee tendinitis) more than he wants to let on. Doesn't want to talk about it or use it for excuses. Let's hope he can get past all of that if it's possible. Thanks for our Christmas presents with the big plays Pau. It's such a freaking bummer to lose on Christmas day.

fkmikebrown wrote:that last play had me out of my seat. SO refreshing to see. I hope this means he has turned the corner mentally.

Yeah, my dad and I started screaming and my sister and mom got scared

That last dunk was EXACTLY what we and he needed. Decisiveness, agressiveness, and explosiveness (relatively speaking lol). It was so awesome

Encouraging to see Pau hit that 15 footer and then the dunk late in the game. 1 game doesnt put you in a slump 1 game doesnt take you out of it. Now its time for him to build on this and put together some consistent games. Pau vs Faried tomorrow this should be interesting lol

Pau looked better with Nash. He's feeling out his role, but making baby-step progress. He just has to stay engaged and feel involved, especially when he gets PT in the 4th. Hopefully the dinner he and D'Antoni had and with Nash back, we will start to see some middle ground between the two philosophies that is best for the team and will get the most out of Pau's abilities. I'm not sure the two will ever fully mesh cause they just don't go hand in hand. But Pau is one of the headiest players in the game and is an elite passing big, so I think he can play a big role on this team. It might not appear in the stat sheet and the numbers won't be flashy -- but a well balanced performance across the board, flirting with the triple double on a regular basis. Odds are it probably won't be worth a fraction of what he's earning this season, but Kobe and Nash want to go to battle with Pau standing next to them.

Just hopefully he stays up beat, cause when he's down on himself and his predicament, he's also one of the most frustrating players in the NBA. We need a decisive, active Pau.


As far as the lack of respect from the referees, that's not really anything new, is it? We've had that problem for awhile. He has a reputation of being soft, passive, and not aggressive. Refs don't really respect that -- to some degree, that's his own fault.

solid game and a great jam to seal the game, that one got me out of my seat

reminded me alot of the old pau we all know. now if he can just keep the aggressiveness going and attack the basket instead of taking too many shots. it's also a plus that he has nash back out there

Feliz Navidad Nueva York

- Pau Gasol

Pau was fouled by Kidd AND Melo ON purpose on that dunk with a ref standing right by the hoop/play watching with no call, what a joke, stupid *** refs.

These Knicks jersey looked like the football Netherlands ones ... that's the reason he was agressive in the 4th , he thought he was playing for Spain

i want pau to retire as a laker, enough said

That dunk reminded me of Pau from 3 years ago, when he was a top 5 player. I loved it.

Finwë wrote:That last dunk was EXACTLY what we and he needed. Decisiveness, agressiveness, and explosiveness (relatively speaking lol). It was so awesome

Yeah, and was it just me or did it feel like... that moment was cathartic for Pau a little? With all of the D12 and Nash talk, I think Pau sometimes feels like an afterthought. His role, unknown.

I swear you could almost feel a big exhale from Pau, just knowing that even on this team he is still a vital and important piece that is needed.

This is all I wanted from him.

The man has finally shown that fire again. That desire to win. He's still shaking off the rust of depression from the last few seasons around the basket, but I'll cut him slack for a while as long as he shows me that same fire he had while we were winning the rings.

Around the rim he can't let smaller guys bully him and change his shot. He's GOT to finish around the basket when guys like Ronnie Brewer are guarding him for goodness sake. But like I said: as long as I keep seeing this fired up version of Pau Gasol, I'm willing to give him time to come back.

Forgive the nerd reference, but he reminds me of the King of Rohan coming out of his funk. It's been so long since he's shown this kind of fire, sometimes he'll get a little lost along the way. But that dunk really showed me and us and the rest of the league that he's starting to come back. He's starting to feel it again. My hope for him going forward is that he continues making progress continues finding himself as a player again.

That dunk made me happy for so many reasons, but it really rekindled my affection for this guy. THAT was the Pau that helped lead us to 3 straight Finals.

I think most people forget that Pau have always played the center position. For someone who is 32 and now is forced to change the way he plays and his style of plays must be hard. He is no young chicken anymore, which just add to how difficult for him to change. In the last game I think he threw up two 3pts shots and made one. Even though he made one, he does not look comfortable out there. This guy is willing to change just to be a Lakers, not any small changes like taking less shots or playing less minutes, he has to change his entire game. Yet we have fans in this forum, wishing and praying that he fails. Even when he played a decent game for his standard, they still make backhanded compliments.

Overall, I'm still frustrated by his play and think he's not an optimal fit. He's been using the excuse of D'antoni not giving it to him in the post ... but when you're a 7 footer whose supposedly the most skilled PF in the league and you can't finish on Ronnie Brewer after establishing deep post position, you don't really deserve the ball in the post (And of course ... as I submit this post, another post has been made in this topic using my biggest CL pet peeve: the excuse that Pau's problems are from him playing out of position since he's supposedly a center . As if the semantics of what position he plays is going to affect his ability and willingness to play in the post... )

But like you guys have said, I like the fire and passion and I still love the guy as a person and for all he's done for the team in the past. So we should hold off on trading him (unless the right offer comes along) until we see how he develops with Nash. He's missing his mid-range shot, but there's no reason he shouldn't be able to start hitting them with more consistency once he becomes used to Nash constantly finding him for open 15 footers. So if he continues playing as he is right now, and he doesn't improve, I think we have to trade him. But he's showing the willingness to adapt and the passion to succeed so I agree that he definitely does deserve a chance to see if he can improve first.

Helljumper wrote:(And of course ... as I submit this post, another post has been made in this topic using my biggest CL pet peeve: the excuse that Pau's problems are from him playing out of position since he's supposedly a center . As if the semantics of what position he plays is going to affect his ability and willingness to play in the post... )

I guess if the HEAD COACH tells you to play outside, the whole team expect you to play outside, it's time to force your way into the post and kick Howard out and start being the center. He is stuck between doing what came naturally to him and what is expected of him. In practices, probably the only plays they run for him is for him to be standing 15+ ft away from the basket, now going into games, I dont think it is that easy to just switch the switch and start posting up. Especially when the offense run a whole different system.

therealdeal wrote:This is all I wanted from him.

The man has finally shown that fire again. That desire to win. He's still shaking off the rust of depression from the last few seasons around the basket, but I'll cut him slack for a while as long as he shows me that same fire he had while we were winning the rings.

Around the rim he can't let smaller guys bully him and change his shot. He's GOT to finish around the basket when guys like Ronnie Brewer are guarding him for goodness sake. But like I said: as long as I keep seeing this fired up version of Pau Gasol, I'm willing to give him time to come back.

Forgive the nerd reference, but he reminds me of the King of Rohan coming out of his funk. It's been so long since he's shown this kind of fire, sometimes he'll get a little lost along the way. But that dunk really showed me and us and the rest of the league that he's starting to come back. He's starting to feel it again. My hope for him going forward is that he continues making progress continues finding himself as a player again.

That dunk made me happy for so many reasons, but it really rekindled my affection for this guy. THAT was the Pau that helped lead us to 3 straight Finals.

^^ Awesome post realdeal! Being a fellow LOTR/Tolkien nerd I love the Theoden reference.

I want this guy around this season. This realistically will probably be his last but I'm rooting for him as a Laker and am hoping he will help bring us number 17. I've come down on him plenty in the past few years, but the incessant whining about him lately drives me crazy. He's still on our team as Nash wanted and Mitch wanted, and I'm glad he's finally healthy. He has his weaknesses but he's a team player and now that we have Dwight and Nash as well as Kobe there's much less pressure on him to be the number two guy. The system isn't the absolute greatest for him, but I think he's finding ways to be part of the offense - the high post once again is proving to be a great place for him and his passing. I don't love him shooting threes or taking him too far away from the basket if it hurts our rebounding, but he's still doing some very good things out there. He's obviously not the greatest fit, but to me he still brings too much to the table to move him unless there is a great deal out there. I'm hoping he gets to finish the year and maybe/hopefully get that chip.

easyguy wrote:

Helljumper wrote:(And of course ... as I submit this post, another post has been made in this topic using my biggest CL pet peeve: the excuse that Pau's problems are from him playing out of position since he's supposedly a center . As if the semantics of what position he plays is going to affect his ability and willingness to play in the post... )

I guess if the HEAD COACH tells you to play outside, the whole team expect you to play outside, it's time to force your way into the post and kick Howard out and start being the center. He is stuck between doing what came naturally to him and what is expected of him. In practices, probably the only plays they run for him is for him to be standing 15+ ft away from the basket, now going into games, I dont think it is that easy to just switch the switch and start posting up. Especially when the offense run a whole different system.

Hes not posting up when Dwight is out of the game

Lakerjones wrote:^^ Awesome post realdeal! Being a fellow LOTR/Tolkien nerd I love the Theoden reference.

I want this guy around this season. This realistically will probably be his last but I'm rooting for him as a Laker and am hoping he will help bring us number 17. I've come down on him plenty in the past few years, but the incessant whining about him lately drives me crazy. He's still on our team as Nash wanted and Mitch wanted, and I'm glad he's finally healthy. He has his weaknesses but he's a team player and now that we have Dwight and Nash as well as Kobe there's much less pressure on him to be the number two guy. The system isn't the absolute greatest for him, but I think he's finding ways to be part of the offense - the high post once again is proving to be a great place for him and his passing. I don't love him shooting threes or taking him too far away from the basket if it hurts our rebounding, but he's still doing some very good things out there. He's obviously not the greatest fit, but to me he still brings too much to the table to move him unless there is a great deal out there. I'm hoping he gets to finish the year and maybe/hopefully get that chip.

Thanks LJ and I'm with you. This was what I wanted to see before saying we should just trade him. This is what I was waiting for. We'll see if he can continue this. I'm not convinced he can, but I'd love if he did.

charvin wrote:At least he went in for a dunk, not some 18-20 footer jump shot.

oh boy...if Pau would pulled up with an open lane to shoot a jumpshot, miss or not, i woulda kicked my TV



but it was great to see him get aggressive in crunch time and hammer that one down

What I find baffling the last two seasons is Gasol's case of fumble-itis whether catching a pass or going up for a shot. On that possession where he was posting up Brewer, the ball seemed to slip out of his hand. He was often lauded for having soft hands that could catch/

gcclaker wrote:What I find baffling the last two seasons is Gasol's case of fumble-itis whether catching a pass or going up for a shot. On that possession where he was posting up Brewer, the ball seemed to slip out of his hand. He was often lauded for having soft hands that could catch/

^^ I'm not sure what's up with that either GCC - the fumble-itis seemed to start in Phil's last year and to me was part of the whole mystery of what happened to Pau's game - especially the mental aspect - during that time. He has good hands. He's not Kwame Brown. But I think he started to lose it a little mentally that year and then he's had that problem since that time.

But on that specific play there was a lot of melodrama going on in game day and I have to say that it was over the top IMO. He got hacked by Brewer on his initial spin move and that made the ball come out. But it was a foul not fumble-itis. Then after he recovered it and went it up for his shot people were saying he faded away, which he did not. He went up straight and got hit on his off arm which messed up his balance and caused the shot to be flat and short. Brewer fouled him twice in that sequence. Then when he went to rebound his miss, Camby hit him in the chest for a third un-whistled foul.

I don't mind giving Pau grief when he's being way too passive or when he's sucking as was the case often against Faried or Al Harrington in the playoffs. I thought all of the criticism in that series was warranted.

But yesterday I actually saw Pau playing hard and getting hacked, as well as Dwight. Same happened in the GS game. The amount of contact on the shot they allow against our bigs isn't calling things fair.

The play in the post in the first quarter with Pau, he got hammered by both Melo and Chanlder with no call as well.

I know the argument has been made that if Pau is not being aggressive, he carries that rep and won't get calls when there's contact. But if he is being aggressive shouldn't he get those calls?

I just felt like yesterday and today too much is being made about one post sequence in which Pau got fouled more than once.

^Good post. I thought the officiating in the OKC-Heat game was bad as well. That makes 2 games in a row; GS was just as bad if not worse, IMO. Gasol just needs to be aggressive when he has the chance, and I'll be satisfied. He also had a big couple of offensive rebounds, too. Let's hope he builds off of this and continues to find a role in this offense where can be flourish.

I think the strength around the rim will be the last thing to return. He's got great hands, but his timidness bled so much into his being that he began questioning every ball thrown his way. Every rebound, every posession, he's played it too soft for too long.

He's going to have to really toughen up around the rim again, but that'll take time. In fact for most of his career he hasn't been able to handle phsycality very well. I think the one year that changed was 2010. The one thing that we need to be able to count on is that when teams go small, he can punish them in the post.

Hopefully with this "horns" offense, with the bigs parked on the elbow, Pau has less excuse not to go strong and early to the rim. Can't say Dwight is already there crowding the low post.