Monday, October 18th, 2010 at 11:00 am  |  87 responses

Lakers to Make Pau Gasol the First Option?

Phil Jackson says he may look for Gasol to carry the Laker offense early on in the season while Kobe Bryant (and his troublesome knee) rounds into shape. From the Press-Enterprise: “The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team, and that’s not changing any time soon. Well, not in the long term. In the short term, with Bryant still working himself back into game shape after arthroscopic knee surgery, it’s at least conceivable that Pau Gasol could be the first option for the offense when the season opens Oct. 26. ‘Pau’s going to have to take that role, maybe, early in the season,’ Coach Phil Jackson said. ‘It takes a lot of focus and energy. We’re just preparing for the worst-case scenario, and we’re hoping he’s ready to step into that space if it’s necessary. I don’t think it’s natural, but he’s been at that level.’”

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  • The Philosopher

    All hell is going to break loose.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Cosign Philosopher
    Just play to win the game.

  • The Philosopher

    For the brethren whom may still believe that Kobe is the “end all be all”…
    Exhibit A.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    LONG….LIVE….MAMBA!!
    Without him we are a second round team. BOOK IT!!

  • The Philosopher

    According to The Lakers, it is LONG… LIVE… Pau Gasol.
    Not Kobe.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    Ha…ha…Harr, good joke Phil. after watching the Jazz beat LA last night, it was SO obvious that Kob’s still the go to guy on that team, and this with a knee that according to him is only at 70%. He started the game 0-4 from the field, then proceeded to put a Mambiatch-esque display of shooting on the overwhelmed Utah defenders in the 3rd qtr, with varying degrees of “ok now he’s just showing off” difficulty type shots. Pau will be the 1st option on the day Bryant needs a walking cane to move around.

  • The Philosopher

    It shouldn’t even be a question.
    Michael took almost 2 years off, and STILL came back as… first option.

  • VisionofGreatness

    This is the way to do it while Kobe gets back to his normal self. There will be no resistance here from Kobe. He’s as much of a fan of Pau as anyone else. The most skilled big man in the league. Look for Pau to average at least 24 and 11 until Kobe is back to his 27 ppg self….by the way, Kobe is looking better already evidenced by last night’s game against the Jazz.

  • jahmai

    After Kobe hears this, he’s not gonna pass the rock to Gasol anymore. He’ll make sure Pau won’t be the #1 option, he’s too competitive to let anyone else take that spot, even if it’s for a day.

  • T-Money

    Dark: Thing with Kob is that he can’t rely on him anymore to have a dominant performance when it matters the most because his main weapon is a fadeaway contested J. Howver, he’s still Kob: when he’s hot, you have no chance. But the thing is, when he goes cold, he can’t just put his head down and go to the hole. / Of course, none of this matters because THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that Kobe will accept not having the offense ran through him. Moot point.

  • JTaylor21

    Name one superstar in the league that can miss games and their team goes undefeated regardless.

  • unrel

    @phil.. you sound silly.. since pau will be the first option.. because kobe is coming back from knee surgery.. and taking his time to get into basketball shape.. you question his legacy?.. mj after two years.. etc.. then it can easily be said that kobe is better because he didn’t take 2 years off.. which both statements are crazy stupid.. note to all.. if anyone wants to hate on kobe.. or anyone.. lebron, etc.. please have something that makes sense to back it up.. or.. stay on the topic of the particular post your commenting on.. ie:.. good move to make pau the first option.. kobe can just put it in cruise control until all star break..

  • unrel

    @JT.. that’s not really a knock on kobe, though.. that’s props to Mitch and the coaching staff.. i expect you to say the same, now.. when lebron and/or wade take a few nights off.. and the heat still stomp on the wolves or raptors..

  • The Philosopher

    If Kobe isn’t in basketball shape, he should sit down until he’s ready.
    Being the second option is not going to make him get back into shape.
    It is not going to fix his knee, either.
    He’s becoming washed up, and Phil Jackson knows this. That is why thet’re putting him at the second option.
    If you REALLY want to know the truth.

  • namik

    Kobe wont be having any of this.

  • EJ

    Kobe likes to play too much, I hope he won’t protest against this. We need him in the playoffs. And Phil said Pau will be number 1 until Kobe has healed, Philospher. Anybody who says Pau is better than Kobe doesn’t know anything about basketball, and the best coach ever has to know a little about basketball. And JT, noway they are going undefeat without or with Kobe. And MJ’s teams were pretty good, didn’t they win over 50 games without him for a full season? His teamates were just as good as Kobe’s, if not better.

  • The Philosopher

    Nobody said Pau is better than Kobe.
    Calm down there, cowboy. lol

  • MikeC.

    @Philosopher – correct me if I’m wrong, but are you just kicking the hornets nest with your statement of Kobe being washed up?

  • m

    Kobe too selfish for this to fly

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    unrel … just don’t listen to Phil or JT they are both drunk! Look at what they write, it’s retarded.

  • Conoro

    Philosopher… Scoring 19 in one quarter on a self-described “75%” knee epitomizes being washed up to you? I just can’t wait until Bryant, Gasol, and the Lakers absolutely destroy whomever they face in the Finals. Most likely the Celtics.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    Mike C, have you not been on this site before? Phil is an idiot, no one listens to the guy anymore. Same with JT … it… it is just simply ruining this site. Everyone is trying to get Ryne to ban JT too.

  • PapaBearATL

    Rehab does not mean ride the pine, you do your treatments but stretching giant rubberbands doesn’t tell you or your physician how you are progressing. You have to play the game, limit the minutes, but there is no machine that duplicates what happens on the court. How Pau temporarily being option one makes people determine that Kobe is washed up is asinine. There are plenty stars that would just sit and expect to perform at the same level: T-Mac, BRoy and plenty others along those lines.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    unreal*

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Phil jackson is just setting the stage for kobes decline.

  • Conoro

    So we have a failed philosopher and a historical revisionist (JTaylor) here. Good God…

  • JoeMaMa

    @The Philosopher: your comments smack of haterism. Not the vicious, biting kind, but your stripes are showing. I know you love LeBron, and I get that, because he’s freaking amazing, but you’re going off the deep end. Kobe’s working his knee back into game shape. If you’ve ever had a knee injury, you’d know it takes time to build up the strength to pivot, cut, and raise up. Kobe on the floor is WAY better than no Kobe. Taking some pressure off of him in the early going, and getting Pau some more touches, is the right strategy. You know better than to say otherwise. Cmon, basketball fan, be objective. Washed up? Wow…two straight titles, subsequent surgery with some recovery time…and washed up?! wooooow.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    It sucks… they ruin every conversation basically.

  • Ronald

    C’mon guys. Why keep feeding the damn troll(philo)?

  • onlyclipsfanonslam

    Shouldn’t Jackson also be worried about Pau? They have played a ton of games the past 3 years. Pau’s hamstring problems last year were from too much run.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    James the Balla, crying about ruining conversations? LMAO!!! Bro, you know I love you, but you used to destroy ball conversations on the regular when you were here all the time. Stop it. BTW, this is a non-story…..actually….correction…this is a good story for Laker fans. Phil know’s just what he’s doing. He’s appeasing Pau’s crying ass from when he spoke about wanting more touches in the summer. On the flip, it help’s Kobe get back to 100% and keeps Pau in the mix. The only problem I see is that without The Quizno kid for a couple of months, the frontcourt is weak with Pau, Odom and Ratliff. We all know that LO takes about 4 months to get his basketball mind right and I think a 68 year Ratliff is only a tiny bit more useful than DJ M’Benga. This will play out fine. I don’t want any excuses when June rolls around anyway.

  • Justin

    Phil will probably limit Kobe to 30 minutes for the first few weeks but after that, the gloves are off.

    I think Kobe’s going to have a few good season. The form on his jumper looks better than ever.

  • Anthony

    As long as he’s at full strenght coming playoff time im ok with it.

  • http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184 Jackie Moon

    Cosign JoeMaMa.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    lol listen, when me and you and teddy and juk’s use to hate each other. I did it to p1ss ya’ll off, but not like this. But I could get on a ball topic and talk about it non stop and keep it on basketball. JTaylor doesn’t just ruin conversation… he is actually killing SLAMonline. He is ignorant and racist and rarely has anything to say in which brings me to comment unless it’s to say “what the he11 are you talking about JT”. Phil is just an idiot and a troll… but JT, he needs to be banned. No joke. Most of SLAM agrees!

  • http://sdklff.com Jukai

    Phillo is actually quite intelligent but likes to play this game where he overly hypes Magic and Lebron and devalues Kobe and Jordan.
    JT is straight brain dead.

  • Gman

    Lol

  • MUBWAR

    about time…Kobe is like 0 – 50 since the preseason started…bench mamba till he is fully healthy…don’t forget, we need a little challenge down south for the O’brien trophy…

  • http://Www.slamonline.com Negative kreep

    @ Philosopher: What you gonna say when yer boy’s super squad gets rolled up by an inferior starting 5 led by a “washed up” superstar?… Still, ain’t, Kobe.

  • JTaylor21

    JamestheBalls you bit*h and pout more than a pregnant fat old lady. You never say anything except kobe this SLURP slurp gargle gulp mmmn, kobe that slurp slurp gargle GULP mmmn. You and all faker fans are morons to the highest degrees and only hate people that don’t worship at the Mamba altar. Also @Jukai, feeling brave again I see, must have drank some of that superman juice and now you’re talking out the side of your neck. Just do everyone a favor and play russian roulette with a AK.

  • MUBWAR

    why you mad JTaylor, we all know Kobe is a whinny little b****. All of LaLa land is talking about a 3peat and their all star guard can’t buy a bucket in this preseason…lol…the HEAT are the 2011 Champs…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Kobe will average between 26-28 pts per game this year. I think he’ll be ok.

  • VisionofGreatness

    @MUBWAR
    Kobe bought a few buckets last night…to the tune of 19 points in the 3rd quarter so he’s on his way back to his normal self….Lakers will be the 2011 champs.
    @JTaylor
    You LeBron fanatics are the same as the Kobe fanatics. There is rarely any objectivity on this site when the Kobe-LeBron debate is brought up. So if James the Balla is “SLURP slurp gargle gulp mmmn” with Kobe, then you and the rest of your kind are the same with LeBron.

  • http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184 Jackie Moon

    “Worship at the Mamba Altar”?? Is that kind of like proclaiming “Long live the King” at every opportunity?

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    See what I am saying Eboy. The guy is jokes.
    lol I don’t know how many times I have said Lebron is the best in the NBA right now. But yes, I am a huge fan of Kobe. Again, I complain like every other pregnant woman on here. No body wants you here. And once Ryne and those guys catch you saying some sh1t that you are saying… You will be gone. And you will have to go comment on a DIME site.

  • RedRum

    yes please. it should happen last year.Gasol is the most underrated in the league.

  • Blackphantom

    JTaylor you’re probably the most ignorant,, idiotic person on SLAMonline

  • JTaylor21

    JamestheBROAD why you gotta plead and beg for your mans Eboy to save the day, you’re weaker than an old drunks bladder. Catch me saying what? Please I bet you’ve been CAUGHT many times with your hands down your pants and your mouth wide open staring at a Black Mamba poster. Me getting banned? WHAT! it would never happen like AI being 6th man. So save your breath and saliva for when you really need it to gulp down your daily servings of Mamba sauce.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Jtaylor is kinda funny. Hes wrong about things often. Sometimes hes just plain stupid. But, he wont get banned. He doesnt go that far. Ive seen ppl say far worse things than him, and theyre still around. Hell, we all know what a certain bulls fan did to the greek dude. Jtaylor will be around, and I dont care either way.

  • http://sdklff.com Jukai

    ^^^
    Just stop.

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