Friday, November 23rd, 2012 at 1:25 pm  |  129 responses

Kobe Bryant Thinks Pau Gasol is ‘Coasting’ in the Los Angeles Lakers’ Offense


Every season, almost without fail, Kobe Bryant publicly throws teammate Pau Gasol under the bus. Here’s the latest example, as Bryant told the media that Gasol is used to “coasting” in the Laker attack, something that needs to change immediately with new head coach Mike D’Antoni on board. Reports the LA Daily News: “Following the Lakers’ 113-97 loss Tuesday at Sacramento, the team sounded frank on what ailed Pau Gasol after posting only eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and one offensive rebound. ‘Pau is used to laboring up the floor and coasting a little bit,’ Kobe Bryant said. ‘In this offense, we have to put the motor on the first few steps we move up the court.’ That didn’t happen. Kings center DeMarcus Cousins beat Gasol on two consecutive drives in the second quarter. The Lakers forward looked frustrated after defensive breakdowns. And as coach Mike D’Antoni noted afterward, ‘Pau didn’t have his legs’ after logging 37 minutes. Gasol took ownership of his shooting woes, but downplayed how his conditioning could fare in D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense.”

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  • Conor

    And you can’t correct something that wasn’t wrong to begin with. Do you have short-term memory loss?

  • justin05

    Gasol didn’t respond well. I was hoping for a W but memphis is just a really good team right now. Their core has been together much longer than this new Lakers squad. Pau and Howard look tired or sore. I have a feeling that we’re going to drop this next game also. This is the 3rd game in a row on the road so Gasol and Howard will surprise me if they put up a combined 30 pts and 20 rbs. 6-8 fuuu ck

  • justin05

    It’s obviously apparent that a lot of you commenters hate on Kobe when an article comes up about him saying something “negative.” Get off his nuts. He doesn’t give a f*ck what you say. He’s made that very clear earlier on this year. At the end of the day, Kobe is putting in almost 30 ppg on 50% shotting from the field so you ppl should start paying some respect instead of filling up these articles w/ 100+ posts of arguing bs. Idgaf what Kobe says about Pau. All I care about is them winning, which we are not doing enough of, and becoming a better/more cohesive team. We lack athletisism/conditioning and team chemistry. Kobe is a boss and you remember that you dumbass polar bear. He can fill every finger on one hand w/ his rings. You can’t even keep yours hands out of your pants unless you’re typing some nonsense.

  • http://www.facebook.com/evan.boland Evan Boland

    Yeah, that was pretty low. But I meant he gives it his all every season. Every day the dude works hard. He knew there wasn’t any rings comin’ that year. IMO, it was actually him looking forward to the future. Maybe not in the right way, but when there’s a chance to win Kobe does everything to grasp it, Gasol just kinda hopes everything falls in place.

  • Redd

    You’re an idiot..grammar is not the same as spelling..not even close. You’re pretty pathetic and an idiot. First you call other people morons, while you’re the moron. Think before you insult others for no reason.

    I’m done replying to you, go learn about spelling & grammar differentiation.

  • Conor

    Humbling & embarrassing. However my critical analysis, vocabulary, and general intelligence remain superior to yours.

  • Dagger

    It’s time for you to take a deep breath and realize that this is just some internet basketball forum. Relax. Nobody is trying to reach Kobe with these comments, we’re just debating his strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t handle that, come back here after you finish high school.

  • Bored

    why do all Kobe fans attribute his 5 rings to him alone? always talking about “HIS” 5 rings like was playing MJ’s role in each of those chips.

  • Datkid

    It doesn’t matter when it happened… The point is that it DID happen. And Kobe spent all of last year chucking them straight out of games. Was it 100% effort? Maybe. But Kobe’s lost far more of the lakers games with his horrible shot selection than pau has by “coasting” and that’s a fact

  • Bored

    you say the most ludicrous things.

  • Conor

    “Spelling is an integral part of grammar, which defines proper word usage. Some rules of grammar pertain specifically to spelling, such as plurals and possessives.”

    You cannot have a method of using words without first creating them. Spelling is a root of grammar, @Red7252:disqus . I hope that you have somebody to handle simple logistic arguments for you, in person.

  • Drig’r

    It did happen. 6 YEARS AGO. Again, according to your logic, elder brothers should never ever have the right to call out and correct their younger brothers because they did the exact same sh*t earlier in their life. That’d lead to a fcked up world.

    Kobe’s ridiculous shot selection also helped the team win a few games last season when Pau was off. Cut that outta the games he cost the Lakers. Pretty sure Lakers won zilch when Kobe was off and Pau was coasting. I wasn’t too hard on Gasol last season because of the failed trade and the smaller role on O he had to get used to. Both of them don’t apply now.

    Anyways, I was talking about THIS season my friend. And Kobe’s been phenomenal while Gasol’s been underwhelming to say the least. While there is a chance that Gasol’s playing injured by the looks of things, until it is confirmed by the team, I don’t think he should be excused for multiple poor outings so far this season.

  • Drig’r

    Why do all MJ fans attribute his 6 rings to him alone?? Always taking about “HIS” 6 rings like he was playing Hakeem’s role in each of those chips. Unless Bored was being sarcastic about calling Kobe fans out on the issue.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    MJ played the biggest role in those championships. He took his game to another level each series and played his best in the Finals. Scottie had great moments but there was no question about who the man was. That’s why people attribute his rings to him more than they do Kobe with his 5. Kobe’s only played the biggest role in 2 out of 6. He had great moments with Shaq in the Finals, but Shaq was the man on those teams.

  • Drig’r

    It’s kinda funny that everyone agrees that the 00-02 Lakers’ biggest obstacles were always in the WCF which was considered the NBA Finals in those days but no one credits Kobe’s game , which was on par with Shaq’s and at times much better, in those series. Kobe was the guy who carved up the Spurs in ’01 and was right up there with Shaq in ’02 when LA overcame the Kings. Shaq was the man in ’00. Kobe AND Shaq were the alpha options in ’01 and ’02. Just look at Kobe’s production till the Finals during those 2 years. They were on par with whatever elite statistical benchmark you can put out there for a wing player. I’d like to see you explain how Kobe was in anyway inferior to Shaq till the NBA Finals those 2 years.

    Also, if you’re only talking about the impact of the players in the NBA Finals, Pippen played the biggest role in MJ’s first ring. MJ was being torn apart by Magic on D in Game 1. Phil put Pippen on him and turned the series on its head.

  • Bored

    MJ fans say that he was playing center in his 6 rings?

  • Bored

    you have overestimated Kobe and underestimated MJ. i dont know where to start and i dont know if i want to bother purely based on how ludicrous it is to say that Pippen played the biggest role in MJ’s first ring. Magic tore MJ apart in game 1? please refresh my memory, its been a few years since i seen the game but i pretty sure it didnt happen like that. I remember they both played great games and it was real tight at the end and someone dropped a 3 to win it. cant remember who though. i would find out but im more interested in the MJ being torn apart story.

  • Bored

    also just about “I’d like to see you explain how Kobe was in anyway inferior to Shaq till the NBA Finals those 2 years.” thing. why? why would i explain that part? even if Kobe did play a bigger role (he didnt), we are talking about the “NBA finals”. thats the series where you win a ring.

  • Drig’r

    I never said MJ didn’t have a great game or series. I said Magic tore apart MJ in game 1 when MJ was matching Magic up on D. Phil immediately put Pippen on Magic from game 2 onwards and Magic struggled a few games to get used to him. Magic wasn’t himself again till game 4 or game 5 by which time Pippen and Jordan ran away with the whole thing.

    Pippen’s impact on Magic’s game without sacrificing his offensive output in the process is akin to Kobe playing an all round game and defense and helping slice up the Spurs and Kings. Both are undervalued.

  • Drig’r

    Nah. MJ fans act like MJ was the whole team on O and D. Esp. with the HIS rings part. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was the amalgamation of Magic, Wilt and Bird.

    It’s almost like the Bulls almost making the NBA Finals without Jordan because of a botched call has been erased from the Bulls’ history. He, just like every other superstar minus Hakeem, needed a superstar alongside him to win.

  • Drig’r

    Game 6 : Kobe went off along with Lamar. LA couldn’t stop the Suns on D. LAL lost by 8-10 points I think.

    Game 7 : LAL was down by 15-20 odd points at half-time if I remember correctly and Kobe was the only guy beasting that game. LA again couldn’t stop anyone.

    Kobe shooting continuously would’ve played into the Suns trap of playing 5 vs Kobe. And they were shooting pretty well that game.

    There was no way he could win unless the defensive intensity picked up. And the Suns weren’t the Raptors who could go on scoring droughts. They managed to answer every Kobe scoring streak with one of their own throughout the series. Kobe’s offensive firepower wouldn’t galvanize the team vs the Suns and it showed throughout the series.

    Again, I also don’t think LBJ quit and it looks like I’m in the minority here.

  • BlackPhantom

    Of course Kobe quit in 2006, therfore him bringing this up is hypocritical…but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a point in saying it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/evan.boland Evan Boland

    Was it me who said CP3 > Rondo? If so, than I agree with you. Completely ludicrous.

  • http://www.facebook.com/evan.boland Evan Boland

    Every night I watch KG and Rondo light it up and just smile thinking of the people on this board with no knowledge of the game yet strong opinions.

  • Bored

    almost getting to the finals is far different to winning the finals. i dont underestimate a Pippen lead Bulls team with Phil coaching. of course they are going to compete. sadly, im sorry because you seem like a more reasonable person than most of the people on here, but if you think that MJ was not the main reason the bulls went 3 in a row twice then you either have not seen all of the games OR you would like Kobe to be little closer than he really is to MJ.

  • Bored

    have you heard of win shares or turnovers?

  • Drig’r

    lol no. I know MJ was the man on those teams. Just find it hypocritical when MJ fans come around and say he did everything on his own and without help and claim Pau helped Kobe more than Pippen helped MJ.

  • Drig’r

    Fine. Then whatever you said holds merit I guess. Personally, I thought the WCF was the Finals in those years. And Kobe did play a bigger role than Shaq vs Spurs. He most certainly did. He and Shaq took out the Kings TOGETHER.

    His 1st ring was more of a sidekick role. The other two he was on par with Shaq. I stick by it.

  • ryan

    actually laker fans remember what he is capable of and this is why they can seethat his pplay is lacking

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