Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 at 10:05 am  |  146 responses

Kobe Bryant Wants Pau Gasol to Get More Touches in the Post


Under Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni, Pau Gasol has drifted further and further away from the hoop, frustrating him and Lakers fans along the way. Gasol is battling injury and facing trade rumors, but according to teammate Kobe Bryant, the team needs to re-establish Pau in the post where he is most effective and dominant. Per ESPN: “Amid rising pressure and growing trade speculation smothering the ailing Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant offered his strongest public support to date to back the Spaniard with whom he has won two NBA championships. ‘I love Pau like a brother,’ Bryant said. ‘I really do. I want him to dominate like I know he can. I want him to dig in and be determined, not discouraged,’ Bryant continued. ‘We should go to him more on the post because he can dominate from there as he has to the tune of two rings. I’m sure we will adjust and figure out a balance when he comes back healthy.’ [...] Bryant and Gasol had a lengthy summit Monday night at the team hotel in Houston. ‘I know his knees have been hurting and that can be frustrating because you can’t do physically what you are used to,’ Bryant said. ‘I just don’t want him to sulk about the change of things.’ Gasol is averaging 12.6 points and shooting 42 percent from the floor, both career lows, in new Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. Both he and D’Antoni have acknowledged that his role is and will be quite different than what it has historically been for the Lakers.”

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , ,

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
  • LaLa

    That’s because mike Browns dumbass wanted to run the offense more through Bynum. Even Phil jackson said this was why the Lakers struggled.

  • LakeShow

    It’s also kind of hard to take blame when it’s not your fault…

  • Caboose

    Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Elton Brand, Ron Artest, Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Damon Stoudemire, and Joel Pryzbilla all have missed significant time from tendinitis. That’s a pretty tough group of players there.

  • Caboose

    Never is, right?

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Bynum guarded the other teams best post player. Bryant is the leader of the team. It’s his job to rally teammates.
    .
    So what you are saying is, you are criticizing Gasol for playing within the confines of his role on his own team? That makes sense.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    you don’t have recent knowledge. You have a head full of ignorant ideas that are not backed up by any sort of evidence.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    “despite Mike Brown putting him in the most ridiculous possible role you could possibly put him in, in any offense.”

    .
    did you even read the comment you replied too?

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    Considering the shooters the Lakers had (or lacked of) i think him getting double teamed in the post like Bynum, isnt more deadly then him sitting at the foul line shooting wide open set shots and rolling to the hoop.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    My primary theory was that you wasted you time with writing QUOTE

    “For fact’s sake, the Lakers were 8 points better per 100 possessions with Gasol on the court (intangibles, made tangible).

    .

    8 points in 100 possessions, was the difference between the Thunder and the Pistons last season. ”

    Because Josh Mcroberts and Jordan Hill were in the game when Pau wasn’t but i instead chose my constant theory which is Pau did what most would with less heart.

  • skywalker

    Nursing students always think they know everything. Not that your wrong in this case, but you definitely have that know it all thing going on

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    Just….stop. Its not worth it. His arguments have absolutely no merit.

  • Caboose

    Public Health, UC Berkeley. Not nursing. It’s an argumentative technique done to establish legitimacy. I am well informed about this subject matter.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    Metta averages 13 and 5 being the FOURTH option this year. Thats only 4 less points being the 4th option… not the third. I dont think you should be that baffled

  • Caboose

    It’s the only way he’ll learn!

  • LakeShow

    Another straw-man.
    Your good at those.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    Dang and none of those players have missed time over the past two seasons. Pau must have the worst tendinitis in the league for 2 seasons!

  • Caboose

    My point is more like this: Kobe has lost many games. He has definitely been the result of the loss in some. The amount of times he has accepted blame for the loss is less than the amount of times the loss has been his fault. By a substantial margin.

  • Caboose

    Wait a minute, you think that Pau couldn’t outplay Ryan Anderson or Andrea Bargnani if he was on the Hornets or Raptors respectively?

  • Caboose

    Sigh.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    So Gasol cant rally teammates even though he’s a two time champion. That shows a lot about someones character as a player. Im saying if Gasol had inside him what someone like a KG has, Gasol would not be in trade discussions.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Metta is shooting 10 shots a game and hitting 2 threes, it’s not baffling why he’s scoring 13. it makes perfect sense.. just like it makes perfect sense that Gasol put up very good stats for the opportunities and position he was put in last season.

    .

    i mean, please, stop just looking at the bare bones of things and making an argument. This is like seeing the horizon and saying the world is flat. Ofcourse you can make a point just being being vague and uninformed. i want to have an intelligent discussion where you make relevant points that i respond to. not reading something and then having to explain over and over again that you are just taking shots in the dark with no logical train of thought.

    .

    And 13 points and 5 rebounds from a Small Forward is so completely different then 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, that you even suggesting this is comparable is stupid from the jump.

    .

    i mean could you imagine if i really went in on this argument and used advanced stats and other more advanced ways of looking at the game. just the argument you are already giving is so rudimentary if i approached this how i normally would you would probably just ignore it as too complicated and thus pointless or whatever people do when they don’t have the capacity for understanding. — just take this for what it is, EVERYONE within the league knows he is still an elite 4 when healthy, only Lakers fans who are running out of things to blame for their struggles are saying this about Gasol. Nobody whose opinion is deemed intelligent is saying the things you are saying. But maybe you can get Magic Johnson to agree, while he blames the D’Antoni hiring on the wrong Buss and proclaims LeBron will never win a title. Because he’s the guy who seems to be behind all of these outrageously stupid Lakers driven diatribes by panicking fans.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    that isn’t true. and he isn’t in trade discussions more than anyone else on the team aside from Bryant and Howard. — the only reason these discussions even exist is because they are the Lakers, and Lakers fans have to have someone to blame when they struggle. Not because there is actual merit to all of this nonsense. — the guy is unhealthy. the teams coach has been around for almost 3 weeks. there is no reason to expect anyone to thrive. if you are a logical human being.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    The Pau Gasol of the last two years is in these players class not a class above like he was before

  • Caboose

    Oh, I apologize for arguing with you before. I didn’t realize you were 11. Now I feel bad for making you look stupid.

  • Caboose

    Give it up. He thinks Pau=Ryan Anderson=Bargnani.

  • http://twitter.com/DPisWill DePaul Williams

    Kobe dont write checks or call plays, but he the one makes wishes and demands lol

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    man, you know exactly how hard it is for me to ignore stupidity.

  • Caboose

    Haha we both have the same problem.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    If only we weren’t aware that the human brain can eventually understand concepts even if there seems to be no supporting evidence we probably would just accept it

  • LakeShow

    Fair.
    In comparison though – the amount of times his critics admit that the Lakers would have been in a trench without him – is about how often he admits fault.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    You attacking my argument with insulting my brain power is childlike but your big words will let you get away with it.

    Pau Gasol is still soft, mentally more than psychically, he doesnt fit in the Pringles system, he got blocked by Big Baby, and he has the worst tendinitis in NBA history. This does not make him a legit option to be an elite PF for the Lakers going forward.

    He has the same Eff Rating as Ryan Anderson

    Im a die-hard Laker fan. Yes. But Pau has lacked in a lot of things you can’t put on a stat sheet. I say his tougness is the only reason Doc Rivers has a ring. but that’s a story for another day. Pau has turned into the modern day Arvydas Sabonis

  • Caboose

    This explains all of Europe from about 800-1600 CE.

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    Im 21 and I’m not looking as stupid as you might think. You act as if my opinion is unheard of.

  • Caboose

    Fair. However, we critics are dudes on a basketball site. Kobe’s lack of accepting blame has consequences. My b*tching does not.

  • Caboose

    Really? You think you look smart saying that Andrea Bargnani is as good as Pau Gasol? You think you don’t look stupid saying that tendinitis shouldn’t affect Pau as much as it should? You think you look smart asserting that because Ryan Anderson and Pau have a similar EFF rating that they’re equal? You think you look smart by saying that Thaddeus Young could average 17 and 10 on the Lakers when the best he’s ever done since this year is 13-5? The same numbers that Metta put up last year? You think you don’t look dumb by saying that Pau works better as a spot up shooter than a low post player? Newsflash. You look stupid. Hell, I’ll bet even LakeShow agrees with me on this one.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Lol!

  • http://www.facebook.com/koombuy.pride Koombuy Pride

    Thaddeus Young, Ryan Anderson, Andrea Bargnani. All players that will improve as this year goes on and into next year. Pau gasol has been getting worse every year and has never been the same player since Shannon Brown f**ked his wife. This love affair with Pau has to stop. I’ve seen more Laker games then anybody should and he is overated to your standards.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    It’s not your brain power. If I didn’t think you had the capacity to understand I would just ignore you. It’s your level of understanding that I have an issue with.

  • keyon dooling

    anyone else sick of this delusional ‘LakeShow’ nerd who keeps commenting on EVERY f–king Lakers/Kobe story? Lol

  • pposse

    They really should be dominating, I agree %100. Miami struggled in its first year, but they never had a big man who could defend which is where most of their problems came from..that and indecision from Lebron and Wade down the stretch. This Lakers team is built in a completely different way, their starting 5 has no weakness. Its hard to blame Nash for not being on the court for the struggles when your team consists of Kobe, Pau, Metta, and Howard (injured or not he still is putting up like 20 and 15 on some nights). I’m sticking to my guns, the Lakers should have implemented the triangle, idk how complicated it is, Dwight needs to understand that he would be a better basketball player in general if he develops real low post moves. His pick n roll abilities are nice but more flashy than substance.

  • Caboose

    I’m done. Think what you want. Just another ignorant Kobe humper to add to the pile.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    To be fair, I think he’s more of a Pau-hater than a Kobe-lover. And where did this Shannon Brown love affair story come from?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    No, it is deadly. Pau was infinitely better finding cutters and shooters while working from the post than Bynum was. He’s a better post-passer than he is a mid range jump shooter.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    Well, considering he’s a Lakers fan….why shouldn’t he comment on stories related to his team?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    His toughness was the only reason the Lakers won Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

  • iceman

    Still to early to judge, need Nash back and this team needs to figure out wth there doing, To early to pull out the Pjax i told you so card, I’ll save that for later, it’ll be fun to watch the drama continue to unfold in La this year.

  • skywalker

    You’re a nurse.

  • Caboose

    Lol what? You’re a 15 year old who thinks that he’s gonna be a business major and is therefore more successful than any other college student.

  • shutup

    You know nothing of Sabbas, watch your mouth and show some respect.

  • http://twitter.com/sooperfadeaway nbk

    Dwyane Wade just had surgery to help alleviate him of some of his discomfort from tendinitis this summer. he missed the f*cking Olympics idiot.
    .

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
Advertisement