No, I don't agree. I guess there ARE some people who overrate him. Like I said, he is not MVP unless he keeps up with some monster numbers throughout the season. But that doesn't mean he is generally overrated. I think most people just assume that Kobe makes him that good, and that he is just a second tier big man. I think he is a top tier big man right now alongside the likes of Howard and Nowitzki. (Howard may still improve his offensive game. So I'd take Howard over Gasol. But if Howard's offense remains the same as he has been, then he is not that much better than Gasol.) It's ironic that you bring up Nitwits. I think Gasol is better than Nowitzki as an all around player. Dirk is a better scorer, mainly because he is a great shooter with great range in a big man's body. Gasol is a better low post big man, a better defensive player (though that doesn't say much), a better passer, and a better rebounder. He couldn't carry a crappy Memphis team. But who could? Do you think Nowitzki or Howard could have done better with Memphis?
He probably won't be MVP because it's hard to see him keeping up this pace (far above his career stats) for a whole season, especially considering the impact Bynum will have for the 25-30 games he plays this year. However, as of now (a whopping 7 games in), Pau is probably 2nd to Paul as an MVP candidate. Those are the two best players on the two best teams in the league right now.
I am anti-NBA League conspiracy theories, but it would be incredibly lame if at the end of the season , Kobe and Pau had the same amount of votes and shared Co-MVP honors...
See my second post in this thread. That was not a crappy Memphis team. They were considered the deepest team in the NBA and a popular pick for next new great team...certainly more talent than the Francis/Cat era. Gasol won only 23 and 28 games in his 1st two years. Not until they got 10 deep did he even make the playoffs. Howard for sure. btw: you do recall Howard was drafted out of HS. So it's someone unfair to compare his 1st two seasons. Gasol was averaging less than 9 rpg until he became a Laker. Much worse than Nitwitz. I honestly did not think much of Gasol's defense at Memphis, and thought that was their problem in the playoffs. I am surprised with his defense now. He's a good help defender for sure. But when Bynum, Odom and Gasol are on the floor together that whole team is playing great defense and rebounding. Howard doesn't have that. Look what Stan Van Gundy can do on defense with defensive sieves like Carter and Turkoglu. Rashard isn't that great either. That is all Howard. I was shocked SVG got them to the Finals 2 yrs ago...and think many people were.
1 wrong 1 correct. But sure, I'll play your game. How about this? Pippen took the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Semis without Jordan. Pau was 0-12 in the Playoffs without Kobe.
You say "Eastern Conference Semis" like it's a huge thing, but it really is just the "second round". So Pippen won a playoff series without Jordan. Kobe has never won a playoff series without Shaq or Gasol, and Gasol has never won a playoff series without Kobe. BFD.
TMac won a Playoff game without Yao Bosh won a Playoff game with scrubs Pau Gasol is the only alleged MVP candidate I know of who has never won a Playoff game as the man.
It doesn't matter if you win a playoff game if you don't win the series (and ultimately the championship). With such a low volume of games (for either Pau or Kobe when both were "the man") it is arbitrary anyway; it depends, for instance, on who you are facing. Kobe lost a series to a Suns team that didn't have any more talent than the Lakers, and then to a good team. Pau kept getting his ass fed to him by the Spurs in their prime. One time he can blame his coach, Fratello, because that Grizz team should have tanked to drop below the Clippers and fall into the far easier bracket (instead of facing SA/Dallas they could have gone Den/Phx)... and then he would have won a game and probably a series, but that of course makes no difference on how he is as a player.
LA is a perfect fit for Gasol's talents. He's a great player, but maybe isn't suited to be the top dog on a championship team. I do think Kobe's greatness helps elevate the quality of talented teammates.
LOL, the 2006 Lakers, with Smush, Kwame and Walton as starters were certainly lots of talent. Toe to toe with Suns of that year. Your trolling has now got to another level.
I didn't say they had a lot of talent. However, they had almost as much talent as the Suns that year. The reason Nash won MVP again is that he took a crappy team to the #2 seed. It was basically Nash+Marion+roleplayers, similar to Kobe+Odom+roleplayers.
The truth was Kobe easily outplayed Nash in that series, so did Odom over Marion. But Suns' depth, and a little luck helped them survive. Didn't Nash make huge mistake twice in game 4 in closing seconds, and missed the game tying 3 in game 6, and it was TT for the rescue.
