Most of the 02/03 season. The rox let him go because the Grizzlies offered him a lot more money than anyone thought he was worth.
I still think it is absolutely hilarious when people act like Gasol is some superstar allstar player who led the lakers to the finals. THAT GUY SUCKS JUST LIKE HE ALWAYS HAS. And he chokes. lol give me a break.
Thanks. One thing I just noticed on the box score is that Ray Allen played all 48 minutes! He still had enough juice to own the ball and make the driving layup that clinched the game.
Yeah, it's really been exposed this series. He cannot create for himself no matter where he is on the court. He needs somebody to do all the work for him and spoonfeed him the ball. What a choke job by the Lakers.
I can't believe defense like the one that allowed Ray Allen to get to the rim unabated would happen in the last minutes of a finals. That was terrible. All in all I thought the Celtics showed lots of grit. Very fun game to watch.
I think he had to, with Rondo not able to play to par they needed every minute he could muster. He and Posey definitely are the heroes of this game... even if Pierce and Garnett helped a bit. By the way nice summation on the game A_3PO
the celtics are the best defense in the L for a reason. gasol shot 58% the entire playoffs before now. he's not a superstar, but he's a borderline all-star player. nothing wrong witht that.
He would never fit in that kind of atmosphere. Posey is the type of player you put on a championship-calibre team, not a bottom-feeder. He just has that extra motivation and tenacity when put on the big stage with big time players. The perfect complimentary player, if you will. He was HUGE for Miami, the same way he's been big for the C's now. Eddie House should get some love too. I hate to rile up tinman again, but all the analysts I'm watching on TV are saying that Sam shouldn't see a single minute, and they've been clamoring for EH to play off the bench all along (Vecsey has been perhaps the loudest proponent of that)...and I reluctantly have to agree: the C's should always bring Eddie House off the bench, let Sam do what he can do best at this point of his career: be an emotional leader.
Games like this are the reason I say Phil Jackson is NOT the coach everyone makes him out to be. Before this series began, almost everyone was talking about how much more talented the Fakers were than the Celts. Yet the Celts came out with the fire, the drive, the determination. It's incumbent upon the COACH to make adjustments to compensate, to take the Celts out of their game, to use that abundance of talent to his advantage. And he hasn't. His team has folded, and that starts with him. Jackson has ridden to coattails of Jordan and Shaq to a probable Hall-of-Fame spot, and yet when it comes to actual coaching, he's mediocre at best.
From what I've seen, Pau Gasol has been the X-factor......for the Celtics. He has always choked in the playoffs. Good reg. season performer, and certainly helped the Lakers get that #1 spot, but when it comes to playoff time, he doesn't do much more significantly. But you have to take into account that the Lakers are without Andrew Bynum- imagined if they did?
while kobe's 6-19 sucked tonight, i don't know why people are getting on him for his performance overall in this series and trying to tie it in with not being good against detroit. no, he ain't jordan, but he's putting up 27/6/5 in a series where his team is averaging all of 92 ppg (and had 10 assists tonight). he pretty much singlehandedly won the only game they have won. pau gasol has sucked all 4 games and odom has sucked for 3.5 games. except for vujacic popping up in game 3 and odom having a good first half tonight, who else has helped him at all? his fg% is only at 43% (i said it would be 40% and probably will be after game 5) but that's not that bad against this defense, when you have little help.
I agree with jgreen01. Pau Gasol is what is most wrong with the Lakers. Specially on the Defensive end. If you watch the Celtics highlights, evey Celtics layoff seems to be a result of Pau missing his defensive assignment. Plus, is it just me or, has all of Gasol's points come off layups or dunks created by his teammates in the Finals? During the regular season he seemed to have a full arsinal of Offensive moves. But he has showed very little in the finals. It could be due to the Celtics D.
Considering Pau Gasol's international experience and his successes there (Gold Medal and MVP of 2006 FIBA Championship), you'd THINK he'd be a capable strong minded player and go-to guy in these NBA Finals. How so NOT the case.
that's because a lot of people are stupid. somehow the argument that the team with 66 wins is way less talented than the team with 57 wins that they beat twice in the regular season doesn't seem that logical. the celtics have an epic defense, 3 20+ scorers, and the lakers have odom and gasol who aren't exactly known for their epic playoff performances.
Actually, Pau CAN create for himself and does it quite often. It's just that the pressure is making him play like a scared puppy. Maybe KG has him psyched out. Whatever it is, his lack of mental toughness is on full display. Pau is an all-star and a very skilled offensive player, but the Spurs and Celts have cut him down to size. He isn't the first all-star caliber player to wilt in the Finals and won't be the last. The Lakers wouldn't have sniffed the Finals (and maybe the playoffs) without him.
he has help. they're just playing a great defense. you have to understand they avg 110ppg before the finals. the celts' D is just historic right now. tmac put up 29 and 13 in game 7 and they said he choked. it's all about wins and losses. had they won, kobe would have gotten praise for his 10 assists and how he got his teammates involved. but his teammates picked him up in the first half. they needed him in the 2nd half.
Is Bynum still out from that ankle injury? I thought it would heeled up by now since the playoffs started...
exactly. most of the playoffs he has been getting a ridiculous amount of dunks and layups from teammates. while some of that is due to him being very mobile and having good hands, it still doesn't make him a go to guy. he didn't do much against SA, and he really isn't doing anything in this series. yes the lakers got a very good deal for pau, but the way people talk you'd think they got michael jordan or something. this series, or this career? he's been sucking for all of calendar '08. i don't know why, but you mostly just pray he hits the occasional 3 and doesn't try to handle the ball too much. i think he partly didn't turn it on in the 1st b/c he already knew he didn't have it. he tried to will himself to some shots at the end and it almost worked, but the lakers never got the stop they needed. and while 6-19 isn't good, i would say 43% for the series is acceptable. if someone else on the team actually stepped up. luckily he doesn't realize it that often and continues his career long inability to completely eviscerate a helpless opponent. he'll get his title, but he's still the same kg. that guy was such a terrible 3 point shooter in the first half of his career. and almost all of his time with the rockets. then someone told him to stop jumping when taking his 3's and he started making them. he only did it for about a month with us so it was understandable that we didn't give him a big contract (b/c he sucked a lot of the rest of the time) but now he can't miss a big 3. there's no way he should've made the last one that effectively sealed it.
Where stats don't tell you the full story again Farmar, Vujacic and Gasol and shooting over 50% in the series. Actually WELL over it. But its been a non-impactful 50%, because of other aspects of basketball such as toughness, staying in front your man, lack of killer instinct, mental errors... Gasol does have the Defensive Player of the Year guarding him...
